Stick your job, I'm a millionaire .... or not?

£1m lotto in costly misread

By JAMIE PYATT
December 05, 2006

JUBILANT car salesman Steve Moseley went berserk and told his boss to stick his job ?- after MISREADING a £1million scratchcard.

Ecstatic Steve, 36, DANCED on his desk, THREW all the money in his wallet at colleagues and sent a junior out for CHAMPAGNE thinking he had won a fortune.

He then phoned his girlfriend to tell her he had quit and was rushing off to buy an Aston Martin.

But 45 minutes later his celebrations were cruelly cut short when he phoned the National Lottery's claim hotline ?- and was told to take another look.

Shocked Steve saw he had mistaken a 16 for a 15 on his 24 Karat Gold scratchcard ?- meaning he had NOT matched two 15kg ingots.

And instead of becoming an instant millionaire he was broke and jobless.

Steve, of Gosport, Hants, could barely scrape the money together to pay the junior for the £35 bottle of bubbly. He then had to grovel to boss Mike Earle ?- telling him: "I've made a dreadful mistake."

Red-faced Steve said yesterday: "I went from thinking I had a million quid to having to beg for my job back. I also had to ring the girlfriend and tell her I was a plonker.

"I told Mike I loved my job and would he consider re-hiring me because I had just made a total prat of myself."

Colleagues at used car dealers Fortnums in Fareham, Hants, had watched gobsmacked as jubilant Steve told his boss: "Stick your job ?- I'm a millionaire!"

Steve, who forked out £5 for his chance at a million, scratched off what he thought were the winning numbers at 10am. He said: "As far as I was concerned all my worries were gone.

"It was pandemonium with me dancing on the desks and screaming and shouting. The ticket looked a winner to everyone who saw it."

After phoning overjoyed girlfriend Theresa Parsons, 27, he called Camelot ?- and was given the bad news at 10.45.

Steve said: "I dropped the phone and felt physically sick.

"One of the figures had FFTN under it and the other one had SXTN. But they were in tiny print and the two numbers in big print looked exactly the same."

Steve WAS given his job back ?- but got so much ribbing from colleagues that he resigned days later. He now works at another dealers.

Ex-boss Mike said: "You see where people's loyalties lie when money like that is involved. But I felt sorry for him because I could see the numbers did look genuine on the ticket."

Camelot admitted it had received "a very small number of calls" about figures on its 24 Karat Gold scratchcard looking similar.

But a spokesman said: "We always advise players to check it is a winner before they take any action. Telling the boss to ?'stick their job' is not a good idea until we have given you your cheque."