Lottery winners face huge delays for payouts due to major change
Lottery winners are having to wait weeks to collect their winnings due to a major payout rule change.
The new National Lottery operator Allwyn has changed the way it pays those who win between £500 and £500,000 due to the Post Office ending its Lottery contract. Originally, Post Office branches were the only places where cheques for payouts as high as these could be cashed in. However, this has now been blocked.
Instead, winners will need to verify their ticket online or over the phone and then send their winning scratchcards or draw tickets - or a very clear image of it through the post for verification. Allwyn says it has increased the number of staff available to assist players over the phone at this time.
According to the company's terms and conditions, which can be found on the National Lottery website, winners will need to provide their name, address, contact details, and email address. You must also submit the fully completed Prize Claim Form, and it must be received by Allwyn, within the Claim Period which is 180 days. The information submitted will then be reviewed by Allwyn's team.
If the winner sends a picture, once the claim is reviewed they will receive an email with instructions on how to send their ticket or Scratchcard to them. This will be through Royal Mail Tracked - at "no cost to them." For those who can’t do this, Allywn will send them a pre-paid Royal Mail Tracked envelope instead. Once Allwyn receives the ticket or Scratchcard, the prize money will be sent by cheque to the address on the claim form.
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However, Allwyn warns that all the documents in the letters are sent "at your risk" meaning Allywn will not accept responsibility for the loss or damage to the scratchcard, ticket, or cheque. You may also need to provide proof of identity and age when accepting your prize money cheque. The change means winners could potentially be waiting weeks to claim their cash with Allwyn confirming that there have been "delays".
Last year, the Post Office ended its group contract with the National Lottery and around 900 of the 4,800 branches that had previously stocked National Lottery products chose not to continue. Allwyn, which took over running the lottery just last month, said the reasons behind the decisions ranged from religious beliefs to low sales.
A spokeswoman for Allwyn told the Mirror: “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.
"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.”
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