Lotto mystery as Camelot REFUSES to pay out man’s £6.5million jackpot despite him having the winning ticket

A MAN has claimed Camelot REFUSED to pay out his £6.5MILLION jackpot – despite him having the winning ticket.

Peter Rhodes claims he was denied his winnings – and was instead mysteriously told the amount had already been claimed.

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The operator of The National Lottery, Camelot, originally confirmed Peter’s ticket was worth £6.5million, but its fraud team contacted him just hours later to snatch back the good news.

The 60-year-old believes a shopkeeper stole his jackpot, when he took his ticket to a shop in London in October 2019.

Peter told The Mirror: “When I first went in and handed it over the shopkeeper put it in the machine and it made a noise, meaning it was a winning ticket of some sort.

“I didn’t know how much was on it and he then refused to give me my ticket. I asked for my ticket back and he took three steps to the right and put it under the counter.

“I leaned over and saw he had about 80 tickets under the counter. He picked one up and paid me something like £11.40.

“He tried to say it was my ticket and it wasn’t. I know it wasn’t because I folded mine twice and put it in my wallet and this one was flat.”

Yet the shop where Peter cashed in his ticket, has not made a claim.

Even stranger, Camelot has evidence that Peter himself bought the ticket.

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He said: “I spoke with someone in operations who went out of their way to find an electronic footprint to prove I had bought the ticket.

“I don’t buy tickets every week, I only ever bought tickets when it was a large jackpot.

“I had the bank print off the statement and she found the ticket through that – and that is when I learned it was a £6.5million ticket.

“Then I got a call from their fraud department saying they are shutting down the case because they won’t pay out twice.”

Peter is determined to recover his money.

He has contacted the police and hired a solicitor to hold National Lottery accountable in court.

Peter said: “It’s a life-changing amount of money. They haven’t stolen from me. They stole my kid’s futures. That money was going to be for them.

“I turned 60 a couple of weeks ago and I never asked anything from anyone.”

He added: “I was so frustrated because it was the start of lockdown and I went to the police and they told me it is a civil matter.

“If National Lottery really cared about changing people’s lives – then they need to sit up and listen. They would have more respect if they came out and help shut down shopkeepers who do this.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “In May 2021 police received a report of fraud relating to a lottery ticket purchased in October 2019.

“This was initially dealt with as a civil matter. In September 2021, following further contact from the complainant, officers liaised with Camelot who confirmed there was no evidence that any fraud had been committed.

“As a result, the case has been closed – should any further information come to light then this decision can be re-assessed.”

A Camelot spokesperson also told The Mirror: “While we can’t comment on the specifics of this case, we’re aware that Mr Rhodes has now instructed solicitors and we’ll be responding fully to his solicitors in due course.”

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk