HMRC 'spent £10,000 sending flowers' to taxpayers to apologise for mistakes

Taxman delivers bouquets to individuals 'when a simple sorry isn't enough'

HMRC has spent thousands of pounds sending flowers to apologise for mistakes it has made (Getty)

HM Revenue and Customs has spent more than £10,000 in the past five years sending flowers to taxpayers to apologise for its mistakes.

Details disclosed under a Freedom of Information request found the government department spend more than £3,000 on bouquets in a single year.

Its total spend on florists between from 2014 and the current tax year was £10,298, according to The Daily Telegraph.

HMRC said it uses flowers as a way to apologise to taxpayers in cases where serious mistakes have been made.

It added it had reduced its spend on bouquets down to just £860 in 2017.

“For some mistakes, a simple ‘sorry’ may not be enough and we think sending flowers can be a more personal gesture to put things right,” an HMRC spokesman said.

In the past, the taxman has reportedly sent flowers to a number of business owners and individuals deemed to have been poorly treated by the system.

A Stockport café owner received an apology bouquet after HMRC accidentally sent her a tax bill for close to £1bn, before later revising the statement down to £17,000.

Flowers were also sent to a pensioner who had been due an £800 tax rebate, but was instead posted a cheque for just £1.