Woman who ‘won’ £2million house ‘heartbroken’ after receiving just £5,000
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A woman who thought she had bagged herself a whopping £2million abode has told of her disappointment at only ending up with £5,000 instead.
Schoolteacher Loretta says she fell victim to a “confusing” loophole after she was declared the winner of Nottingham’s Park Estate in a Win My Home competition.
A video has done the rounds of the moment she won the competition, which shows a woman turning up on her doorstep with a bunch of flowers and a bottle of Champagne to tell her what at this point seemed like good news.
READ MORE: Lottery winner's stroke of luck as he scoops £250k the same day he loses job
As reported by Nottinghamshire Live, The woman, without giving clarification of what she had won, says: "You're the winner of our Nottingham prize draw."
But 35-year-old Loretta would later be told she would not be winning a house, but rather £5,000 due to a loophole in the small print of the competition.
In that loophole is a clause that says that if the net sales of £2.5million are not met then the winner of the competition will instead receive 50% of the net proceeds.
But this time around the competition didn’t go to plan and instead the organiser made a loss and opted to give Loretta the £5,000 as a gesture of goodwill.
But despite this, she said she was “heartbroken” following the news that she wasn't going to be getting the house.
She has since spoken to NottinghamshireLive about the let down, saying: "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'."
What made the situation so painful for Loretta was that she entered the competition for the six-bedroom four-story villa through desperation.
"It was heartbreaking because my property at the moment is a death trap, that's why I entered it," she said.
"I entered it thinking this could be a new start, maybe it might happen."
She added: "Even if they said we can't give you the house but here's £50,000, it's something. But £5,000? £5,000 now can't even get you gas and electrics."
A video of the moment she won the award was posted on the Win My Home website with the caption: “Congratulations to our Winner, Loreta 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.”
An email to Loretta from Win My Home said: "Unfortunately, after nearly £200,000 in marketing costs and the issue that we discussed about not being able to process Visa payments for a long time, there was no profit and in fact we made a loss.
"The amount that we have awarded actually came from our own personal pockets because, we wanted to award you something as a goodwill gesture and hoped that it would make a positive difference to your lives."
The Daily Star has contacted Win My House for comment.
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