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Hundreds of thousands of savers forced to isolate because of their age have been sent prize-winning cheques by National Savings & Investments that they are unable to cash.
More than half a million Premium Bond winners over the age of 70 received 1.5 million cheques in the post for wins in the March, April and May draws.
Telegraph reader Alan Bartley, 87, received a welcome cheque for his win in March, but was worried when he read that it was valid only for three months. This gave him until the beginning of June to cash it, but government advice remains that anyone over 70 should self-isolate.
“I am afraid I might lose my winnings, as I have had no way of reaching my bank,” he said.
Cheques are valid for three months, although they may still be accepted by a bank up to six months later. Some banks allow you to pay in a cheque by taking a photo of it on your mobile device.
A spokesman for NS&I said: “If a customer has a problem at that time and the bank won’t accept the warrant [cheque], we can send them a new one.”
It is also possible to arrange for future prizes to be paid straight to your bank account through the firm’s online service, providing that you have an email or mobile phone number. Alternatively, the winnings can be reinvested.
In March more than 1.3 million prizes were paid to customers aged over 70. Around 54pc had their winnings paid directly into their bank account or reinvested into Premium Bonds, but almost 600,000 cheques were sent out to those unable to cash them. The figures were similar in April and May.
Last month hard-pressed savers were given a welcome boost when NS&I scrapped plans to lengthen the odds of winning a prize from Premium Bonds. The bonds do not pay interest but instead give savers a chance to win between £25 and £1m.
NS&I wanted to reduce the chances of winning from one in 24,500 to one in 26,000. The effective prize rate would have fallen from 1.4pc to 1.3pc, but the change was cancelled.
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