Technical problems with Premium Bonds prevent withdrawal of savings

Due to a technical glitch, Premium Bonds customers are having difficulty redeeming their bonds. One frustrated customer contacted NS&I and explained: “I've been trying to redeem some bonds. When I get the call and am told to press the # key when I'm expecting a call, my pressing the # key is not registering.”

“As a result, I am unable to enter the code and proceed with redeeming the bonds. I only have three attempts left.” An NS&I representative responded: “We are sorry you are having problems managing your account online. If this is a repeated error, we recommend you call us and ask to speak to a member of staff who can help you further.”

Another customer reported a similar problem, saying, “I'm trying to settle a term bond that's due. You call and ask me to press the # key, which I do. Nothing happens except you ask me to press the key again, and then again, which I do. Then you hang up. What should I do?”

NS&I has acknowledged the issue, saying: “We are aware of an issue affecting some mobile phone users from time to time where the pound key is not recognised during the security call. Unfortunately, the issue is with your phone or mobile operator and not us. We have raised this with the major phone operators.

“However, you should contact your service provider who can resolve the issue for you.” The provider also stated: “Unfortunately, the issue is a dial tone issue on the line between us and the network provider. It is reported to be an intermittent problem that is usually resolved by trying again later.”

Another customer recently mentioned that he was having an issue with his Premium Bonds due to a strange technical glitch. He told NS&I: “The chat button has been positioned in such a way that you cannot click the 'Confirm' button when withdrawing. Please change this.”

NS&I presented them with a possible solution, commenting: “This is an issue we are aware of and are looking into whether we can implement a fix for it. We know it only occurs on some devices. Could you try using a different device to see if the issue persists?”