Geez Ontario Lotto

This especially for you Ontario folks,

You'd better know where your big winning lotto ticket was purchased! How ridiculous is that expectation when people buy tickets in passing and really don't remember where it was bought, or people buy lots of tickets in different places etc, or even give lotto tickets as gifts to others, and don't think it important to tell folks where they bought the damned ticket.

I feel sorry for anyone put through this ridiculousness UNREASONABLE treatment of overkill because of the previous lotto frauds with retailers hassles. Sounds like a nightmare to collect an honest win! ARGH!

Snarking over .... Ma Yappy

February 12, 2008

Lotto winners allege OLG abuse

Winners charge abuse by lottery investigators

By BRYN WEESE, SUN MEDIA


Winning more than $10,000 in the lottery should be a reason to celebrate.

Instead, according to some recent winners who have claimed their prize, it makes you feel like a criminal.

Vivian Bechard of Burlington said she was sent away empty-handed by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation when she tried to claim a $50,000 prize from a Crossword scratch ticket.

"I have never been so depressed as the day I tried to get my money," she said.

Bechard is new to the area and couldn't remember where she bought her winning ticket -- a question the OLG wanted answered.

'A NIGHTMARE'

"They kept me in the waiting room for hours, then I went into a room with a man who had a tape recorder and the way he was talking to me was terrible," she said. "It was a nightmare. I was in tears. They made me feel like I stole the ticket."

Bechard and her sister-in-law booked a trip to the Dominican Republic to celebrate the win, but now she has to borrow money to pay for it because she hasn't received her prize.

The ordeal put her and husband Dan off playing the lottery again.

"I'll never buy another ticket again. It's a horror show," Dan said, noting they missed the RRSP deadline because of the investigation that the OLG launches into every win over $10,000.

"They've got $50,000 of our money that should be in the bank collecting interest," he said.

The Bechards are not alone.

A Barrie woman had the same experience last week when she tried to claim $10,000 from a scratch ticket.

Karen McDonald said she was treated like a thief because she didn't know the store where her husband bought the ticket for her.

The OLG is investigating McDonald's case, as well as the Bechards', and it could take up to two weeks before they receive their money.

Even last week's $24.2-million winner Audrey Dawe was stressed out by the investigation, though her son Laurie said they were in and out within about three-and-a-half hours.

"It was a stressful day and a stressful time all in all," he said from his home in Peterborough.

"It wasn't, I guess, what you might expect -- not that I've had any experience going to collect lottery prizes before."

Last year, the province's ombudsman released a scathing report of the OLG that showed hundreds of dishonest ticket-sellers had claimed millions in prizes that belonged to other people.

The former CEO of the OLG, Duncan Brown, was removed from his post as a result and as of Jan. 1 of this year, the OLG is now regulated by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. They are also now responsible for investigating insider and suspicious lottery wins.

The ombudsman's report made 23 recommendations, more than 85% of which have been implemented, the OLG's Teresa Roncon said.

'GONE OVERBOARD'

"I think they must have gone overboard with reaction to the fraud problem," Dawe said, noting the OLG almost didn't give his mother her cheque for $24.2 million on the day they came to claim it.

Aldo Savaia waited at the OLG for five hours last week while his brother Claudio tried to prove he was the rightful owner of a $13,000 ticket.

He said he was appalled at how his brother was treated.

Claudio, who is in poor health and might lose his house because of mortgage troubles, still hasn't received his cash and is now being investigated by the OPP.

Roncon said officers attached to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario are called in to investigate some claims.

"When my brother came out (of the interrogation room) he was all down and out and he felt like a bag of sh--," Savaia said. "Now it's a crime to forget how you got your ticket."

According to Roncon, all wins over $10,000 are checked by OLG investigators.

Hi again ...

And Ontario lotto folks respond to the news story

February 13, 2008

OLG vows to be customer friendly

By BRYN WEESE, SUN MEDIA


Provincial lottery brass are going to make it easier for winners to collect following reports in the Sun about some lucky souls who felt they were treated "like criminals."

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. spokesman Teresa Roncon said the stories have made them working on a kinder and gentler prize-claiming process.

"We're sorry to hear some of our customers are distressed, and we are looking at ways to expedite the prize collection and make it more customer friendly without compromising the integrity of the investigation," she said, noting the process is necessary to protect customers and the OLG.

"Our goal is to ensure the right person receives the right prize every time," Roncon told the Sun earlier. "Our new policy is to conduct an investigation of any prize of $10,000 or more to help ensure that we meet that goal."

The OLG is already adding more office space so the prize centre at 20 Dundas St. W. isn't so cramped.

EX-COPS HIRED

In the wake of last year's scathing report of the OLG by provincial Ombudsman Andre Marin, they hired more investigators, including former police officers, and are expanding their space to an additional floor in the same building to accommodate more staff.

The OLG is looking at improving the prize-claiming process but it's still too early to say how, Roncon said, adding most customers have an enjoyable experience when collecting their prizes.

"I'm sure that we'll just look at ways to make it a more pleasant experience for everybody," she said. "We would consider a number of options."

In the past, the OLG would investigate prizes of $50,000 or more, but a tighter security process followed Marin's report.

The report and consultants from KPMG made 60 recommendations, more than 85% of which have been put in place, Roncon said.

'MYSTERY SHOPPERS'

The recommendations included criminal and background checks of ticket sellers, the use of "mystery shoppers" to test the integrity of retailers, establishing and enforcing a code of conduct for retailers, and establishing a process for investigating and adjudicating suspicious claims.

The OLG also has different prize-claim processes for the general public and "insiders" -- ticket sellers, their relatives and OLG employees.

Insider wins are subject to an independent investigation; prize money is withheld for 30 days to allow anyone with concerns to come forward.

Last year the former CEO of the OLG, Duncan Brown, was removed from his post as a result of the scandal in which hundreds of dishonest ticket sellers had claimed millions of dollars in prizes that belonged to customers.

As of Jan. 1, the OLG be-came regulated by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which also investigates insider and suspicious lottery wins.