I won lotto jackpot but was almost left with nothing – I had to fight for my winnings & thought I’d done something wrong

A PUNTER who won a lotto jackpot was almost left with nothing – saying he thought he’d done something wrong.

Graham Crerar, 64, from Notting Hill in west London, has spent five weeks chasing the £800 prize.

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The carpenter matched three numbers in the National Lottery draw on February 7.

He is one of a number of players who have struggled to claim winnings from new Lotto operator Allwyn.

Graham told The Sun: “They are just dragging their heels and it has made me feel like I’ve done something wrong.

“They don’t know what they’re doing and are acting really unprofessionally.

“Never mind Allwyn, they should be called No-win.”

Another winner also spent weeks chasing his £800 prize from a HotPicks ticket.

Paul Simpson, 69, was eventually sent a cheque – but it bounced at the bank.

TSB told him: “This cheque wasn’t paid because of suspected fraud/counterfeit cheque within the clearing cycle.”

Mr Simpson, and wife Pam, 71, matched three numbers in the January 31 draw

The former government worker tried to claim at a Post Office but was told to contact Allwyn.

After hours of calls and emails, he was sent the dodgy cheque — and was advised to ask for a new one or a bank transfer.

Eventually, having threatened a small claims court action, he was paid — more than a month after his win.

Mr Simpson, from Leicester, said: “I felt like a criminal. But their procedures are chaotic and feel like a con.

“I won’t ever play that game again. If you win it’s like they want to wear you down so you just give up or lose your ticket.”

Peter Wilson, 70, is also waiting for an £800 prize payout, six weeks after his numbers came up.

The retired sales manager, married to Yvonne, 68, and from Nuneaton, Warks, said: “I don’t know what else I can do to claim my prize. I won’t be doing it any more. I can’t be bothered with the stress.

“It is chaotic and I am worried about the impact it will have on local communities, as well as charities missing out on money.”

We told last week how Amelia Barnham, 69, of Hammersmith, West London, had an investigator sent to her house by Allwyn because she had won several times in the past.

Allwyn replaced Camelot as the National Lottery operator on February 1.

It has changed payout rules so prizes between £500 and £50,000 can no longer be collected from Post Offices.

Sources said that had led to early “teething problems”.

Allwyn said: “This is a brand new claims process following the Post Office’s decision to no longer pay National Lottery retail prizes between £500.01 and £50,000.

“The time the process takes will vary depending on whether we need any further information from the player in order to process their claim and how long it takes for us to receive the ticket or scratchcard from the player.

“As people are still unfamiliar with the new process, we’re also experiencing a high volume of players contacting us.

“We’re very sorry for any delays this is causing and have increased the number of colleagues to assist players with their claims, which is helping them get their prizes more quickly.”

Allwyn has contacted Mr Crerar and Mr Wilson to update them.

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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk