Work lottery syndicate non payers

[Scaredycat259]

So I'm on maternity leave and run a lottery syndicate and "bonus ball" .
Some people are in both and some are in only 1 of the 2.
I've always had to chase money off a couple of individuals but they were all told and given renewed syndicate agreements for both syndicate and bonus ball. I specifically stated I would not be chasing money as I would be too busy and tbf I didn't actually say this but I'm sick of chasing money 🤷‍♀️.
There have been a couple which despite saying they would continue to stay in the syndicate have not paid since I went on leave, they all signed the agreement, they all have a copy and my bank details and also there are 2 people who nominated themselves to transfer money to me if people did not use online banking.
So it's happened, the bonus ball for Saturday is someone who hasn't ( despite reminders) not paid me for 9 weeks.
I feel I have to be the tw*t now and do what ice been threatening to do for years which is not pay him his "winnings " because well officially he hasn't won because he hasn't paid in!
I think I've been too lax in recent years and let people pay after the fact.
BTW the agreement does state that I will cover sickness but not holidays and it is the individuals responsibility to remember to pay.
Aibu for putting my foot down?

Nope, you are right here.

I would be quite firm here. He hasn’t paid so he doesn’t have a ticket. End of discussion.

How much do they owe and how much should they be winning? Can you take what he owes out of the winnings and then renew the contract to say nobody will get winnings if they haven't paid that week. It would be worth setting up direct debit payments tbh as then you won't be covering sickness (which I don't think you should do any way!)

Sorry just re read and saw they don't do online banking. Nah that's on them then!

Life is too short for this hassle. I'd pay him and then close the syndicate. These things only work if everyone behaves responsibly, and it sounds as though half of your people are taking the piss.

He owes £9 and I think it's a rollover, so would be around £30 winnings.
They were all told that if you don't pay in I won't pay out and that winnings will now fluctuate due to however many people actually pay in on that week.
When I say I cover sickness I mean that I pay it until they return to work and pay me back. It was because a certain individual repeatedly booked Friday afternoons off and by the time I had time to go round collecting he had gone home and just assumed he could pay on the Monday or the following week.

Redraft the agreement to require players to set up a standing order. You do not need "online banking" to do this. Problem solved.

He hasn't paid in, so it's not his winnings.

Split the winnings by those who have paid in. I'd also kick him out of the syndicate (& anyone else who hasn't set up a DD / standing order). You shouldn't have to chase anyone for the money.

Sounds like a lot of hassle with very little reward. Pay his winnings minus what he owes then close the syndicate down, or hand it over to someone else.
Slightly off topic but I remember the days of mail order catalogue agencies. I had one and quite of lot of my work colleagues used to order items
It was like getting blood out of a stone getting the payments out of some people. In the end I wrote to the mail order company, informed them I was closing down the agency and gave them the names and addresses of those who owed money and told them to chase it up themselves!!

you mention a syndicate agreement, so what does that say about what happens if you win but aren’t up to date with payments?

For the lottery syndicate I have stated that after 4 weeks I will remove them and pay them their current share of the pot.
For the bonus ball I just stated that I will only pay winnings each week or rollover according to how many have paid in.
They all have a copy of each agreement and have signed them.

You can win on borrowed money. He's not won as he hasn't entered. How much would he have won?

I pay out an equal share every Christmas and everyone was told I'll see how it goes at that point as to whether to carry on, I think at Christmas I will state set up a standing order or your out, end off, a few already do or pay a few weeks in advance and some always remember to pay and then you've those who constantly have to be chased 🙄.
One lad every week I had to chase a £1 for bonus ball only to be asked " have I not won yet" EVERY WEEK.
And I said the same every week, you'll be the first to know after me! 😅

£30

*can't win on borrowed money

If you have clearly stated that you can't win the bonus ball if you haven't paid for the week then no the person shouldn't win and the money should roll over to next week. That's only fair if thats what you said. Otherwise next week bonus ball 4 could win and the person only gets £15 when they should get £45 because you paid out to a non payer.

But will the person still owe £9? - you can't charge them for weeks they miss if they are not allowed to win.

Send an email to the syndicate. Don't name names but "no bonus ball winner this week as ball number 10 hadn't paid so next week the bonus ball jackpot should be at least £40 - make sure your up to date with your payments folks - you gotta be in it to win it".

For the main lotto do some people play their own numbers or is it all lucky dips. If the admin wasn't too difficukt I think it woukd be best if you only put in people that have paid. Make this clear to the syndicate. E.g. staning orders to come in Thurs and I buy ticket friday. Or do it monthly after pay day.

You’ll have to put your foot down and make an example of him, OP. You gotta be in it to win it.

I would be pissed of If I were another member and yoy paid out to him. He hasn't paid in, you should have booted him out.

He only has to pay the current week as I'd already told him to forget the previous weeks and pay the current week, I've reminded him 4 times over past couple of weeks.
Everyone chose their numbers and I have fast pay cards that I use every week

Just pay £21 and tell them you've taken out what they owe. Then resign from doing it !

he has to pay for all weeks he can't just pay for the week he won

He only has to pay the current week as I'd already told him to forget the previous weeks and pay the current week,

So does that mean that for the weeks he didn't pay whoever won got a bit less than they should have because his contribution wasn't there?

I think telling him to forget about the missing weeks and just start paying again was a mistake. You don't get to make the rules unilaterally, even if you are running it, when everyone else is affected too.

However as you gave him a chance and he hasn't taken it, definitely don't pay him. You've said that's the way it's going to be and you should stick to it. Otherwise it's not fair to the other members of the syndicate.

Not helpful but this is why we don't do this at work. Too much hassle.

No he doesn't because when I've paid the other winners from weeks where he hasn't paid in I have deducted what he and a couple others owed.

This all sounds like massive pain in the arse. I'd step down if I were you.