Unclaimed UK National Lottery Prizes

Many millions of people all over Britain play the UK National lottery each week in the hope that they can scoop that life altering jackpot. You would therefore imagine that these individuals would be in a hurry to get hold of the results immediately after the draw has taken place to see if their dreams have come true. You may then be rather amazed when I say to you that a considerable sum of prize money never gets claimed.

The UK National lottery is regularly storing huge quantities of lottery cash that they are just waiting to be claimed. In only the five 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 mass of minor prizes either; there are many exceeding £10,000, a handful of more than £100,000 as well as one prize of £1.5 million.

If you have made the effort to play the UK National lottery, ensure that you check your ticket numbers the minute the draw has been completed. If you are fortunate enough to secure a cash 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 be distributed among charitable organisations.

The principle reason given by lottery players as to why they do not claim their lotto wins is because they have lost their tickets. I’m certain that most of us have lost a lotto ticket along the way and have desperately attempted to locate it in time for the draw but with little luck.

Depending on the amount of your UK National lottery win, there are several ways in which you claim your spoils. If your prize is less than £200, you can claim your cash from any UK National lottery retailer in the Britain. When your cash sum falls between £200 and £500 some lotto retailers may still pay out this sum but for those who decide against this you will need to make a trip to the post office to claim your prize.

When claiming UK National lottery prizes falling in the category between £500 and £50,000 again the post office is where you must go to pick up your prize. You will be required to fill out a claim form, provide your winning lottery ticket as evidence as well as show proof of identification before being presented with a cheque for your prize. Cash prizes of this size can also be claimed by mail from the UK National lottery head quarters. Again you will be required to complete a claim form and post your winning ticket as evidence of your win. If you prefer to pick up your winnings in this way, be sure to make a copy of your lottery ticket for your security and then post the original via recorded delivery.

When you are lucky enough to be requesting a UK National lottery prize of more than £50,000, you have to visit one of the National lottery’s regional centres and make your claim in person.

If you want to keep away from ever joining the list of people missing out on claiming their UK National lottery spoils, it would be wise to set up an online subscription plan with the UK National lottery directly. By doing this, your lotto ticket payment will always be taken on time and you will be notified of any prizes coming your way a short time after the draw has been made. Playing the lottery in this way will ensure that you always end up with lottery cash that is rightfully yours.