A woman won a $3.3 million house in a lottery, but due to a legal loophole, she only received $6,300 instead of the prize property.
A British woman named Loretta Buchanan recently faced a disappointing situation after entering a lottery for a luxurious home.
The prize was a stunning mansion valued at $3.3 million.
However, instead of receiving the keys to her new home, Loretta was given a much smaller cash amount of $6,300 due to a loophole in the lottery rules.
Lottery winner devastated after winning $3,3M house to only get $6,300 over loophole
Loretta, a 35-year-old school teacher from Nottingham, was thrilled when she learned she had won.
She had just recently married and looked forward to starting her new life with her husband in the beautiful house.
The couple had high hopes of moving into their dream home and beginning their journey together.
When representatives from the company Win My Home arrived at her house to deliver the news, Loretta expected to receive the keys to the mansion.
Instead, they informed her that the lottery had not raised enough funds to support the prize.
This meant she could not claim the house as her win.
Instead, they offered her a cash prize that was far less than she anticipated.
The woman’s reaction
Understandably, Loretta felt frustrated and let down by the situation.
She 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?
“This was going to be the new and exciting start to our married future, but it has taken it away from us.”
Her disappointment was compounded by the fact that she had been excitedly looking forward to this new chapter in her life.
Loretta even described the competition as a scam, questioning whether she was ever truly eligible to win the house.
She stated, “This was going to be the new and exciting start to our married future, but it has taken it away from us.”
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 $6,300.
I was like ‘Right, thanks’ and they said ‘unfortunately because we didn’t raise enough money I can’t give you the house’.”
The lottery company’s response
Win My Home had posted a congratulatory video featuring Loretta on their website.
In the video, they celebrated her win and shared their best wishes for her and her husband.
They captioned the video: “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.”
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.”
However, this video was later removed after the news of the cash prize emerged.
During her interaction with the company, Loretta learned that while she had technically won a prize, the amount was substantially lower than expected.
She was told that due to insufficient ticket sales, the company could not provide her with the mansion.
Instead of handing her the keys, they offered to transfer the cash prize directly to her bank account.
Social media reactions
The news of Loretta’s experience has sparked discussions within the community.
Many people sympathize with her disappointment, while others warn about the risks involved in lottery competitions.
Some have shared similar stories of unmet expectations after entering raffles or contests.
That is just messed up she deserves her full winnings, the second user wrote.