Premium Bonds: New guaranteed growth from NS&I

Nov 05, 2009 | Comments 1

Premium Bonds: New guaranteed growth from NS&I

A new Issues of NS&I (National Savings and Investments) Guaranteed Growth Bonds and Guaranteed Income Bonds, are being released with immediate effect, however they are not available through the Post Office.

The Bonds have rates up to 4.60% AER (Annual Equivalent Rate). Director of customer sales and retention for NS&I John Prout said “the new Issues of our Guaranteed Growth Bonds and our Guaranteed Income Bonds are good news for savers.”

Customers can choose to invest between £500 and £1 million in one, two, three or five-year Bonds, with the new rates starting at 3.85% gross/3.92% AER for a one-year Bond. NS&I and the Post Office have jointly agreed to this Bond being sold only via NS&I by freephone, online or by post, and not at Post Office counters.

Part of the decision is because the Post office wants to develop its own brand of savings products, and NS&I’s desire to develop its direct sales channels. To read more on this story go to brinkwire.com. What do you think to NS&I and the Post office decision not to sell the Bonds over the counter? Let us know your thoughts.

Filed Under: Business News

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  • http://NSI A.K.May

    To whom it may concern.

    The latest NSI bond offering 3.95% for a one year bond is a farce of the worst order.

    On the NSI website, you can find a form BUT it does not tell you which bond you want to buy other than a one year bond. Nowhere does it state what the interest rate is.

    I am already the holder of a NSI two year bond which was simple to buy via the internet. All you had to do was look down the list of offers and click on the one you wanted to buy.

    Was this too easy?

    Anyway I could therefore put in my Customer Number which they grudgingly agreed was mine and that my details all tallied.

    Then they asked for a Debit Card number. I wanted to invest £20,000 and strangely they do not offer many Debit Cards where there is £20,000 just lying around in a Current Account. Previously, you could send a cheque or have a bank to bank transfer.

    Anyway I paid £20,000 into my current account and all I had to do then was order it. Right? Wrong.

    I was not going to submit my £20,000 to an unknown bond with an unknown interest rate.

    So, I phoned the help number on all their literature and, Guess What, it had been changed to a FREEPHONE number.

    Was that good? No!!. It was operational (whatever that might mean) from 0700 to 2400. I tried to get through 37 times including at 0701 and all you got was “I am sorry the lines are all busy” and then it went dead.

    It did try the usual To get Ringback dial 5.

    Good revenue of course but what happened. Nothing. What you had to do was wait for a few seconds when you would be told.

    “We are sorry that Ringback does not operate on this line”.

    I had never realised how hard it was to give someone £20,000 until I tried to do business with NSI.

    If you were able to pass this on to NSI I should be delighted but fear that their idea of Customer Service would be in the family of BT, Npower, Skycard etc etc

    Yours

    Alan May