A British woman found herself in a frustrating predicament after being informed she had won the top prize in a competition she entered, only to discover that she wouldn’t be receiving the grand prize after all.
35-year-old Loretta Buchanan, who recently tied the knot, was thrilled at the possibility of moving into a luxurious million-dollar home with her husband, but ended up receiving a cash prize instead.
The school teacher from Radford, Nottingham, has openly criticized the firm Win My Home for organizing a raffle for a $3.3 million mansion.
After being visited by the competition organizers and told she was the winner, Loretta was handed only $6,300 due to an unfortunate loophole in the competition rules.
Speaking to the Mail Online, Loretta expressed her disappointment and labeled the raffle as a scam.
She stated: “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.”
Win My Home had initially posted a congratulatory video of Loretta on its website, which has since been removed.
In the video, they wrote: “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 video, just under a minute long, depicted a woman arriving at Loretta’s home with a bouquet of flowers, announcing: “You’re the winner of our Nottingham prize draw.”
The frustration is heightened by the fact that Loretta was led to believe she had actually won the house.
Recalling the moment she was informed of her win, Loretta described: “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 £5,000. I was like ‘right, thanks’ and they said ‘unfortunately because we didn’t raise enough money I can’t give you the house’.”
Rather than receiving the keys to the opulent property, Loretta was informed that Win My Home could directly transfer the much smaller sum to her bank account.