'I won £18k in online prize draw - but haven't seen a penny'

The firm's website, which offered prize draw competitions including sports cars, luxury watches and even gold, stopped working about 10 days before Christmas.

The firm also offered a free entry system where would-be winners could post an entry to an address in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Mr Bayliss, from Blackwood, South Wales, bought five 99p online entries for a draw on 15 September.

He said he spoke to Level Up Giveaways' director Anton Hall, 35, over the phone the day after his win.

He remembered Mr Hall being "happy I took the cash" and confirming the money would be in his bank account within two to three days.

But nothing arrived.

Mr Bayliss sent numerous messages in the weeks that followed and received the occasional explanation from Mr Hall, but has not received payment.

"I have kind of given up," said Mr Bayliss.

"It was the first time I'd won and it was typical that he stopped paying everyone.

"I have just gone numb to it. I have probably got a 5% chance of getting the money."

Mr Bayliss said he had not heard from Mr Hall since 1 November, when he told him his bank accounts were "on hold".

Mr Bayliss' mum Tina reported Level Up Giveaways to Trading Standards and Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Mrs Bayliss said she believed her son's case was "just the tip of the iceberg".

"He's taking your money and not paying up - it's like having the rug pulled out from your feet.

"I just feel really aggrieved someone is allowed to do that."

Insurance broker Scott Boyle, from Wakefield, won £1,200 in a Level Up Giveaways competition in May, to be paid to him over 12 months.

He received five months' worth of payments, but they stopped in October.

Although the company was usually "really responsive", he has not heard from them since October, despite sending numerous messages.

"It's disgusting," he said.

"A lot of people have won huge amounts of money. If I won that sort of money I would be absolutely devastated."

Meanwhile, Manchester-based Phill Harkins has been waiting for a 20g gold bar he won in a Level Up Giveaways prize draw since 18 October.

"Something needs to be done about it because you can't treat people like this," he said.

Mark McCorry, a restaurant manager from Belfast, won £600 cash in a draw on 9 October.

The 36-year-old father-of-one had previously met people who had won cars in Mr Hall's competitions, leading him to believe the business owner to be "trustworthy".

He said the experience with Level Up Giveaways had left him "gutted".