When Phil Maciver woke up on April 21, 2021, he 'couldn't fathom' why National Savings and Investments (NS&I) had put £50 in his bank account.

The ex-coastguard, 70, from Aberdeenshire has been a Premium Bonds account holder for the past 50 years with the full £50,000 invested. 

He actively checks his winnings each month and says ‘it's a bit of fun really,’ ‘it’s exciting’. But this is why receiving a prize so late in the month struck out to him. 

Phil said: ‘You know, you get up in the morning and you check your emails and this email came through from NS&I saying; "congratulations, you've won a prize."

‘I thought; "oh yes please," so I went straight in and looked and it said I’d won £50.

‘I knew it was weird but I checked my account and sure enough, £50 was in it. I’ve never had this in my life. I just got £50 out the blue!’ 

Unbeknownst to some, it's possible to receive what looks like a random prize from NS&I if it's 'reallocated' to you. This happens when the original winner becomes ineligible to receive their prize. 

According to NS&I: ‘Around 350 prizes each month are found to be ineligible.'

But for starters, what are Premium Bonds? Instead of putting money into general savings accounts and earning interest, those with Premium Bonds enter a monthly prize draw in a bid to win between £25 and £1million.

Their numbers are generated by a random-number generator called Ernie and each £1 Bond has some odds of winning.

Winners are typically announced at the start of the month and the money is paid into their accounts by the seventh.

Phil continued to describe his initial reaction: ‘I don’t know if I was shocked I’d randomly won £50 or disappointed it wasn’t a million, but it’s something that’s never discussed because it's so rare.'

Phil managed to find answers about reallocated prizes via Facebook. His post read: ‘Here’s a strange one! Today I just had £50 put into my Bank - by NS&I ? Can’t fathom it out!’

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he explained why it's so easy to miss these wins.

He said: ‘Lots of people probably wouldn’t have noticed it. People have Premium Bonds and the money goes in the bank and they couldn’t even tell you how much they’ve won that month. They just put it in and forget about it.

‘I’m sure about 99 per cent of the people who hold Premium Bonds don’t realise if they’ve received a reallocated prize - unless a substantial amount of money comes in.

‘Otherwise if it's just dribbles, no one really checks. It’s like getting a tax rebate, half the people don’t even notice. It’s like the dark side to Premium Bonds - or the good side really.'

There are approximately 22.7 million people in the UK who hold Premium Bonds, making it the country’s most popular personal savings product managed by NS&I.

Despite this, many don't know what a reallocated prize is and why the original winner becomes ineligible. 

Someone could become ineligible to receive a winning prize if they have died and NS&I is unaware, or if they’ve exceeded the £50,000 holding limit.

The £50,000 holding limit can be exceeded when two accounts merge. For example, if the bonds were bought for children by friends or relatives and then more were purchased by the same person in a separate account as an adult.

In these circumstances, the original prize is cancelled.

However, to account for situations like this, additional numbers are always drawn. And so the prize is reallocated to the new winner.

NS&I says that when the original prize gets cancelled, it is likely it hasn’t been cashed in.

However, if for whatever reason it has been cashed in, NS&I would implement a payment recall to recover the funds.

This would involve NS&I asking the bank of the prize recipient to contact the customer and ask permission for the funds to be returned. 

Meanwhile, a new bond number is selected to receive the prize.

A former Bond holder who has already cashed in their Bonds could still be eligible for a ‘move up’ prize if their original Bonds were next in line at the time of the draw.

NS&I says it will use the most recent contact details held at the time the Bonds were cashed in to contact the new winner.

Similarly, current Premium Bond holders could win a reallocated prize linked to Bonds they previously held but since were cashed in.

Speaking on reallocated Premium Bond prizes, an NS&I spokesman said: ‘Every so often, a Premium Bonds holder, or even a previous Premium Bonds holder who has since cashed in their Bonds, receives an unexpected prize win notification from NS&I.

‘This is because NS&I has found that the original prize winner’s Bonds were not eligible. The prize is then reallocated to the next Premium Bonds number drawn at the time. Additional numbers are always drawn to allow for this type of eventuality.’

Speaking on the rarity of reallocated Premium Bond prizes, the spokesman said: 'Around 350 prizes each month are found to be ineligible for various reasons.

'This means we can pass prizes on to the next person in line creating unexpected excitement. We send out letters explaining the unexpected win.

'Prizes are then paid directly into the new winner’s Premium Bonds holding, into their nominated bank account or sent as a cheque.'

For more information on Premium Bonds, visit the NS&I website.