Woman who bagged £1m lotto prize dumped boyfriend weeks later 'out of the blue' - but now he wants 'his' share
20 February 2024, 15:12 | Updated: 20 February 2024, 15:39
A woman who won £1m on a lottery scratchcard before dumping her boyfriend weeks later has been left in a state of 'misery' - as her ex plots how to claim what he believes is his share of the prize pot.
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Former couple Charlotte Cox, 37, and her ex-partner, Michael Cartlidge, from Spalding, Lincolnshire, are in a bitter dispute over who can lay claim to the life-changing £1million pay out.
Charlotte dumped Michael 'out of the blue' weeks after winning the £1m sum. Now Michael, 39, is attempting to claim his share, even considering legal action, saying that it was his idea to buy the scratch card and that he tried to send Charlotte the money for it.
However, the mother of one, who paid for and scratched the card, says she is the sole winner.
Camelot initially said they should split the money, but new lottery owners Allwyn made a U-turn weeks later and ruled in Charlotte’s favour.
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The couple bought a few £5 scratchcards from a local branch of Nisa one Friday evening a few months into their relationship.
Michael was seen on CCTV sending money to Charlotte’s account to pay for them. However due to poor signal, the transfer didn’t go through until later on and Charlotte paid for the cards herself.
Later that night they realised they had won £1m on one of the Dice Towers cards.
But weeks after the win Michael received a message from Charlotte's friend saying he had to move out.
Charlotte told The Sun: “I bought the ticket. He didn’t transfer me the money.
“It is all rubbish, I want nothing to do with it.”
Michael has said he will take legal action if he doesn’t get what he thinks is his share of the money. He believes he is entitled to half the prize.
On January 25, a Camelot official sent a message to the pair which read: “Hi both, it’s gone back to the legal team for the moment to decide what we need to draft for you to sign regarding the sharing of the prize if that is what you’ve both agreed.
“This should at least save you having to pay a solicitor. We’re nearly there for you.”
However, on February 10, new owner Allwyn sent Michael a message stating he was not an eligible winner.
An Allwyn official stated only the name written on the back of the ticket can claim the prize.
A spokesman said: “The National Lottery Rules for Scratchcard Games make clear that only one person can be the owner of a ticket and that only the person whose name and address is written on the back of a winning scratchcard can claim a prize.
"This means that a prize can only be paid to one person and this is always communicated clearly to prize claimants.
“Where a claimant agrees to share a prize with other parties (for example, players in a syndicate) after the prize has been paid, we always recommend that a legal agreement is drawn up between the interested parties.
“If there is no agreement in place, any dispute between the parties needs to be resolved between themselves.”
