But when you’re expecting one thing and get the other, it feels more like a trick than a treat.

Just like the disappointment when you think you’re getting a nice hot bake at Greggs only for it to be handed to you cold – and just to add to the crushing feeling, the food is given to you cold despite you thinking that it’s heated.

And a TikTok user who goes by ‘Takeaway Trauma’ has explained the interesting reason why.

Now, it’s not particularly clear just how much expertise this lad has on the subject, but he does at least seem to know his stuff with what he says appearing to make a lot of sense.

Basically, it all comes down to tax.

“Believe it or not, there’s a tax called pasty tax or VAT, value added tax,” he explains. “Now VAT is applicable on hot takeaway food, but not the takeaway food that is cooled down.”

He goes on to claim: “So, in order to keep prices low and customers happy, Greggs don’t actually keep the food in hot cabinet.

“Now this might be the reason why a lot of people go into Greggs and get a stone-cold steak bake, or other times you might get lucky and get one piping hot.”

Greggs explained it. (Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The user points out that Greggs have apparently ‘never actually stated’ that they serve hot food, adding: “So if you’re lucky and get a hot one, it is your lucky day.”

He also adds that you may notice a hot counter in some branches where you’re guaranteed hot food, but ‘this is always going to be slightly more expensive as VAT has to be added’.

However, Greggs also say on their website that it is ‘common for retailers to have regional prices’.

So, according to a Greggs employee, you need to head to the store at a certain time for a hot pasty.

In a statement, Greggs said: “We sell savouries that are freshly baked in our shop ovens, then put on a shelf to cool.

“We don’t keep them in a heated environment, use heat-retaining packaging, or market them as hot because of this. As bakers, we believe that baking our savouries fresh each day gives customers the best quality product.

“If the sausage rolls and bakes were kept hot after they had been baked, then they would be subject to VAT and the customer would have to be charged a higher price, in the same way that we charge VAT on our hot sandwiches which are kept in a heated cabinet and are subject to VAT.”

It is also explained on their website in their ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQ) page.