A woman who won £60,000 on a Lotto website has spoken out after she said she only received £20,000 of her winnings. Jane Fallon, 62, from Greater Manchester, won the money on website WeLoveLotto on February 2 last year but is still waiting for the remaining two thirds.
WeLoveLotto is a website that lets customers buy lottery tickets to the UK Lotto, EuroMillions, EuroJackpot and lotteries from all around the world. The website boasts of its "Guaranteed 100% Payout Policy", but that was little help to Jane when she won £60,000 last year, according to the Mirror.
Jane, who lives in Greater Manchester, won the cash by picking four EuroMillions HotPick numbers and then doubling up - meaning she technically won £30,000 twice. At the time, she said WeLoveLotto congratulated her and said she had broken their record for the largest win.
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She said: "It was all smiles and congratulations the next day, they said 'you're our biggest winner'." Then, the firm said they were waiting for funds to clear from the National Lottery before paying out.
Four weeks later, Jane got £1,000. Another two weeks later she got another £1,000, then another £18,000 around ten days after that. But then the payments stopped completely.
Jane and her family chased the matter several times with WeLoveLotto and other gambling bodies, but over a year later she is still waiting to get her remaining £40,000. Now she is speaking out about her experience as a warning to others.
"I am sick of them. My aim is to warn people about that Lotto website." she said. "I've phoned Action Fraud and the Gambling Commission but have had no help."
Before she won the £60,000, Jane was claiming Personal Independence Payments and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Because old-style ESA is a means-tested benefit, Jane knew if she had savings of more than £16,000 she could not claim it.
As soon as Jane knew she won she called the Department of Work and Pensions to inform them, and a week later her ESA was stopped. But when her level of savings dipped back below £16,000, she had to start her claim all over again.
"I got back in contact and was able to get benefits again, though I had to send in bank statements," she said.
WeLoveLotto has a TrustPilot score of 3.3 stars out of 5. WeLoveLotto has been approached for comment multiple times by The Mirror.
