HMRC has come under intense scrutiny following a damning report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) regarding its performance around customer service. The recent report highlights a significant decline in service quality, particularly concerning HMRC’s telephone support.

The (ongoing) problem…

The PAC report reveals some alarming statistics:

• In the first 11 months of the 2023-24 financial year, 43,690 callers were disconnected after waiting 70 minutes to speak to an adviser.
• Only 66.4% of customer attempts to speak to an adviser were successful.
• Average call waiting times exceeded 23 minutes.

These figures represent a substantial deterioration from previous years, with the number of disconnected calls more than six times higher than the entire 2022-23 financial year.

HMRC’s response and controversy

HMRC chief executive Jim Harra has strongly refuted the PAC’s claims, stating they are ‘completely baseless’ and asserting that significant improvements have been made, including a 17-minute reduction in call wait times since April 2024.

However, the PAC, led by Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, has accused HMRC of deliberately degrading its phone services to push customers towards online channels. This allegation has raised concerns about the accessibility of tax services, especially for those who may struggle with digital platforms.

Impact on Businesses

For small business owners and self-employed individuals, these service issues can have obvious and serious implications:

1. Time Wastage: Long wait times and unexpected disconnections can be hugely disruptive.
2. Missed Deadlines: Difficulty in obtaining timely advice may lead to delays in tax submissions.
3. Financial Implications: Incorrect filings due to lack of guidance could result in penalties or overpayments.

Looking Forward

HMRC has announced plans to improve its digital services, including prioritising new systems for file submissions and secure messaging.

However, the PAC emphasises that there will always be a need for HMRC to maintain adequate phone services alongside digital improvements, regardless of HMRC’s apparent aim not to have to offer support by phone.

Our View…

We’d agree entirely with the PAC!

HMRC’s phone support doesn’t seem to have improved at all, and in fact service levels do seem to have declined again. 

As much as we’d like to help clients, there are some areas where HMRC will only discuss matters with you direct, and if you find yourself needing to speak to them, our advice would be as follows:

• Plan the call into your day, for when you can spend the time on the phone, without too many other demands on your time. 
• Have all of your references and information to hand, so you can answer any questions when you do get through.
• As always, keep clear notes of the conversations, including the names of those you speak to, with dates, times and the content of the conversation, just in case! 

We appreciate that it’s hugely frustrating, as we have to go through the process way too often, but if you can go into the process prepared, it can be slightly less aggravating.

As always, please get in touch if you need to; if we can help and save you from making a call to HMRC, we’ll be very happy to do so.