Scratch LOTTERY winners must wait a month to withdraw their money under the payout limit.
New operator Allwyn has changed the procedure for winnings between £500 and £50,000 after the post office pulled out of a 900-branch deal last month.
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Lottery scratch card winners have to wait more than a month to withdraw their money under the withdrawal limitCredit: Getty
Post offices were the only shops where checks for these amounts could be given to winning players – but they have now been blocked.
Instead, the operator, which took over from Camelot early last month, insists that winners confirm their numbers online or over the phone before sending a ticket in the mail for review.
But winners such as John Farrugia, 69, are waiting up to a month to receive their payments.
The retired builder struggled to get his £800 from two tickets and said: “I’m being shuffled around departments when I call to try and get a fair use for the money I’ve won.”
Allwyn tells the winners that he wants the tickets sent to his security operations team for verification.
But John, from Sutton, Surrey, added: “A lot of older people find it difficult.”
An Allwyn spokeswoman said: “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 have a large number of players contacting us.
We apologize for the delay and have increased the number of colleagues to assist players with their requests, helping them receive their rewards faster.
“We would like to reassure all affected players that they will receive their prizes and remind them that prizes of up to £500 can still be redeemed in store.”
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Source: HIS Education