A COUPLE are at war over a £1 million scratch card win.
Michael Cartlidge, 39, and Charlotte Cox, 37, bought it from a shop in Spalding, Lincs.
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Michael Cartlidge battles ex Charlotte Cox over share of £1m lottery jackpotCredit: Louis Wood
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Charlotte dumped Michael shortly after winning the £1m prize – telling him he wasn’t entitled to the money Credit: Louis Wood
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Michael and ex-waitress Charlotte before their split and bitter battle over winnings Credit: Louis Wood
But she left him weeks later and new Lottery bosses declared her the sole winner.
A source said: “£1million has never brought such misery.”
Charlotte paid her and scratched it, but Michael claims he suggested the idea and tried to wire her cash at the store to cover the purchase.
He says mum-of-one Charlotte initially decided to split the money but walked out on it weeks later before claiming she was the sole winner.
Camelot Lottery bosses launched an investigation – including looking at CCTV footage from the store – and hinted to Michael that the £1m would be handed out.
But it is understood that the new Allwyn Lottery owners have now ruled that Charlotte is the right plaintiff.
Safety engineer Michael, from Spalding, Lincs, claims he is entitled to half the money and is ready to take legal action.
He said: “I’m in shock. I can openly admit that we wouldn’t have gotten that ticket without Charlotte, but she wouldn’t have gotten it without me either.
“I know her bank account paid for it, but morally it should go 50-50.”
I got a lottery set for life which guarantees me £3,000 a month – but it ended up being a curse and now I’m worse off
However, Charlotte hit back at his “rubbish” claims last night.
And sources close to her insisted that her ex-boyfriend “has no right” to the money because she paid the winning ticket.
They added: “A million pounds has never brought so much misery.
“They have ruined the last three months for her and her family.”
The couple had been dating for three months when they hit the jackpot thanks to an impulse buy on Friday night.
At the time, Michael was living at Charlotte’s house and they went to the local Lidl to buy duck pancakes for dinner.
He then claims he suggested they go to nearby Nisa to buy a pair of £5 scratch cards.
One’s dad said: “She said she didn’t have money to spend on scrapers, but I said I would transfer the money to her.
“We were in the store and I opened the Halifax app because I didn’t have a bank card.
“I know her bank account paid for it, but morally it should go 50-50.”
Michael
“I started the transmission, I picked it up to show her. You can see me doing this on the store’s video surveillance that Camelot has.
“The signal was bad so it didn’t go through at that point in the store, it was just in the process of being transmitted. The little loading circle was spinning.
“She bought two tickets on her card and when we got home, she scratched it.”
To their surprise, one of the Dice Towers scratch cards won them a million pound jackpot. Michael said: “We couldn’t believe it. We were in shock. It was really crazy.
“I opened my app about 40 minutes later and it pinged when it finished uploading.”
The jovial duo spent the evening taking photos of the winning ticket, including one of Michael holding it.
The next day they went to the store to confirm their winnings and received a pink slip that said, “Tell the player to contact the lottery.”
Michael said they went to the beach to celebrate with fish and chips. He claims the couple also discussed buying a house and a car whenever the winnings arrived. He recalled: “Everything went well, we put Charlotte’s name on the back of the card and it was supposed to be in her name but on a joint account.
“We talked about a new house, maybe a separate three-bed house. And she wanted a new car, nothing fancy, a Kia or something nice.”
Dad continued: “After talking to Camelot we were told to set up private banking. We went to NatWest in Spalding and had an appointment with them on Monday. It’s been a little over three weeks since we won.”
We talked about a new house, maybe a separate three-bed house.
Michael
However, Michael claimed that he was then stunned when, “out of the blue”, Charlotte asked him to leave through a friend.
So he did – and took the winning ticket with him.
Michael said: “Monday morning she is [Charlotte] left the house and never returned.
