Teacher wins a house worth $2.6 million in lottery, but ends up with $6,600 instead due to a loophole

A schoolteacher from Radford, Nottingham, UK was left heartbroken after she was denied over a $2.6 million (£2 million) house that she won fair and square. Loretta Buchanan, who participated in the "Win My Home" contest, was paraded as a winner in a video posted on the contest's now-defunct website, per Daily Mail UK. Buchanan, who was knocked off her feet, was excited to finally move out of her cramped flat. However, when the time came to move, her prize was denied by the contest due to technical issues.

A loophole shattered her dreams of owning a house

As per reports, the terms and conditions on the contest's website said that in case the company fails to reach £2.5 million (~$3.3 million) of net sales in lottery tickets, then the winner will only receive 50% of the net proceeds. 

Further, as per emails reviewed by Nottinghamshire Live, the competition organizers claimed that in Buchanan's case, they made a loss as they spent nearly £200,000 ($267,000) on "marketing costs" and didn't sell enough tickets to cover it. So only £5,000 ($6600) was offered as a  “goodwill gesture” to the winner. 

From a luxury mansion to a "booby prize"

Speaking from her cramped council flat in Nottingham, Buchanan told MailOnline: "I was promised a new home, but I got the booby prize." She said she won the property fair and square but was badly let down and left devastated. 

Buchanan told Nottinghamshire Live that two people came to her residence and said she had won the contest. However, when she asked for the keys, they told her that she hadn't won the home and could get only the compensation.

"I entered it thinking this could be a new start, maybe it might happen," she said. She further added that she got messages on social media from people congratulating her on her win and when she told them she hadn't won, they thought she was lying. 

"I need everyone to stop saying congratulations. It's not that I'm not grateful for the £5,000, she told the local news outlet. 

A twist in the story

When MailOnline reached out to the owner of the property Elliott Andrew, he claimed that there was no link between him and the organisers of Win My Home. However, the publication later learned that Andrew was dating glamorous Ukrainian businesswoman, Yevheniia Levytska, who was the sole director of Win My Home. 

Andrew later told MailOnline that the firm had approached him to raffle off his property, but no agreement was reached. However, he didn't explain why Win My Home was registered at his address when it was founded.  

The publication also concluded that it was Andrew's partner Levytska who came to Buchanan's house in a flashy Tesla car to inform her about the win (loss). Thus, the school teacher told MailOnline that she was speaking to a lawyer about taking legal action against the company to get justice. 

"The competition is a scandal and should be investigated, and I am now looking to see what rights I have with the Financial Ombudsman," she said. She also warned anyone looking to participate in the contest or any such similar competition in the future.