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https://www.aol.com/articles/publishers-clearing-house-bankruptcy-means-110005037.html

Publishers Clearing House’s bankruptcy means ‘forever’ winners will no longer get paid

 

For nearly 60 years, Publishers Clearing House had been known for changing individuals’ lives, fulfilling their dreams with prize money it promised would keep coming for as long as they lived.

But now the company is in bankruptcy, and winners’ dreams have turned into nightmares. ARB Interactive, a mobile gaming company that bought PCH’s remaining assets, said that under the terms of the sales agreement it would not honor payouts for those who won their life-changing prizes before July 15th of this year.

Some winners, who thought they’d never have to work again, are now finding themselves uncertain of how they’ll pay their bills

“This feels like a nightmare. I thought this was going to go on for the rest of my life, so I didn’t really have to worry about money,” John Wyllie told CNN affiliate KGW.

Wyllie, 61, of Bellingham, Washington, had been promised $5,000 a week for life. Now he’s looking for a new job, but he’s not hopeful, since he hasn’t worked for more than 10 years. He is currently living on the proceeds of sales of some of his prized possessions, like a jet ski and a trailer.

But Wylie said he had no idea the company was even in trouble until his annual check for $260,000 didn’t show up, as expected, in January.

“Why didn’t somebody give me a heads up? ‘Hey, we’re going out of business.’ It’s not a good way to treat anyone,” he said. “Pretty sure I’m going to lose my home.”

The bankruptcy is not just upending the finances of people who had been promised continued riches; it’s eroding a part of America’s popular culture.

Today, Publishers Clearing House and its prize money seem quaint in comparison to jackpots of more than $1 billion from Powerball and Mega Millions. But the PCH Prize Patrol with their balloons and oversized checks became almost universally known across the county from the 1970s through early 2000s, long before national lotteries and billion-dollar jackpots started grabbing headlines, feeding fantasies of riches. And unlike state lotteries, Publishers Clearing House allowed people to win without buying tickets or even the magazine subscriptions it was hawking.

Publishers Clearing House was started by Harold and LuEsther Mertz and their daughter Joyce in the basement of their Long Island home in 1953, selling magazine subscriptions for multiple publications at the same time through direct mailings, according to its bankruptcy filing. PCH would be paid a commission on any subscriptions it sold.

In 1967, to attract attention for its mailings, the company started offering its first direct mail sweepstakes. Customers could enter for a chance to win prizes, regardless of whether or not they purchased a magazine subscription.