Exclusive
WAIT A LOTTO
Major change to Lotto scratchcard rules as winners face clampdown on prize payouts
Winners will also have to send their tickets off for inspection
LOTTERY scratchcard winners are having to wait for a month to collect their money under a payout clampdown.
New operator Allwyn has changed the procedure for wins between £500 and £50,000 after the Post Office pulled out of a 900-branch deal last month.
1
Post Office branches were the only shops where cheques for those sums could be given to winning punters — but they have now been blocked.
Instead, the operator, which took over from Camelot at the start of last month, insists winners their verify numbers online or over the phone before sending the ticket by post for inspection.
But winners such as John Farrugia, 69, are waiting up to a month to receive their payouts.
The retired builder has struggled to get his £800 from two tickets, and said: “I’m being passed around departments when I call to try and redeem the money I won fair and square.”
READ MORE ON LOTTERY
Allwyn is telling winners it wants tickets sent in for checks by its security operations team.
But John, of Sutton, Surrey, added: “For a lot of older people it’s difficult.”
A spokeswoman for Allwyn said: “This is a new claims process following the Post Office's decision to no longer pay National Lottery retail prizes between £500.01 and £50,000.
"As a result, we’re experiencing a high volume of players contacting us.
Most read in Money
We’re sorry for any delays and have increased the number of colleagues to assist players with their claims, which is helping them get their prizes more quickly.
"We’d like to reassure any affected players that they will receive their prizes and to remind them that prizes of up to £500 can still be paid out in store.”
Unveiling the Lotto Curse: Lottery Wins That Led to Love's Loss
Topics