A couple are at war over a £1million scratchcard jackpot after supposedly buying the ticket ‘together’ before splitting up weeks later.
Michael Cartlidge, 39, says he and former girlfriend Charlotte Cox, 37, purchased the Lotto card together at a shop in Spalding, Lincolnshire.
But after breaking up with him weeks later, Ms Cox has now been deemed the sole winner by lottery chiefs.
Details of What Happened
Mr Cartlidge admits that Ms Cox paid for and scratched the ticket. But he claims that he suggested the idea to buy one and attempted to transfer her cash in the shop to cover the purchase.
He says that the mother-of-one initially agreed to share the cash, but after walking out on him weeks later, claimed to be the sole winner.
A source told The Sun: ‘£1million has never brought such misery.’
Investigation
Lottery chiefs Camelot previously launched an investigation — which included viewing CCTV footage from the shop – and had indicated to Mr Cartlidge that the money would be split, he says.
But it is understood new Lottery owners Allwyn have now ruled that Ms Cox is the rightful claimant.
As it is
Security engineer Mr Cartlidge, maintains he has a right to half the cash and is considering launching legal action.
‘I am in shock. I can openly admit that we wouldn’t have got that ticket without Charlotte, but she wouldn’t have got it without me either’, he told the publication.
‘I know it was her bank account that paid for it, but it should go 50-50 morally’, he added.
Cox is Refusing
Ms Cox hit back at the ‘rubbish’ claims last night, with a source saying her former partner had ‘no right’ to the jackpot.
The couple had been together for three months before the lotto drama started.
The Night of the Win
On the night of the win, Mr Cartlidge had been living at Ms Cox’s house as they decided to pop to their local Lidl to buy duck pancakes for dinner.
He then claims they suggested to go to the Nisa nextdoor to buy a couple of £5 scratchcards.
According to Mr Cartlidge, his former partner had told her she didn’t have the money to pay for it so he was getting his bank app up to make the transfer.
The father-of-one said: ‘I started the transfer, I held it up to show her. You can see me doing this on the shop CCTV, which Camelot has.
‘The signal was bad so it didn’t go through at the time in the shop, it was just in the process of transferring. The little loading circle was going round. She bought the two tickets on her card and when we got home she scratched it.’
To their amazement one of the scratchcards landed them the £1million jackpot.
40 minutes later, Mr Cartlidge’s transfer went through.
They Were Happy at The Beginning
The couple celebrated their win with a trip to the seaside. They had multiple plans in the works such as buying a house together and purchasing a car.
The ticket was put in Ms Cox’s name, but said the money was due to go into a joint account.
The Call Cartlidge Received
But three weeks later, ‘out of the blue’, Mr Cartlidge received a call via one of her friends telling him to leave the house.
So he did – and took the winning card with him.
He told the publication that things started to get ‘fishy’ and felt she was ‘up to something’.
So he decided to take the scratchcard and go to stay at his mother’s house.
Upon returning home, Ms Cox realised the card had been taken and got in touch with Camelot to get help with the situation.
Following some mediation, in which representatives from Camelot travelled to Lincolnshire to interview the pair separately about the dispute, they were able to get the ticket back.
He Thought They Were Good
Mr Cartlidge said that he spent Christmas Eve at Ms Cox’s house dressed up as Father Christmas, believing the pair had put the dispute behind them.
And on January 25, a Camelot official sent a message to the former couple saying that the legal team were still deciding what to do but that a draft was being prepared regarding the sharing of the prize.
Mr. Cartlidge is Refusing as Well
But on February 10, less than two weeks since new owner Allwyn took over the running of the National Lottery, Mr Cartlidge was sent a letter saying he was not entitled to any money.
He now insists he is ‘ready to fight’.
But Ms Cox holds strong that his case is ‘rubbish’, with a friend of hers telling The Sun: ‘You can’t believe a word that man says.’
According to Allwyn’s rules, only the name written on the back of the ticket can claim the prize.
