Iain Lyall (Glan Conwy General Stores) says: “There is definitely a problem with terminals failing to print, either in severe weather conditions or, in my case, when the satellite receiver was faulty.”

He adds: “The problem is compounded as during these conditions the only option the terminals allows you is to reprint. That then opens up a real can of worms. If it then does a reprint, what happened to the original (as a reprint is not a valid entry)?”

Apparently, if it is a weather problem Iain says he can’t get past the pre-recorded message without spending ages on the phone. “And in our case if it is an equipment fault, where the terminal will only work intermittently, you are pretty well stuck.”

He says he has been waiting for an itemised breakdown since early September when he saw a Camelot security investigator. “I have now chased four times for the information.”

In his case, the customer was wrongly given the reprint ticket which had three ‘winning’ numbers. “As far as I was concerned I would pay the £25 as it was not a fault of the customer, but Camelot decided that they would pay the £25 plus £2.”

The good news is that the faulty satellite component was replaced on 5 August and the fail to print problem ceased. As Iain rightly points out: “Retailers, when they report what appears to be an equipment problem, are faced with the threat of a substantial call-out charge if no fault is found in their equipment.”

Source

Jac Roper