We were planning to buy a house after winning £1 million but now I get nothing
A MAN planned to buy a three-bedroom house after winning £1million on the Lotto with his girlfriend, but now he gets nothing.
Michael Cartlidge, 39, won the life-changing jackpot with his then partner Charlotte Cox, 37, when they bought the ticket on a whim from their local shop in Spalding, Lincs.
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The couple, who had only been dating for three months when they won, have since fallen out after Charlotte walked out and took the money with her.
Charlotte paid for the card and scratched it, but Michael claims he suggested the idea and tried to wire her money at the store to cover the purchase.
He says mother-of-one Charlotte initially decided to split the money but left him a few weeks later, before claiming to be the sole winner.
Lottery chiefs Camelot launched an investigation – including reviewing CCTV footage from the store – and had indicated to Michael that the £1million would be split.
But it is understood that new lottery owners Allwyn have now ruled that Charlotte is the rightful claimant.
Security engineer Michael, who claims he is still entitled to half the money, said they had made plans on how to spend their winnings and wanted a house.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, he said: “Everything went well, we had put Charlotte's name on the back of the card and it would be in her name but on a joint account.
“We were talking about a new house, maybe a three-bedroom detached house.
“And she wanted a new car, nothing fancy, a Kia or something nice.”
The father-of-one added: “I'm in shock. I can openly admit that we wouldn't have gotten that ticket without Charlotte, but neither would she without me.”
At the time of their win, Michael was living at Charlotte's house and they went to their local Lidl to buy duck pancakes for dinner.
He then claims he suggested going to the Nisa next door to buy some £5 scratch cards.
Michael said: 'She said she didn't have any money to spend on scratch cards but I said I would transfer the money to her.
“We were in the store and I went on my Halifax app because I didn't have my debit card.
“I started the transfer, I held it up to show her. You can see me doing this at Camelot's CCTV shop.
“The signal was bad so it didn't get through to the store at that time, it was just transferring. The small loading circle spun around.
“She bought the two tickets on her card and when we got home she scratched them open.”
To their surprise, one of the Dice Towers scratch cards won them the £1 million jackpot. Michael said: “We couldn't believe it. We were in a state of shock. It was really crazy.
“I opened my app about 40 minutes later and it pinged when the transfer was complete.”
The jubilant duo spent the evening taking photos of the winning card, including one of Michael holding it.
The next day they went to the store to verify the winnings and were given a pink card that read: “Tell player to contact Lottery Line.”
CAMELOT CHECK STORE CCTV
The father continued: “After speaking with Camelot, we were told that we had to set up private banking.
“We went to NatWest in Spalding and had a meeting with them on Monday. It was just over three weeks after we won.”
However, Michael claimed he was then stunned when Charlotte asked him to leave “out of the blue” through a friend.
So he did and took the winning card with him.
Michael said: “On Monday morning she [Charlotte] left the house and never came back.
'I got a call from my girlfriend saying she had reached out and wanted me to leave the house.
“From that point on, things started to get weird. I knew she was up to something. I thought, 'Oh here we go'.
“She left the scratch card at home, so I took it and went to stay with my mother.
“Then she came home and realized I had the ticket and Camelot needed it.
“It was then that the people involved with our victory over Camelot realized there was a problem.
“I contacted the two women involved in our victory and I gave them the card.”
Michael says he turned it over to Camelot staff on November 21st.
A representative then traveled to Lincolnshire to interview the couple separately about the dispute.
Michael said: “They have taken the CCTV footage from the store where you can clearly see me showing the screen of my phone to Charlotte and the woman behind the till to show that the app is active and money is being transferred .
“They also interviewed the woman in the store and she supported it.
“As far as I knew, after that it was agreed that we would split it.
“Camelot had the ticket back and it was just a matter of paperwork.”
You can't believe a word that man says. This has ruined the last three months for her and her family
A spring close to Charlotte
Michael said he spent Christmas Eve at Charlotte's home, dressed as Santa Claus for her child, and believed the couple had put the scratch card dispute behind them.
On January 25, a Camelot official sent a message to both Charlotte and Michael.
It read: “Hello both, we have currently gone back to the legal team to decide what we should draft for you to sign in regards to sharing the prize, if that is something you have both agreed to.
“This should at least save you from paying a lawyer. We're almost there for you.”
But on February 10, less than two weeks after new owner Allwyn took over the running of the National Lottery, Michael received a letter saying he was not entitled to a cent.
He said: 'I'm willing to fight to make sure I get paid what I deserve.
“Especially after Camelot agreed to this. Now that the new owner has taken over, they have made a complete turnaround.”
However, Charlotte told The Sun: “I bought the ticket. He didn't transfer the money to me.
“It's all nonsense, I don't want anything to do with it.”
A close source of hers added: “You can't believe a word a man says. This has ruined the last three months for her and her family.
'It has caused nothing but unrest throughout the Christmas period.
'Mike has no right to this money. He's not a nice person. Charlotte won, she paid for the ticket and scratched the ticket.
“The case is closed.”
Last night Allwyn said only the name written on the back of the ticket can claim the prize.
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