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Granny Bonds


Kong
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We've received a letter returning our docs and saying they are processing our application.

For reference it was a joint application for both term bonds paid with one cheque, Notaires signatures on one set of our docs.

Steve
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  • 2 weeks later...
So, three weeks ago our three year bond turned up, I was feeling smug, everything was working for me because I'd done everything correctly and those folk having problems must be proper duffers....

Well we waited for a further fortnight for the one year bond, but it didn't materialise. Cheque cashed on 4th March, no refunds made.

So I rang the NS&I on 9th April and the guy said he'd look into it and I'd hear from them within a week. Nothing.

I rang again this morning (17th), I think that I spoke to Nicola Sturgeon, still stroppy and fired up from her previous night's clash with EM. After explaining the situation and asking where our money was, she said that the problem had surely arisen because I'd paid for both bonds with one cheque. I suggested that a financial institution must keep accounts of money in vs products out and that surely there was an account with our name, the name we had spent some time and effort justifying to them, on it that held twenty thousand pounds in unallocated funds. This is where it became bizarre.

The best way to trace the money she said, was for me to phone my bank and ask them to find the number that the NS&I had written on the back of it when they cashed it. I suppose that it was my sarcastic disbelief that a major government savings bank should need to put the onus on their customer to trace their money, that raised her Sturgeon index. It was my fault for sending one cheque for the two (accompanying) applications contrary to the instructions on their website, and despite what I felt everyone was happy with their performance.

So I rang my bank and a kind lady in India (without a trace of Sturgeon) said, after the usual rigmarole, that she'd get the information for me in two or three minutes, but after ten minutes my phone battery surrendered and that was that. I'll try again later.....

Steve the duffer.
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Oh, Steve, I do hope you trace your money soon.

It will be out there somewhere and there will be a trace to it; trust me, I worked in a bank for my sins, briefly!

The thing to do with any of these organisations, Pensions, Tax Office, whatever, is to never underestimate the sheer stupidity and unaccountability of some of the staff.

Not only did I write separate cheques, I sent them in TWO separate envelopes because I couldn't trust whoever opened the envelope not to just take out the first application form with attached cheque and bin the rest of the contents[:-))]

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Turns out the NS&I had written purchase numbers on the back of the cheque, for both bonds. But reference for the 1yr bond leads no-where.

It is frustrating when you consider that Barclays could come up with the numbers on the back of the cheque in ten minutes that there's now an up to five working day wait for the NS&I to, hopefully, respond.

Steve
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  • 7 months later...
And here is the latest, dear investors, your 1-year bond is nearly due so, to all you lucky folk:

[url]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/saving/article-3359372/The-great-pensioner-bond-rate-drop-One-year-fix-fall-bumper-2-8-paltry-rollover-rate-just-1-45.html[/url]

Well, you really didn't expect anything else, did you?

I mean no more election for 5 years and your paltry savings are of no interest to us[:P]

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  • 1 month later...
[quote user="Kong"]Will do, but I'm not in a hurry. Having heard the US have raised their interest rates by a whopping 0.25% we can look forward to some super deals coming on the market???!!![/quote]

Kong, I have considered my options.

I have now renewed the full amount for 5 years.  OK in the present climate to have 2.55% gross guaranteed, I reluctantly decided.

Can't see any interest rate rises in sight in the UK and a Brexit could just put the kybosh on savings.

Fortunately for me, I am in no immediate need for the money plus I am rather risk averse plus it's not easy (impossible) to open savings accounts with banks or other financial institutions as I live in France.

Still, tax free for non tax payers and might not have to pay social charges in France and better than leaving it with Nationwide at less than half a percent.

Did you find anything else more attractive?

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I have just moved mine to Premium Bonds. No idea if it will work out the equivalent if a competitive rate, but I thought I would try. I already have a few, and quite regularly (c three times a year) get £25 (tax free) cheques from them.

But I don't think they are an option if you are not UK resident.

Angela
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Mint

I haven't yet found anything, but I will be looking at assurance vie which you can buy into with sterling through british investment outfits. Relatively good returns if you've enough cash and not risky. I don't hold out much hope of avoiding CSG. My next battle is recovering tax deducted from HMRC. I haven't had any dealings with them since I left the UK over 5 years ago.
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We've had no problem buying them or opening savings accounts at NS&I with a French address, since our granny bond fiasco. I did read somewhere though, probably on here, that any winnings are considered to be interest payments by France.

Steve
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  • 4 weeks later...
[quote user="Kong"]Mint

I haven't yet found anything, but I will be looking at assurance vie which you can buy into with sterling through british investment outfits. Relatively good returns if you've enough cash and not risky. I don't hold out much hope of avoiding CSG. My next battle is recovering tax deducted from HMRC. I haven't had any dealings with them since I left the UK over 5 years ago.[/quote]

For some unfathomable reason, I had the idea in my stupid head that the interest on the bonds would be paid gross.

It isn't of course, the interest statement arrived to day and so I shall be looking for my tax reference, which flipping office to write to, etc.

Will do it this evening as it's the sort of thing I have a selective memory about and will rather forget to do. Bet they'll just send me a tax return and I will have to go through every little thing all over again.  It gets so tedious but .................

Has anyone on the forum managed to persuade them to pay interest gross on the basis of fiscal residence in France?

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  • 2 weeks later...
You could have knocked me down with a feather!

After I had painstakingly filled up the form requesting re-investment of all of the bond money for 5 years, I was horrified to find they had paid the money including interest into my bank account nearly 2 weeks ago!

So, this is by way of alerting people to check their bank accounts if they have one of these bonds which has recently matured and they want to re-invest the money.

I got on the blower to tell them about this and was told to ring back tomorrow during office hours.  I asked didn't you get the form I sent you?  Yes, I see we HAVE received it but I don't know what's happened.

Other thing is, I was only just having a rant on the thread about Direct Energie and how they don't listen.  TBH, I was a bit sniffy about "French organisations" and also feeling a bit superior that OUR organisations would never be quite so inefficient[:$]

So now what can I say?  That patriotic pride always goes before a fall or something like that?

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