Win a Millionaire Mansion contest had 'technical issues'

A competition to win a mansion worth an estimated £2.3m that drew criticism from some entrants suffered from "technical issues", organisers say.

Some people who paid £10 to enter said they received no payment confirmation email. One contestant also claimed the entry question was "misleading".

Organisers said there were some delays with confirmation emails "due to the overwhelming response".

They added the competition followed "all UK rules".

"We can confirm the technical issues have been resolved and the final confirmation emails are going to people today," said a spokesman for organiser Ogilvie Promotions on Wednesday.

"There has been an overwhelming response, with an incredible level of interest from around the world. People have been incredibly patient and we thank them for that."

The owners of the Devon property made the mansion a prize in the competition with part of the proceeds going to charity.

More news from Devon and Cornwall.

The promoters of the competition said "thousands of people" were successfully buying tickets for the competition.

The competition Facebook page was also taken down because "malicious content including threats were posted", according to the promoters.

The owners of the property in Tiverton said they wished to remain anonymous.

Entrants can buy a £10 ticket from the competition website, but must answer the question "Where is Nelson's fleet?" correctly to be included in the draw, organisers said.

Since launching, organisers have received complaints for failing to send out confirmation emails as money is taken out of entrants bank accounts.

Guy Frankland from Exeter said he bought three tickets for £30 in one entry and had to wait seven hours for his confirmation email to come through.

He also said the entry question was "ambiguous" and was not signposted as a requirement to be entered into the prize draw.

Ogilvie Promotions said the question was not "too hard or misleading" and said they had to "ensure the question is sufficiently robust".

They said the terms and conditions on the competition's website were clear about the question, which was chosen "alongside a team of legal advisers".

Simon Churchill, also from Devon, said although he took the competition website to be a "legitimate page" at first, he was left in doubt when he experienced an error message after paying for a ticket.

He was later given what seemed like "automated responses" from organisers when he made enquiries, he said.

The company said it would be contacting customers to provide confirmation their payments had been received.