A PENSIONER was shocked to receive a cheque for more than £1.5 million when she applied for a £33 tax rebate.
Elizabeth Jenkins, 86, from Bournemouth, told a national Sunday newspaper she phoned HM Revenue and Customs after spotting they had taken £33 from her account incorrectly.
They promised a refund, but when, six months later, she had still not received it, she called again to chase up the matter.
Elizabeth was told that a cheque had been sent – and cashed – but records showed it had been sent to the wrong person at the wrong address.
Officials promised to send another cheque, but the widowed mum-of-two was left stunned when it eventually arrived on her doormat – because it was made out for £1,511,533.80.
Retired civil servant Elizabeth hasn’t cashed it, but said she was still waiting for the right amount.
She said: “I’m sure that if the roles were reversed and I had owed them money for over a year I’d probably be in jail now.
“They would hound me and hound me until I paid it back. So I’m going to hound them.”
An HMRC spokesman said: “We handle huge numbers of tax repayments and unfortunately things sometimes go wrong.
“When they do we apologise and sort things out as quickly as possible.”
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