Call waiting times for the government’s tax helplines are worse than during the pandemic, with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) now restricting access for millions of taxpayers.
Taxpayers have been left waiting hours on the phone just to get through ahead of the self-assessment tax deadline – January 31.
HMRC said it faces increased demand and is keen for taxpayers to use its online services, which it says are quick and convenient to use.
The service faced criticism last month after it announced that its self-assessment helpline will only focus on “priority” calls, with most callers directed to online services.
HMRC received 38 million calls in 2022/23 and received 16million items of correspondence that required a response.
In extreme cases, people have been left waiting up to nine months to receive acknowledgement of their correspondence.
Many Britons have hit back after having to wait almost a year to get a response.Others complain that HMRC is operating in an ‘unprofessional’ manner and many staff appear to be working from home.
The service has been deemed “no longer fit for purpose” as people wait for tax refunds and cannot get the answers they need from the Revenue’s online chatbot, which taxpayers are being told to use instead of calling the helpline.
The timing couldn’t be worse as it is the busiest month of the year for filing tax returns. With frozen thresholds and rising incomes, many could be filing their tax return for the first time and could be met with restrictions.
Peter Taylor, from Nottingham, told This is Money he was on hold for an hour when he attempted to call HMRC in December, and has previously waited 45 minutes to speak to someone.
The 87-year-old filed his paper self-assessment tax return on May 15 for the 2022/23 tax year, but did not receive any acknowledgement of receipt or the tax refund he was due. Mr Taylor said he estimates that he overpaid £3,000 in tax, due to a large charitable donation he made after the death of his wife.
When Peter called HMRC in September, he was told to write to the Self-Assessment Centre to check if his return had been received. However, when he called back in October he was given another address to which to send his letter.
Peter has now received confirmation that HMRC is dealing with his claim.
He said: “I was told they are processing the returns in the order they were filed. Are they so far behind that my return still isn’t at the top of the pile more than seven months later?”
About 5.5 million people a year call the self-assessment helpline.
Last year, taxpayers made 1.2 million calls to HMRC in the eight weeks leading up to the January 31 deadline, according to official figures — on average 41,000 calls per day.
Despite it being the busiest period for the helping, the number of customer service officers continues to fall which could explain the long response times.
A Commons public accounts committee report published in January found that HMRC customer service staff numbers had fallen from 25,500 to 19,500 over five years. It warned that the level of customer service was not acceptable.
HMRC’s decision to restrict access to its helpline has provoked anger among MPs and tax experts, who warn it could lead to mistakes on tax returns and people facing fines.
The majority of those with queries are being told to seek help from HMRC’s ‘digital assistance’ online chatbot. But experts warn the programme is difficult to use and offers only a complete response when it is given specific prompts written in ‘tax lingo’.
Robert Salter, of leading tax firm Blick Rothenberg said: The chatbot isn’t the magic answer that HMRC wants it to be. I didn’t find it easy to use — it was awkward and frustrating.
“If you were IT savvy you may get better answers, but you shouldn’t need to be. Even where you do get an answer, all the nuance of your personal case is lost, so it is just a partial answer.
“HMRC has developed lots of technological solutions but in reality, they are not the solution, it is just a fudge that can slow the process down even more.”
