National Lottery new rules brought in leaving winners furious

New National Lottery rules have been introduced, causing some winners to experience delays in receiving their prize money.

Following the takeover of the National Lottery by multinational lottery operator Allwyn from Camelot in February this year, changes have been made to the payout process. The Post Office no longer distributes large rewards as it did previously, resulting in many winners waiting weeks for their money.

Under the new regulations, winners of between £500 and £50,000 on Lottery games must follow an online process to claim their winnings. They are required to provide their name, address, contact details, and email, along with a Prize Claim Form, within 180 days of their win.

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Additionally, they must send their physical ticket to the office.

This comes after a taxi driver who won on the National Lottery six weeks ago has yet to receive his winnings. Ray Laird, 69, won £800 after purchasing a ticket at a One Stop on March 2, reports Stoke on Trent Live.

Sergei Cofie-Squire is still awaiting his £1,500 win from a ticket he bought at WHSmith on March 19. The 61 year old had plans to jet off to Dubai with his winnings but has been left in limbo despite sending his ticket weeks ago and not receiving 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’m still waiting. 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.”

He added: “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).”

“I have been in touch many times because I won on March 19. I have followed all the procedures and I’m still waiting. 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.”

Despite having proof that his ticket was received by the National Lottery management on 4 April, Sergei is eager to claim his prize. However, he has been informed that the delays are due to ‘inherited problems’ within the new company.

He added: “Why do I have to wait so long to collect my winnings? I’m told it’s a teething problem, but I say they should have thought of that before switching over. It’s beginning to feel like a joke. All the processes I have gone through, and I’ve heard nothing from them.”

“They have to see my point. I played the Lottery and paid my money and have won fairly, and have verified my ticket. But up to now I have been dragged from pillar to post. If there is a problem they should make an official announcement so people don’t get frustrated.”

However, Sergei isn’t the only one still awaiting their Lottery winnings. Ray Laird, a taxi driver, won £800 after buying a ticket from a local corner shop on 2 March.

The 69 year old, who admits he ‘can’t do the online stuff’, had his daughter submit his details and send in his winning ticket on his behalf, following the new rules.

Speaking to the Echo, 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? “.

The disgruntled taxi driver, who had hoped to put the money towards his mortgage amidst financial struggles, was initially informed via telephone that he would receive his cheque by the following Friday or Monday at the latest. However, the funds failed to materialise, and on Thursday, 11 April, after being left on hold for over an hour, he still had no resolution.

He expressed his frustration: “£800 would have paid 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. Times are tough at the moment, they are tough for everyone and I’m being crucified off the taxman for working and getting my pension, but I have to work. You can’t win. Everyone is struggling so as soon as you get extra cash it is a relief of stress on your bills, we all need that relief.”

An Allwyn spokesperson stated: “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.”

Instructions on how to claim prize money from any National Lottery games can be located on their website.

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