‘We will ditch our bonds if we stop winning’
LIZZY DRING was recommended Premium Bonds as a way of saving by her uncle a year ago, and has since bought thousands for herself and her young niece and nephew.
She has won four £25 cash prizes, but fears her lucky streak will slow after NS&I’s rate cuts.
Lizzy, who runs a team-building events firm, says: ‘NS&I should carefully look at how often they are reducing the chances of winning. I’d be happier to win smaller amounts but more often.
‘If they keep cutting the number of prizes, it will feel like the actual lottery, which most people have no chance of winning.’
As a self- employed worker, Lizzy, who lives in Norwich, was drawn to the bonds as a safe place to keep her cash which was not immediately accessible.
You can cash in the bonds whenever you like, but it takes a few days for the money to reach your account. The odds were also attractive. She says: ‘I have only between £2,000 and £4,000 invested at any one time, and no other savings account could beat the bonds.’
However, Lizzy, 26, says her last win was in September, and the planned rate cuts will reduce her chances of winning.
She plans to give it another year, and if she wins only one cash prize — or, worse, none — she may move her money.
rae radford, 57, already plans to cash hers in. Only last month she invested £30,000 in Premium Bonds, but since hearing about the proposed cuts would rather put it towards property.
The retired social media expert, from Kent, chose bonds because they offered better odds compared with interest rates elsewhere.
She says: ‘ What NS& I is planning to do is shocking. I will be looking to invest my cash somewhere else, that’s for sure.’
Meanwhile, career coach Nikki Thomas, from London, began taking her money out of NS&I in September, when it announced the last wave of cuts. She has split her cash between investments, high- interest savings accounts and Isas.
She says: ‘Premium Bonds are definitely not as good as they used to be, and I have noticed I do not win nearly as much. When I was winning prizes I used to recommend the bonds — but I wouldn’t any more.’
Nikki, 34, has been a NS&I customer since 2014. With interest rates generally so low, she and her friends chose the bonds because they seemed to be a better alternative.
Mother-of-one Claire Foster is also disappointed about NS&I’s rate cuts, but says she will stick with her Premium Bonds, still hoping to win the jackpot.
Her first bonds were bought for her as a baby by her grandparents, and she initially had a few thousand pounds worth. But after the sale of a flat six years ago Claire, who lives in Dulwich, South London, had the maximum holding of £50,000. The wins earned more than her cash Isa.
She chose NS& I Premium Bonds because she says they were ‘safe and easily accessible’.
Claire, 38, has also bought Premium Bonds for her one-yearold son, Arthur, and encourages family to do the same for his birthday and Christmas gifts. He has about £2,000 invested but has yet to win.
A combination of NS&I rate cuts and cashing in some bonds to fund her maternity leave has led to a drop in wins for Claire.
She says: ‘I’m disappointed the prizes will reduce again but remain hopeful for a big win. I check my number every month. ’
Patricia Timpson, from Buckinghamshire, has had Premium Bonds for more than 30 years, and when her daughters married she bought them some, too.
But last night the 74-year- old said the cuts were ‘outrageous’.
She says: ‘I remember when my bank was offering 12 pc interest. But now you no sooner put your money somewhere than the rate is cut. I thought low interest rates would be temporary, but they are just getting worse.’