Finders must pay back lottery winnings
Friday 24 July 2009
Latest in Home News
On Facebook
From the blogs
HIV orphans in Thailand prepare for the future
In Baan Gerda, a community for HIV infected or affected youngsters in Northern Thailand, a group of ...
Online House Hunter: England’s most romantic places
Our Online House Hunter goes in search of romance this Valentine's Day...
Roy Hodgson for England: A club of one
To argue against Harry Redknapp for England is akin to arguing in favour of bankers bonuses. While s...
Time for a reality check on the Sri Lankan civil war
Sri Lanka, much like Britain, has side-lined accountability long enough.
A couple who found a winning lottery ticket and cashed it in have been ordered by a court today to pay back half of the prize money to the woman who bought it.
Dorothy McDonagh, 61, dropped the £1 daily play ticket on the floor of her local Co-op store in Swindon on 20 October last year.
Michael and Amanda Stacey found the ticket, cashed it and then spent half of the winning £30,000 prize money on clearing their debts.
The couple were each given an 11-month suspended sentence for fraud in April this year.
Today a judge at Swindon Crown Court ordered Mr Stacey, 43, to pay Mrs McDonagh £15,111 - the £111 being interest on the payment.
Mrs Stacey, 34, was ordered to pay a nominal £5 compensation.
Mrs McDonagh was able to prove to lottery firm Camelot that she had bought the winning ticket because she had kept the receipt.
She purchased four £1 lines on the Daily Play game but realised her ticket was missing later that evening when her numbers matched the top prize.
Camelot checked computer records and found the £30,000 prize had been claimed at a Post Office.
Police froze the remaining £15,000 and brought charges against the couple who told police they didn't realise they were committing a crime and put the find down to luck.
The Staceys admitted charges of making a false representation, and Amanda Stacey also admitted theft.
Speaking outside court after the proceeds of crime act hearing today, Mrs McDonagh told the BBC: "This has gone on for nine months now and this is not the final episode.
"I will not elaborate on the pursuance of the matter with Camelot for legal reasons.
"I am infuriated and deeply offended by their negligence.
"Who would have believed that winning the lottery could cause so much hassle and for so long."
Camelot said today they were sympathetic to Mrs McDonagh's situation but said they had had no reason to suspect that Mr and Mrs Stacey were lying.
Spokesman Ben Rosier said: "Camelot is obliged to pay a prize to the person whose name appears on the back of a ticket and who has satisfied the identification process.
"At the time of the payment of the prize in question, Camelot had no reason to suspect the identity of the individual claiming the prize, nor any reason to suspect that the ticket was either lost or stolen, given that no lost or stolen ticket claim had been received.
"Camelot has followed the rules and has provided full details to the police to enable them to investigate.
"While we are sympathetic to the situation, Camelot cannot be held responsible for the failure to follow the advice we offer to players or people who find tickets - and would refute any suggestion of negligence.
"Any dispute resulting from the claimant's failure to disclose that a ticket was an item of lost property is a matter between the claimant and the original ticket-holders."
He added there were steps that lottery players should take to ensure they protect their potential payments.
He said: "We urge National Lottery players to write their name and address in the space provided on the back of the ticket - this ensures that the player can be quickly identified as the rightful owner.
"Claimants are required to provide two separate forms of identification, and to complete and sign a claim form.
"By following this procedure, the claimant is declaring that they are the legitimate prize claimant."
Mr Rosier said that if anyone should find a winning lottery ticket they should declare that they did not buy it to Camelot.
"To legitimise their claim to a 'found' ticket, it is clearly in the interests of the finder to disclose that they are making a claim on a found ticket," he said.
"If a member of the public finds a winning ticket which they have not been able to return to its owner, and which is within the 180-day claim deadline, they should submit it to Camelot's Prize Payout department, setting out, in writing, the circumstances of the find and the steps they took to reunite the ticket with its rightful owner.
"If, having lodged the ticket with us, no corresponding prize claim or lost ticket notice has been received, the prize may be paid to the finder at Camelot's discretion after the expiry of the 180-day claim deadline."
- 1 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 2 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 3 Now The Sun tries to call in its favours from Downing Street
- 4 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 5 Israel blames Iran for embassy bomb attacks
- 6 Amanda Knox set to break her silence – and pocket a fortune from book deal
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 1 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 2 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 3 Kate Allen: It's time for America to put an end to this shameful scandal
- 4 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 5 Now The Sun tries to call in its favours from Downing Street
- 6 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 8 Mona Lisa's 'twin sister' is discovered – 500 years late
- 9 Rhodri Marsden: What we like and what we don't like are often closer than you'd think
- 10 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
Apple admits it has a human rights problem
James Lawton: AVB looks all at sea
Procrastination: Not now – I'm busy
Silent revolution at the Baftas
The diva who had – and lost – it all




Comments