The Unclaimed Lottery Prizes

Millions of people around the UK play the UK National lotto every week on the off chance that they can secure that life altering jackpot. You would therefore assume that these individuals would be desperate to get hold of the results immediately after the draw has been completed to see if their dreams have come true. You may therefore be quite staggered when I say to you that a sizable sum of prize money never gets claimed.

The UK lottery is frequently sitting on huge quantities of prize money that they are just waiting to be claimed. In just the 5 month period from September 2008 to February 2009 just under £4 million still sits unclaimed by players of just the UK lotto game. These are not just a heap of minor prizes either; there are many exceeding £10,000, a few over £100,000 as well as one prize of £1.5 million.

If you have made the effort to purchase a ticket for the UK lottery, ensure that you check your ticket numbers the minute the draw has taken place. If you are lucky enough to win a prize, claim it as quickly as possible because the UK National lottery rules stipulate that any prize that has not been claimed within six months will no longer be payable.

The principle reason given by lottery players as to why they do not claim their lottery wins is because they have lost their tickets. I’m convinced that a good number of us have lost a lotto ticket along the way and have desperately attempted to recover it in time for the draw but with no luck.

Depending on the amount of your UK National lottery win, there are various ways in which you claim your spoils. If your prize is less than £200, you can pick up your money from any UK lottery retailer in Britain. When your cash sum fall into the category between £200 and £500 some lottery retailers may still pay out a cash sum of this size but for those who don’t you will need to visit a post office to claim your cash prize.

When you have to claim UK lotto prizes falling in the category between £500 and £50,000 again the post office can be used as your port of call. You will need to fill out a claim form, show your lucky lotto ticket as evidence as well as show your proof of identification before being given a cheque for your winnings. Cash prizes of this kind can also be claimed by post from the UK National lottery head quarters. Again you will need to fill out a claim form and send your winning ticket as evidence of your win. If you elect to claim your winnings in this manner, photocopy your lottery ticket for your security and then send the original via recorded delivery.

If you are fortunate enough to be calling in a UK lotto prize of more than £50,000, you have to visit one of the National lottery’s regional centres and request your payout in person.

If you want to steer clear of ever joining the long line of individuals who forfeit their UK National lottery spoils, it would be sensible to set up a lottery ticket subscription with the UK National lottery directly. By doing this, your ticket payments will always be taken on time and you will be advised of any prize money coming your way shortly after each draw. Playing the lottery in this way will make certain that you never fail to claim prize money that is rightfully yours.