A LOTTO winner has said he will never play again after being made to feel like a criminal and having to wait weeks for his money.
Paul Simpson, from Leicester, was thrilled when he won £800 on a HotPicks ticket before spending weeks looking for his prize.
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HAPPY DIP
The former government worker, 69, and his wife Pam, 71, had three lucky numbers on January 31.
But when they tried to collect the huge cash from a post office, they were told to contact Allwyn.
After hours of painful phone calls and emails, they received a check.
Instead of being able to claim the money, they were told they had to request new money or opt for a bank transfer.
According to his bank TSB, the check was bounced due to suspected fraud or counterfeiting issues.
After threatening legal action, Mr. Simpson was eventually compensated after waiting more than a month.
EYE OF THE PRIZE
The former government employee expressed his disappointment with the trial: 'I felt like a criminal. But their procedures are chaotic and feel like a scam.
“I will never play that game again.
“When you win, it's like they want to exhaust you, so you just give up or you lose your ticket.”
Allwyn replaced Camelot as National Lottery operator on February 1 and introduced new changes to the payout rules.
Prizes between £500 and £50,000 can no longer be collected from post offices.
In a statement, Allwyn said: “This is a brand new claims process following the Post Office's decision to no longer pay out National Lottery retail prizes between £500.01 and £50,000.
“The time the process takes will vary depending on whether we require further information from the player to process their claim and how long it takes for us to receive the player's ticket or scratch card.
“Because people are still not familiar with the new process, we also notice that a large number of players are contacting us.
“We are very sorry for any delays this may cause and we have increased the number of colleagues helping players with their claims, allowing them to receive their prizes more quickly.”
'NOW IN'
But they are not the only gamblers affected by this problem.
Graham Crerar, from west London, spent five weeks chasing his £800 prize after matching three numbers on February 7.
The frustrated carpenter struck out: “They're just dragging their heels and I get the feeling I've done something wrong.
“They don't know what they are doing and behave very unprofessionally. Never mind Allwyn, they should be called No-win.”
Elsewhere, Peter Wilson, from Nuneaton, also waited six weeks for an £800 payout.
The retired sales manager said angrily: “I don't know what else I can do to claim my prize. I will not do it again. I can't worry about the stress.
“It's chaotic and I'm concerned about the impact this will have on local communities and charities losing out on funding.”
Allwyn has contacted Mr Crerar and Mr Wilson to notify them.
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It comes as another lotto jackpot winner was left “fuming” after being turned away by the post office when she went to collect her money.
Amelia Barnham, 69, won £800 on a £1 HotPicks ticket, but the Londoner is left with empty pockets a month later.
Allwyn: Britain's new national lottery operator
CAMELOT, who has been in charge since 1994, has been replaced by Allwyn, chosen by the Gaming Commission.
New operator Allwyn changed the procedure for profits between £500 and £50,000 after the Post Office struck a deal with 900 branches last month.
Post offices were the only shops where checks for these amounts could be given to winning punters – but they have now been blocked.
Instead, the operator, which took over from Camelot early last month, insists that winners verify their numbers online or by phone before sending the ticket in the mail for inspection.
Allwyn tells the winners that they want to have tickets sent in for review by the security team.
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