Lotto offer is a clear bet – to be a loser
The Readers’ Champion Probes a world of scams and scandals
G. C. writes: I am sending you a mailing I have just received offering free entries into the National Lottery. I would like you to clarify if it is a scam. THE mailshot comes from a recently formed firm called Yourlotto service UK Ltd. On the face of it, this is a remarkable offer.
Alice Green, who is said to be the company’s head of customer service, writes: ‘We are giving you ten free National Lottery lines as part of an exclusive syndicate.’
All you have to do to claim your free lines is call Green and register. What the mailshot does not explain is that to register you must give your name, address, date of birth, gender, phone number and credit or debit card number or bank account details. Also, according to Your lotto service’ s terms and conditions ,‘ such other information and documentation (such as forms of identification) as we may request’.
After all this, the mailshot does not actually say how many people will be in the free syndicate along with you, queuing up to share any prize that the ten lines might win.
Of course, nothing is for nothing. The mailshot offer is just a way to get you to pay for lottery entries. The letter does not explain this, but the cost is £6 per draw and since there are National Lottery draws on Wednesday and Saturday that means £12 a week.
What you get is unclear. Yourlottoservice says: ‘We may determine that syndicates may involve different numbers of members.’
It is also unclear how the company expects to make a profit. It can only be slicing and dicing lottery entries in such a way that customers end up paying more than the face value of a ticket. Yourlot- toservice is owned by a company based in Germany and has just one director, Sandra Britta Poepping, who lives in Germany. She was not available when I tried to speak to her a few days ago.
That is a shame as there is quite a large cloud hanging over her business in the shape of Camelot, the company that actually runs the National Lottery. It told me: ‘Under the rules governing National Lot- tery games, Camelot is not liable to pay out on a ticket that it knows or suspects has been resold or otherwise transferred by way of trade.’
That is right – buy a ticket from anyone other than Camelot itself or an authorised ticket seller, such as your local newsagent, and there is no guarantee you will get a prize – even if your ticket has all the lucky numbers.
Workplace syndicates and the like are fine. Nobody is aiming to make a profit by reselling tickets at more than their face value. But commercial syndicates are prohibited.
Just imagine how you would feel if you saw your numbers come up and you counted on a slice of the jackpot, only to be turned down because Camelot spots that Yourlottos ervice is involved.