A COUPLE who thought they won a £182million EuroMillions jackpot have now been sent a galling message from the lottery.
Students Rachel Kennedy and Liam McCrohan had already begun to plan how to spend their windfall in 2021.
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They even received a message on the UK’s National Lottery app saying they had a “winning match”.
But they were left “absolutely heartbroken” when they called to claim the pot and were told their Direct Debit payment had been declined.
Rachel, who was studying business at Brighton University at the time, didn’t have enough cash in her bank account to pay the £2.50 charge.
Now Camelot has wished the Hertfordshire couple “the best of luck in future draws”, according to the Mirror.
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A spokesman for the company said: “We’re aware of Rachel’s story and hope she gets in early to buy a ticket for the next big draw.”
Rachel previously told the Sun: “I called the number thinking I’d won £182million and they said, ‘Yeah, you’ve got the right numbers but you didn’t have the funds in your account for the payment of the ticket so it didn’t go through’.”
Liam, who was studying economics at the University of Hertfordshire, added: “I was already picturing our dream house and the dream car.
“I was absolutely heartbroken when we heard we hadn’t actually bought the ticket.”
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The couple had played numbers 6, 12, 22, 29, 33, and lucky stars 6 and 11 for five weeks before all seven appeared in the €210million draw.
Rachel added: “We’re not going to keep those numbers now, I’ve already changed them.
“I’ve never won anything before. We’ve just got the worst luck when it comes to stuff like this.”
Other families have struggled amid the aftermath of a lottery win.
A former chef felt he had to flee the UK after being bombarded with requests for hand-outs after scooping £6million.
Another man was devastated after his ex won £14.5million and immediately told him he would not see a penny.
One family netted £61million on the EuroMillions draw – but an ex-boyfriend of the parents’ daughter narrowly missed out on claiming any share.
More tragically, a former baker said winning £9million on the lottery ruined his life – before drinking himself to death.
And another EuroMillions winner followed up scooping £6.5million by splitting from his wife, crashing his Ferrari, being banned from driving and forced to sell his dream home.
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
