National Lottery player left waiting for money WEEKS after winning because cheque bounced

A National Lottery winner who should have scooped up over a grand was left disappointed after her winning cheque bounced.

Stacey Weaver picked up £1,750 by matching five numbers in the Lotto draw in June.

However, she could not claim her winnings at her local corner shop due to a rule change meaning winnings above £500 cannot be paid out at Post Office counters.

When the money did land in her account, she was left empty handed after the money disappeared.

The 58-year-old of Battersea, South London, told The Sun: “I paid it in from my phone, yet the next day my balance went down again. The bank said it was because it had bounced.

“It’s a lot of money to have waved in front of you only for it to feel like it’s been taken away.”

Weaver had been sent a cheque by game-runners Allwyn, which took over from previous operator Camelot earlier this year.

She had played the National Lottery since it launched in 1994 but had never won more than £50.

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She added: “I’ve chased them at least five times. Each time I get told there’s nothing they can do, and no manager is available to speak to me. All I want to do is claim what’s mine.”

Allwyn has now sent a replacement cheque to Weaver, adding an apology to the civil servant.

A spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry to hear of the concerns raised and have now been in direct contact with the claimant. This is a revised claims process that we had to introduce earlier this year following the Post Office’s decision [on lottery prizes].

““We are continuing to work on new ways to help further improve the claims process, and would like to reassure our winners that they will definitely receive their prize.”

Earlier this month, a National Lottery app outage left thousands of Britons unable to access results or buy tickets. Customers were unable to use their apps and struggled to access the website. access the website.

In a post on social media the National Lottery said: “We are aware that some players are having issues accessing our website and app.

“Apologies for the inconvenience, our team are currently investigating the issue to find out what has happened.”