Has anyone tried to buy premium bonds for grandchildren?

I have been buying premium bonds for my GC for the last 15 years and have never had a problem. I used to print off a form from the website now I just do it online.

I tried to set up a Junior Isa or savings account with a building society for my grandson ....I have never seen him, and doubt I ever will, since my daughter cut off all contact 14 years ago (I traced her online, and saw she was married with at least the one child) I send her cards birthday, Christmas, etc etc ....never acknowledged of course ...SO I thought well, that for some reason is her choice BUT why should the grandson suffer ? I went to my building society and bank...even asked my solicitor ....no, you cannot set up these accounts without the parent's permission and you have to know his date of birth ...neither of which I can provide I guess he would be around 6 now ......I could mention him in my Will but since my solicitor has been told that unless my daughter ever gets in touch with me she is not included in my Will she will not benefit .......was told she could contest Will...ha ha ...it would appear from one of her friends that she has told people I died some years ago .......and as she has no idea where I live now she has to find out first ................so it is a real shame he cannot benefit because of his mother ...........

I bought premium bonds for my grandson three years ago and that was reasonably straightforward but maybe the security criteria has changed since then.

Seemingly, banks and building societies have had to tighten up on deposits by family members into accounts for children - something to do with money laundering apparently.

Saving for grandchildren if they live abroad is even more complicated as it rules out lots of saving schemes. I would love to know of a system whereby you can save regular amounts for children not domiciled in the U.K.

I had problems trying to buy premium bonds for my grandchildren which were similar to those already mentioned. My son bought them in the end and I reimbursed him. They were a one off Christening gift so I won’t be adding to them.

The issue with putting assets on the name of a minor is that it may have an impact on the taxes of the parents, college financial aid if they apply for scholarships, etc

This is the case at least for the US, not sure for the UK.

I tried but they would not accept my granddaughters birth certificate, never found out why. We have premium bonds but I give my son regular amounts to put in her savings bank now.

The reason I didn’t open Premium Bond accounts for my grandchildren was in case one won substantially. In a way that would be awful and could cause upset between the grandchildren and possibly the parents. You think it might not cause problems but money often does.
I save for the grandchildren in Metro bank, when the kids were younger we used to go in and pay a monthly sum. It’s a very friendly bank, the children got a gift each month and a lolly. The account pays reasonable interest and a £5 bonus six monthly. Now I pay by direct debit for them. Not a lot, just £20 a month each but it mounts up and they get weekly pocket money too .

I do JISAs - junior ISA, pay in each month

Generally premium bonds are rubbish, you don't get interest on them and rarely (unless you have at least £10k worth) win anything.

A savings account opened by the GP in the child's name is the best option but you will need to tell the parents you want to do this because you'll need the child's birth certificate to open the account. Then, at the age of 7, the child should go to the bank/building society and put their signature on the account, which basically takes the GP's name off it but you'll still be able to make deposits to it.

If you want to keep the account safe so the child can't access it until an age of your choosing, they still need to sign it at 7 but you could withhold the paying in book (not exactly ethical/legal but many GP's do it).

When my Mum died I invested a substantial amount in an ISA divisible by 4, so equal amounts to each grandchild.

I have complete control of the money and the first quarter has gone to eldest GD to support her during her Uni years by way of a standing order into her bank account. When Uni was finished and she got a job, I gave her the balance of her share to put towards a deposit on a house/flat/tent/yurt/igloo.

I am now working through the second quarter with her brother and his Uni life.

The other two are not at that stage of life yet, but it's there when they need it.

The bonus is that I get the interest once a year which is not to be sneezed at.

I check premium bonds for myself and 2 adult children. Admittedly not a large amount. All are over 40 years old. I won once, a sum of £90 about 25 years ago. My daughter and son have never had a win.

I think Ernie has forgotten about us!

Easier to get parents to do it!

Bossyrossy

Saving for grandchildren if they live abroad is even more complicated as it rules out lots of saving schemes. I would love to know of a system whereby you can save regular amounts for children not domiciled in the U.K.

I'm planning to open a regular savings account for my grandson with Halifax but they need a copy of his birth certificate and need my son or DiL to sign something. They live in Germany, so I'm waiting until they come to the UK to sort it out as they need a UK address for the info to be sent to. They will be returning to live in the UK in a couple of years, so once it's set up, hopefully this summer, I'll add to it by standing order and will be able to manage it all until they are back in the UK permanently. I'm not sure if it would be possible if they were abroad permanently.

Kateykrunch

We buy and top up the Grandchildrens Premium Bonds online and without any difficulty.

I was definitely told by the woman I spoke to that this was not possible. Maybe I should ask again.

Thanks everyone for your replies. They have given me something to think about. Hopefully I'll be able to start saving for my grandchildren soon. I think it's a question of perseverance.