Boyfriend demanding half £1m lotto prize after breakup is 'entitled to his share', says shop worker who sold scratchcard

21 February 2024, 07:25

Charlotte Cox and Michael Cartlidge are locked in a dispute over the money
Charlotte Cox and Michael Cartlidge are locked in a dispute over the money. Picture: Facebook

By Kit Heren

A man who is demanding half of a £1 million lotto payout after his partner left him is "entitled to his share", the woman who sold the pair the winning scratchcard has said.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Michael Cartlidge and his ex-partner Charlotte Cox, from Spalding, Lincolnshire, are in a bitter dispute over who can lay claim to the payout.

Ms Cox, 37, has been named the rightful winner, as her name was on the back of the scratchcard. But Mr Cartlidge, 39, said that he had tried to send her money for the purchase.

They broke up three weeks after winning the money. The Nisa worker who sold them the scratchcard said they should share.

Read more: Woman who bagged £1m lotto prize dumped boyfriend weeks later 'out of the blue' - but now he wants 'his' share

Read more: Lottery winner who scooped £11million in 1995 dies after moving to Scotland and ‘living like a hermit’

Allwyn, who took over from Camelot at the end of January, said only the person whose name is on the card can claim the prize.
Allwyn, who took over from Camelot at the end of January, said only the person whose name is on the card can claim the prize. . Picture: Facebook

"I’m on no one’s side," she told the Sun. "I like them both. But I honestly believe that the money should be both of theirs.

“How can you live with yourself after robbing half a million? I know I couldn’t."

Mr Cartlidge tried to send Ms Cox the money for the two £5 Dice Towers games, the shop worker recalled.

"I joked, ‘You’ve not got the money!’," she said.

"But he was like, ‘Yeah I have. It’s this bloody signal in here’. Then he held the phone up to her and it was the spinning wheel."

Meanwhile, his ex-girlfriend has dismissed his claims and says the money is rightfully hers after paying for and scratching the scratch card.
Meanwhile, his ex-girlfriend has dismissed his claims and says the money is rightfully hers after paying for and scratching the scratch card. Picture: Facebook

Camelot initially said they should split the money, but new lottery owners Allwyn made a U-turn weeks later and ruled in Charlotte’s favour.

The incident took place when the couple bought a few £5 scratchcards from the Nisa one Friday evening a few months into their relationship.

Mr Cartlidge was seen on CCTV sending money to Ms Cox’s account to pay for them. However due to poor signal, the transfer didn’t go through until later on and Ms Cox paid for the cards herself.

Later that night they realised they had won £1m on one of the Dice Towers cards.

But weeks after the win Mr Cartlidge received a message from Ms Cox's friend saying he had to move out.

She told the paper: “I bought the ticket. He didn’t transfer me the money.

“It is all rubbish, I want nothing to do with it.”

Mr Cartlidge has said he will take legal action if he doesn’t get what he thinks is his share of the money. He believes he is entitled to half the prize.

On January 25, a Camelot official sent a message to the pair which read: “Hi both, it’s gone back to the legal team for the moment to decide what we need to draft for you to sign regarding the sharing of the prize if that is what you’ve both agreed.

“This should at least save you having to pay a solicitor. We’re nearly there for you.”

However, on February 10, new owner Allwyn sent Mr Cartlidge a message stating he was not an eligible winner.

An Allwyn official stated only the name written on the back of the ticket can claim the prize.

A spokesman said: “The National Lottery Rules for Scratchcard Games make clear that only one person can be the owner of a ticket and that only the person whose name and address is written on the back of a winning scratchcard can claim a prize.

"This means that a prize can only be paid to one person and this is always communicated clearly to prize claimants.

“Where a claimant agrees to share a prize with other parties (for example, players in a syndicate) after the prize has been paid, we always recommend that a legal agreement is drawn up between the interested parties.

“If there is no agreement in place, any dispute between the ­parties needs to be resolved between themselves.”

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Dame Judi Dench played M in several James Bond films

Who is Blaise Metreweli - the real life M and first female head of MI6?

British Prime Minister Kier Starmer arrives at Calgary International Airport, Sunday,June, 15, 2025, ahead of the G7 Summit.

Starmer threatens Putin with more sanctions if Russia resits ceasefire calls

Exclusive
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds was flummoxed by questions about the Lower Thames crossing

Treasury minister unable to answer basic questions on £10bn infrastructure project in car crash LBC interview

Belinda Taylor, left, and Adam Harrison, right, died during a tandem jump on Friday.

Tributes pour in for 'selfless' mother-of-four and 'wonderful' skydiving instructor who died during tandem jump

An Air India flight takes off.

Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight forced to turn back with 'technical issue'

NATO Scramble RAF Typhoons Four Times In Seven Days To Intercept Russian Aircraft

RAF fighter jets scrambled six days in a row as fifteen Russian military aircraft intercepted

J.J. Spaun holds the U.S. Open trophy

JJ Spaun hails 'fairytale' victory as Robert MacIntyre’s US Open dream crushed

The trilateral Aukus partnership, believed to be aimed at countering China, involves building a new fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines and co-operating in other areas of defence

Starmer has 'no doubt' Trump will back Aukus submarine deal despite ‘America First’ review

Falmouth youth fights for Transgender rights as Section 35 enacted repealing a Scottish Bill that would benefit the transgender community

Nearly 10,000 gender certificates granted as Gen Z applications soar

Israeli security personnel and first responders inspect an area hit by an Iranian missile strike on central Tel Aviv.

Israel-Iran LIVE: At least five dead and 287 injured in latest strikes on Tel Aviv as fighting enters its fourth day

Seven men who groomed two vulnerable teenage girls in Rochdale were found guilty of multiple offences last week

Starmer calls in 'Britain's FBI' to investigate grooming gangs after U-turn on national inquiry

Vance Boelter, 57, is suspected of fatally shooting the Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark

Man suspected of shooting Minnesota politicians in 'targeted assassination' arrested after two-day manhunt

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze after a missile launched from Iran struck Haifa, in northern Israel, on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Rami Shlush)

UK warns against all travel to Israel as missile strikes continue into third night

Sources told US media that Israel had briefed the Trump administration on a covert operation to target Iran’s top political figure

Donald Trump rejected Israeli plan to kill Iran’s Khamenei amid spiralling Middle East tensions

A third of children’s sunglasses bought from online marketplaces including Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay and Temu do not provide the required protection and are unsafe, according to a Which? investigation.

Third of sunglasses sold online pose risk to children’s eyesight, Which? says

Belinda Taylor

Family demand answers after ‘selfless’ woman dies in 'tragic' skydiving accident