Lottery news: Some ‘lucky’ winners struggling to get paid – ‘I’m STILL waiting!’
Changes to National Lottery rules have left players struggling to get their hands on their prize money with some waiting weeks for winnings.
The new rules emerged after the Lottery was taken over by Allwyn in February this year.
The way winners collect their prize funds has changed as the Post Office are no longer handing out rewards for larger sums of money as previously.
According to new regulations, winners of between £500 and £50,000 on Lottery games must follow the online process to receive their money.
This includes providing their name, address, contact details and email – along with a Prize Claim Form – within 180 days of their win.
In addition, they must also send their physical ticket in the post to the office.
However, this has triggered long delays for winners who have been waiting weeks for their prizes.
Sergei Cofie-Squire from Toxteth, Liverpool is still waiting for his £1,500 winnings after purchasing his ticket from WHSmith on March 19.
The 61-year-old was set to use his prize money on a holiday to Dubai, but was left frustrated when he was forced to wait weeks for his money.
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“I have been in touch many times because I won on March 19. I have followed all the procedures and I’m still waiting,” he told the Liverpool Echo.
“I’ve rang numerous times. Half the time I felt like I was talking to a brick wall. I could understand a seven day delay, but not four weeks, which is unacceptable.
“I’m a very regular Lottery player. You’ve got to be in it to win it. On March 19 I won the £1,500, so I went to the Post Office to try and collect my cheque, but I was told a new company had taken over.
“They give you a website you go to and put in all the details required, which is a photo of the winning ticket, front and back, and they then send you a QR code. Then you have to go to the Post Office with that code, and post the original ticket to them (Allwyn).”
Similarly, Ray Laird is still waiting for his £800 after buying a ticker from a local corner shop in Merseyside on March 2.
The 69 year-old, who admits he “can’t do the online stuff” asked his daughter to submit his details, but is yet to receive his prize.
He said: “She did everything they asked and sent the tickets off. It was £800 I won. I phoned last week to enquire when I’m getting this money. Someone on the phone said to me ‘well if you played online you wouldn’t have this trouble’ I thought this is disgusting. I have bought tickets from 1994 why should I change now?”
In response, an Allwyn spokesperson said: “This is a new claims process we’ve had to introduce following the Post Office’s decision to no longer pay National Lottery retail prizes between £500.01 and £50,000. As a result of it being new, we’ve been experiencing higher volumes of players contacting us and some initial delays to players receiving their prizes.
“We’ve since increased the number of colleagues to assist with claims – which is helping us send out prizes more quickly – and are continuing to work to make improvements to the process.
“For example, we recently started a trial where anyone winning under £1,000 no longer needs to send in their winning ticket to us to help speed up the process. We’re also reminding players that prizes of up to £500 can still be paid out in store.”