HMRC denies ‘deliberately poor’ phone service for taxpayers

HMRC has denied operating a “intentionally poor” cellphone service in an try and push taxpayers to hunt assist on-line as an alternative.

Practically 44,000 clients have been lower off with out warning after being on maintain for greater than an hour final yr, a report by a committee of MPs has discovered.

It mentioned HMRC’s service had obtained even worse since its final report and warned the authority it had “broken belief within the tax system”.

HMRC chief government Jim Harra mentioned the committee’s claims on its customer support have been “fully baseless” and added “we have made big enhancements to our service requirements, with name wait occasions down by 17 minutes since April final yr”.

The report comes forward of the deadline for self-assessment tax returns on 31 January, which may result in elevated demand for assist.

HMRC’s cellphone line went lifeless on 43,690 clients who had been ready 70 minutes to achieve an adviser within the first 11 months of the 2023-24 monetary yr, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report mentioned.

The quantity for the yr to this point is greater than six occasions the 6,875 for the entire 2022–23 monetary yr.

This was as a result of HMRC’s system couldn’t address the quantity of calls, however clients weren’t warned they have been about to be lower off, nor have been they known as again, the report added.

The determine for the variety of callers lower off was revealed by the Nationwide Audit Workplace (NAO) in Could final yr, however MPs have highlighted it amongst fears HMRC was operating down its personal helpline.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the PAC, mentioned HMRC was “excavating its method to new lows” in its customer support yearly.

He added: “Worse, it appears to be degrading its personal providers as a matter of coverage.”

Talking to BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, he mentioned that HMRC was “nonetheless very sluggish at shifting” to on-line communication in comparison with different authorities organisations, “just like the passport company”.

He added: “If they do not present the digital providers, which they do not in each case… they can not be shocked that their clients wish to contact them by cellphone.”

The committee has known as for “daring and bold management” to enhance its buyer providers, and higher sort out tax system abuse and unpaid money owed.

In 2023-24, HMRC wrote off £5bn in money owed as uncollectable, up from £3.2bn in 2022-23.

The report known as for the authority to get a greater understanding of the offshore tax hole – the distinction between how a lot tax must be paid and what was really paid.

It additionally raised issues over lowering charges of felony investigation and prosecution for tax-related offences.

The suggestions come after a collection of criticisms levelled at HMRC, because it began to work in direction of changing into a “digital-first” organisation in 2010.

In March final yr, it introduced its cellphone line can be closed between April and September, however was forced to reverse its decision within 24 hours.

And in Could a report discovered that customers were waiting an average of nearly 23 minutes to get via to an adviser.

Mr Harra, first everlasting secretary and chief government at HMRC, mentioned: “We’ll all the time be there to reply the cellphone for individuals who want additional assist. On the similar time, greater than 80 per cent of consumers are glad with our digital providers, with increasingly more individuals utilizing them to rapidly and simply handle their tax affairs.”