Do You Have an Unclaimed Lottery Win?

You wouldn’t imagine that people would ignore a win on the lottery, would you? Having bought a ticket, you’d want to know if you numbers had come up – and if they had, especially if it was a large win, you’d be very quick to make your claim.

But some people never claim their winnings. There are often prizes in the hundreds of thousands just sitting around the offices of the National Lottery, and in some instances prizes of over a million go unclaimed.

It happens. If you think you might have an unclaimed lottery prize, be it small or large, you need to act quickly, because, unlike other unclaimed funds, there’s a strict time limit about filing a claim. It has to be done within 160 days – that’s six months – of the numbers being drawn.

Why Prizes Go Unclaimed

The main reason people fail to claim their prizes from the lottery is lost tickets. We’ve all done it – bought a ticket, then hunted for it just prior to the number draw, only to discover we can no longer find it. Since in many cases the numbers are picked by the machine, we don’t even know what the numbers are (which, in an odd way, could be a blessing. To know you’d lost the ticket but had the winning numbers would be a kind of torture).

Of course, there are always a few people who do have their tickets but haven’t checked the winning numbers. Sometimes they won’t check for weeks, although it’s to be hoped that they remember to check within the six months allowed for claims.

Claiming a Prize

How you claim a prize depends largely on its size. As long as it falls within the six-month period, these are the methods you’ll need to follow. If the prize is less than £200, you can present your winning ticket and claim your winnings at any Lottery retailer.

With prizes of £75-200, if your ticket’s been validated, you can only claim the prize at the retailer, which might mean a couple of trips if they don’t have the cash on your first visit. If it hasn’t been validated, however, you can go to a different retailer or a Post Office.

The next level is £200-500, and although some retailers will pay that amount, you’ll usually have to take your winning ticket to the Post Office instead to claim your money.

You’d also use the Post Office for prizes up to £50,000, although they’re obviously not going to pay all that out in cash (the maximum cash payout they’ll make is £500, in fact). You’ll need to fill in a claim form before receiving a cheque for the amount, show your ticket (naturally) and proof of identification.

You can also claim prizes between £500 and £50,000 by post directly from the National Lottery, but you’ll need to fill out the claim form and send your winning ticket (make absolutely sure it’s recorded delivery!).

The Big Prizes

Once you’re over £50,000 you’re getting into big money, and that’s reflected in the way it can be claimed. For these you have to go to one of the National Lottery’s Regional Centres and make your claim in person, proving your identity, of course, and filling out the claim form before being paid in cash.

Remember, though, that time is always of the essence with Lottery claims – you only have six months.