A National Lottery winner has yet to receive a penny from her winnings because of a new rule implemented by the Post Office.
Jennifer Gothard won £10,000 ($12,500) on a £3 ($3.77) triple crossword scratchcard in March. However, five weeks after winning, Gothard hasn’t received anything from the National Lottery, which Allwyn Entertainment Ltd currently operates.
Allwyn said she will “just have to wait.”
Gothard explained that she was “so excited and happy” about her win and felt she had been “given a break and the chance for a fresh start after a really tough few years.” According to Gothard, Allwyn said she will “just have to wait.”
An Allwyn spokesperson said the delay was due to a new process the organization has had to introduce. The UK’s Post Office decided to stop paying National Lottery retail prizes between £500.01 ($627.83) and £50,000 ($62,782). Thus, the National Lottery has been experiencing a higher volume of people contacting it to place claims on winnings, causing delays. Allwyn has since introduced a trial where anyone winning under £1,000 ($1,255) is no longer required to send in their winning ticket to help speed up the claims process.