Would-be winner is "absolutely heartbroken" over simple mistake
By Kate Northrop
Two students from the UK were left devastated after a payment error caused them to lose out on a £182 million (US$254 million) EuroMillions jackpot.
The couple experienced an emotional rollercoaster ride of a lifetime when they saw their usual numbers turn up in the EuroMillions drawing on Fri., Feb. 26. Their dreams of reaching multi-millionaire status were suddenly quashed when they discovered that lack of funds in their bank account prevented them from claiming the enormous prize.
Rachel Kennedy, 19, and her boyfriend Liam McCrohan, 21, played their usual numbers — 6, 12, 22, 29, and 33, with Lucky Stars 6 and 11 — for the EuroMillions drawing on Friday, or so they thought. For the last five weeks, Kennedy had automatic payments set up with her account to buy one EuroMillions ticket with those numbers for every drawing.
As luck would have it, the payment for the ticket did not go through due to insufficient funds in her account the one time their numbers came through in a drawing.
However, the Brighton University student was greeted with a notification on the EuroMillions app that told her a different story, adding to the eventual confusion and heartbreak.
"I went on the app and it said 'Winning Match' and thought, 'Oh my god, I've won," she told The Sun. "So I called my boyfriend Liam and my mum into the room, and they couldn't believe it either, so I was like, 'Oh my god, I need to call [the Lottery]."
Kennedy phoned the Lottery under the impression that she had won a lifechanging jackpot, but they informed her that she did not actually have the funds in her account to process a payment for the ticket.
"I was on top of the world when I thought I had won, but when I found out I hadn't, Liam was actually more upset than I was," she continued.
McCrohan, an economics student, was already breaking down the winnings and figuring out how the two of them would spend the money before he even heard the tragic news. He took to social media to broadcast his disbelief.
"When your Mrs. decides to not play the EuroMillions... and all 7 of her usual numbers come up," he posted on Twitter with a screenshot of their online ticket that was never truly purchased.
According to McCrohan, he originally posted the screenshot for his following of about 120 users to see, but his story quickly garnered more attention and amassed over 31,000 likes.
"I was too embarrassed to post anything about it," Kennedy admitted.
Kennedy was also planning in her head how she would spend the prize and said that she could picture the perfect dream house and car before realizing that it was not meant to be.
Having originally picked out that particular set of numbers using a random number generator, she has since vowed to never use them again, dubbing them "unlucky." It was one of the two sets of numbers she would use regularly, the other being family birthdays.
"I've never won anything before," Kennedy confessed. "We've just got the worst luck when it comes to stuff like this."
The EuroMillions jackpot for the Fri., Feb. 26 drawing was claimed by a winner in Switzerland.
I like subscriptions but would still check on it the day before it is to be played.
we don't have subscription in TX
That was heartbreaking
Almost @ a loss for words on this one. Gave me a sick sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
She had to know her account was too low to pay for the ticket that drawing but just was too lazy or figured it will never come in anyway so I will wait to deposit money into my account. She called because maybe just maybe it went through but i think she had a sneaking suspicion it didn't. Always buy your tickets physically if possible. Subscriptions have other downsides like being automatically in every drawing and tax liability you can't deflect.
Que Sera Sera.
The Swiss winner must be happy, not having to share the jackpot.
It is sad that Rachel didn't panhandle, sign up with Uber Eats, knock on a few doors to get job of shoveling someone's driveway, or go to Liam to ask for a loan for her checking account when balance fell below $100 or so!
What a brain breaker, I think Euromillions should update their subscription system to instead send a message INDICATING 'not enough money in your account! please deposit more if you want to play today.'
If it were me, after receiving those encouraging emails from the lottery, then the next day finding out the opposite, I probably would have died rather quickly from an apoplexy!
That really sucks! They must be the sickest people in all of the UK right now! Literally a once in a lifetime just slipped right before their hands. The good news is they are really young folks so they could win again in the future. If they knew there wasn't enough money in their subscription I'm sure they could have scrapped up enough money to buy a ticket from a retailer.
The UK has a terrific online subscription service and subscriber can pay monthly by direct debit. Small prizes are also credited to your bank account. Players receive an email from the Camelot, the company that runs the UK National Lottery, if a prize is won.
L2.50 is what one ticket costs. Just now a Lb is worth $1.40. Just was reading about Direct Debit for playing their lotteries in the UK.
It was kind of weird reading that calls to the lottery cost the same as if you called 01 or 02!
Anything over L50K you have to claim in person.
Don't show your ignorance- take out that thing called a dictionary & look up the word lunkheads.
Hopefully, this avoidable incident taught Ms Kennedy about finances and responsibility.
Sometimes, you can't just fix "gormless" but you can smile at it.
Well if you're psychic like they are just pick new winning numbers again...duh! Some players are just dumb.
I wouldn't be able to go on after a loss like this.
Confused.
On the Daily Mail newspaper online, it says the young lady (Rachel) did not play her weekly numbers for that draw -- and not that she played, won but could not collect the jackpot prize due to insufficient funds.