Coffeetime Smith

Hi, I’m after some clarification on an issue please. A friend of mine accessed his pension fund recently as he has turned 55. His understanding was that he could take upto 25% as a tax free lump sum, the amount he took was 24%. His salary is approximately 50K per annum. However since he withdrew the funds his tax code has changed from 1257L to 282L which means he is now paying 40% tax on his salary .He has spoken to HMRC numerous times only to be told today that not only will he not get the tax back which he paid on his pension, which is about 8K but he will also get taxed at 40% for the remainder of the tax year. Is this correct. He has completed a P55 form, Thanks in advance for your help.