by New National Lottery rules have been introduced, causing delays for some winners to claim their prizes.
Following the takeover of Camelot by multinational lottery operator Allwyn in February this year, changes have been made to the payment process. The Post Office no longer distributes large prizes as it did in the past, and many winners have to wait weeks for their money as a result.
Under the new regulations, winners of between £500 and £50,000 on Lottery games must follow an online process to claim their winnings. They must provide their name, address, contact details and email, along with a Prize Claim Form, within 180 days of winning.
Read more: Full list of DWP and HMRC payments due early next week
In addition, they must send their physical ticket to the office.
This comes after a taxi driver who won the National Lottery six weeks ago has yet to receive his winnings. Ray Laird, 69, won £800 after buying a ticket at One Stop on March 2, reports Stoke on Trent Live.
Sergei Cofie-Squire is still waiting for his £1,500 win from a ticket he bought at WHSmith on March 19. The 61-year-old had planned to go to Dubai with his win but has been left in limbo despite having his ticket sent weeks ago and it was not. getting his money.
In an interview with the Echo, he expressed his frustration: “I have been in touch many times because I won on March 19. I have followed all the procedures and I am still waiting. I have called many times. Half the time I felt like I was talking to a brick wall I could understand a delay of seven days, but not four weeks, which is unacceptable.”
He added: “I’m a very regular lottery player. You have to be there 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 that a new company had gone into business to go to the Post Office with that code, and post the original ticket to them (Allwyn).”
“I was in touch many times because I won on March 19. I followed all the procedures and I’m still waiting. I called many times. Half the time I felt like I was talking to a brick wall. a delay of seven days could be understood, but not four weeks, which is unacceptable.”
Despite having proof that National Lottery management received his ticket on April 4, Sergei is keen to claim his prize. He has been informed, however, that the delays are due to ‘legacy problems’ within the new body.
He added: “Why do I have to wait so long to collect my winnings? I’m told this is a potential problem, but I say they should think about that before the transfer. I’ve been through , and I haven’t heard anything from them.”
“They must see my point. I played the Lottery and I paid my money and I won fairly, and I have verified my ticket. But so far I have been drawn from pillar to post. If there is a problem there they should make an official announcement so people don’t get frustrated.”
However, Sergei is not the only one still waiting for their Lottery winnings. Taxi driver Ray Laird won £800 after buying a ticket from a local corner shop on March 2.
The 69-year-old daughter, who admits she ‘can’t do the online stuff’, entered his details and sent in his winning ticket on his behalf, according to the new rules.
Speaking to the Echo, he said: “She did everything they asked and sent the tickets out. I won £800. I called last week to find out when the 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 disgraceful.
The disgruntled taxi driver, who had hoped to put the money towards his mortgage amid financial difficulties, was told by telephone that he would receive his check by Friday or Monday at the latest. However, the funds did not materialize and on Thursday, April 11, after being left suspended for over an hour, he still had no solution.
He expressed his frustration: “I would have paid £800 off my mortgage this month. I’m a taxi driver, I’m struggling as it is. I’m 69 and still working so I can pay my mortgage pay now, they’re tough on everyone and I’m being tortured by the tax man for working and getting my pension, but I have to work You can’t win With stress on your bills , we all need that relief.”
An Allwyn spokesman said: “This is a new claims process that we have had to introduce following the Post Office’s decision to no longer pay retail National Lottery prizes between £500.01 and £50,000. that we have a higher number of players contacting us and some initial delays in players receiving their prizes.”
“Since then the number of colleagues to assist with claims has increased which is helping us send out awards faster and we are continuing to work to improve the process. For example, we recently started a trial where anyone who wins under £1,000 must send us their winning ticket further to help speed up the process.
Instructions on how to claim prize money from any National Lottery games can be found on their website.
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