The woman who won a £2 million house in a lottery got £5k instead due to a 'confusing loophole' has slammed the competition as a ‘scam’.
Newlywed school teacher Loretta Buchanan, 35, from Radford, Nottingham has criticised the firm Win My Home that organised a raffle for a £2 million mansion, as she won the competition but was given just £5,000 instead of the massive house.
In an interview with MailOnline from her council flat in Nottingham, Loretta said: “I was promised a new home, but I got the booby prize. I won the property fair and square, but I’ve been badly let down. I am devastated.
“It feels to me that this contest is a scam. I wonder if I was ever going to win that house?
Advert
“This was going to be the new and exciting start to our married future, but it has taken it away from us.”
Win My Home posted the congratulatory video of Loretta on its website - which has since been taken down - with the caption: "Congratulations to our Winner, Loretta from Nottingham!”
"Newly married of 2.5 months, she and her husband have been looking to buy their first home together!
"We’re so happy for you both and wish you all the best for your next chapter."
Advert
The clip, just under a minute long, shows a woman approach Loretta's home with a bouquet of flowers before announcing: "You're the winner of our Nottingham prize draw."
Recalling the moment she was told about her win, Loretta explained: "Two people came and they said 'yes you've won' and I was like 'yes, where are my keys?'
"And they told me I hadn't won the house but I had won a grand prize of £5,000. I was like 'right, thanks' and they said 'unfortunately because we didn't raise enough money I can't give you the house'."
Advert
Instead of handing her the keys to the luxury estate, Loretta was apparently told Win My Home could transfer the significantly lower sum straight to her bank account.
Emails between Loretta and Win My Home allegedly see the latter stating the terms of conditions are 'very explicit', and that any winner would receive just a percentage of the net profit if enough money was not raised.
The messages read: "Unfortunately, after nearly £200,000 in marketing costs and the issue that we discussed about not being able to process Visa payments for a long time, there was no profit and in fact we made a loss.
"The amount that we have awarded actually came from our own personal pockets because, we wanted to award you something as a goodwill gesture and hoped that it would make a positive difference to your lives.
Advert
"The alternative was awarding nothing which we would obviously not have felt great about."
LADbible reached out to Win My Home for comment.
Gregory Robinson