Man's £80,000 lottery win turns to nightmare due to 'benefits' rule
An elderly man who won £80,000 on the lottery was left in shock when his benefits payments stopped.
Daniel Millar couldn't believe his luck when he won the huge amount of cash back in September 2017.
Daniel, from Scotland, spent the money pretty quickly, heading on a cruise, as well as holidays to Benidorm.
He also spent some of the money on house renovations and treating friends, family and neighbours.
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But Daniel said the win turned sour when his benefits were stopped as a result.
The grandad was no longer eligible for means-tested benefits, including income support, housing benefit and council tax reduction.
At the time, he told the Daily Record: “I didn’t know I had to tell the Department for Work and Pensions, so I spent it all by giving it to my two sons and my daughter, paid two family holidays, did up my house and bought clothes for me and my wife.
“The money was all spent by November. In December, I got a letter from the DWP saying I had to go to an appointment.
"They then told me I had been reported by the tax office for having £80,000 in my bank.
“I have to pay full rent and council tax so we have little left to live on.
"My wife, who is my carer, gets £62 a week. She has to put that aside to pay other bills like gas, electric and phone.”
Daniel's wife, Bridget, added: “There are people winning millions of pounds and we just get a bit of luck and all of a sudden, we are punished for it.
“... The DWP have said we aren’t entitled to any money. They say that we have deprived ourselves of capital and don’t qualify for the benefits.
“We just don’t know what we will do.”
At the time, a DWP spokeswoman said: “It’s very important that people tell us of any changes to their circumstances so they can receive the right support.”
Over on the House of Commons website, they explain how means-tested benefits work.
"For means-tested social security benefits, both income and capital are taken into account when determining whether a person or family is entitled to benefit, and how much they get," they explained.
"... No benefit is payable if total capital exceeds £16,000."
Last year, a woman in the States ended up being denied her winnings over a little-known technicality.
Hilde McMillen was delighted when she found out that she had won $1,000 (£789) on the lottery in Florida. However, when she tried to collect her winnings she ran into an obstacle.
When Hilde's winnings didn't drop in her bank account, she found out she wouldn't be receiving them because she had been overpaid for unemployment benefits.
She said: "They told me they're not going to pay me. Because I had an overpayment on my unemployment. I say I can't believe that, I say, I paid that already.
"[It] took almost three hours to get [the DEO] and the lady was very nice, but she couldn't help us with nothing.
"They held me hostage from my own money. My $1,000 was sitting at the unemployment office and nobody did nothing."
Topics: National Lottery, News, UK News, Money
Lucy Devine