“My friend called me and said that she had been in contact and that she wanted me to leave the house. Things started to get suspicious from that point on. I knew he was up to something. I thought, ‘Oh, here we go’. She left the scraper at home so I took it and went to my mom.
“Then she came home and realized that I had the ticket and that Camelot needed it.
“By this time the people who were dealing with our victory in Camelot realized there was a problem. I was in contact with the two women who were involved in our victory and I gave them the card.”
‘He’s back with the legal team’
Michael says he turned it over to the Camelot staff on November 21st. The representative then traveled to Lincolnshire to interview the couple separately about the dispute. Michael said: “They obtained CCTV from the shop which clearly shows me showing my phone screen to Charlotte and the woman behind the till to show that the app was running and the money was being transferred.
“They also investigated the woman in the store and she confirmed it. As far as I knew after this it was agreed that we would share it.
“Camelot returned the ticket and it was a matter of paperwork.”
Michael said he spent Christmas Eve at Charlotte’s house dressed as Santa Claus for her child, and believes the pair have put the scraping dispute behind them. On January 25th, a Camelot official sent a message to both Charlotte and Michael.
It read: “Greetings to both of you, we’ve gone back to the legal team for a moment to decide what we need to write for you to sign regarding the prize sharing if you agree.
“This should at least save you from paying a lawyer. Just a little longer and we are here for you.”
You can’t believe a word this man says
Source near Charlotte
But on February 10, less than two weeks after new owner Allwyn took over running the National Lottery, Michael was sent a letter saying he was not entitled to a penny. He said: “I’m willing to fight to make sure I get paid what I’m owed. Especially after Camelot went along with this. Now that the new owner has taken over, they have done a complete turnaround.”
However, Charlotte told The Sun: “I bought the ticket. He didn’t transfer the money to me.
“It’s all rubbish, I want nothing to do with it.”
A source close to her added: “You can’t believe a word that man says. This has ruined the last three months for her and her family. All through Christmas it caused nothing but upset.
“Mike has no right to this money. He is not a nice person. Charlotte won, paid the ticket and scratched it.
“Case closed.”
Last night Allwyn said only the name written on the back of the ticket could win the prize.
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Michael claims he suggested the pair pop into the Nisa store next door to buy a pair of £5 scratch cards Credit: Louis Wood
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Michael claimed he was then stunned when, “out of the blue”, Charlotte asked him to leave via a friend Credit: Louis Wood
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Charlotte told The Sun last night: ‘I bought the ticket. He didn’t wire me the money’Credit: Louis Wood
The Sun said: “National Lottery rules for scratch games make it clear that only one person can be the owner of a ticket and that only the person whose name and address is written on the back of the winning ticket can claim the prize.
“This means that the prize can only be paid to one person and this is always clearly communicated to prize recipients.
“When a claimant agrees to share a prize with other parties (for example, players in a syndicate) after the prize has been paid, we always recommend that a legal contract be drawn up between the interested parties.
“If there is no agreement, any dispute between the parties should be resolved between themselves.”
IT’S GAME OVER FOR JACKPOT PARTNERS
By Rachel Dale
THERE’S been a long history of couples breaking up after big lottery wins.
Adrian and Gillian Bayford won £148million on the 2012 EuroMillions before splitting 15 months later.
The couple, who were living in Haverhill, Suffolk at the time, cited the pressure of their huge win as part of the reason.
Kirk Stevens and girlfriend Laura Hoyle have won £10,000 a month for 30 years in the Set for Life 2021 draw.
Laura was living with him rent-free in Hucknall, Notts, when Kirk suggested she pay £25 a week into the Lotto instead.
It certainly paid off – but the next year she dumped him, moved into a fancy new house and cut him off from his booty.
Teachers Gerry, 71, and Lisa Cannings, 55, won £32.5million in 2016 and vowed to remain “Mr and Mrs Boring and Normal”. But the Lincs couple split four years later and are now with new partners.
Other Lotto jackpot winners include Gareth and Catherine Bull from Notts, who won £40.6m in 2012.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education