National Lottery winner says new rule has left her waiting

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A National Lottery winner who scooped £10,000 on a lucky scratchcard has yet to see a penny of her winnings due to new rules and a backlog of claims, she said. Jennifer Gothard landed a £10,000 jackpot on her £3 card back in March.

But five weeks later she is yet to get her hands on the cash and operator Allwynn says she will "just have to wait". Jennifer said the win could change her life but waiting for confirmation is "extremely frustrating".

She added: "They can't even tell me whether I've really won or not. They apparently have a big backlog of claims to get through and they still haven't got around to checking mine.

"I was so excited and happy about my big win. Finally, it was like I'd been given a break and the chance for a fresh start after a really tough few years. But I'm beginning to lose hope with the lack of communication, the timescales and generally the fact that I don't have my win after five weeks."

She said: "It means I can finally start working to live, rather than living to work, for the first time in what feels like forever. I will finally be debt-free, and maybe get ahead on a couple of payments. But most of all I can finally get divorced, do some decorating and enjoy a much-needed holiday for me and my mum.

"It feels so good being able to treat her for a change." Jennifer, speaking to The Gazette, added: "Now we just need the National Lottery to pay up and the doctors to give my mum the 'good to go' and we can jet off somewhere sunny and nice. Oh and maybe I'll treat myself to a new pair of boots."

An Allwyn spokesperson said it was "very sorry" and will be in touch with Jennifer with an update. They added: "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 (what we call 'mid-tier prizes').

"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'd like to reassure anyone affected that they will receive their prize."