…fined £1,400 after he mistakenly tried to reclaim £3,000 from the Revenue. HMRC calculated that he was actually owed £1,000 and fined him 70 per cent of the difference between the two sums.

Luckily for him the Revenue has had a change of heart.

It has now cancelled the fine and repaid the man £1,000 in tax plus £100 as a goodwill gesture because if what it called “irregularities” in his case.

But don’t risk getting all sloppy with those claims now – HMRC can still fine those owed money by the taxman who calculate the wrong figure.