How HMRC went from gold standard to total shambles… by insiders who witnessed the decline

HMRC’s downfall? A toxic mix of chaotic management, a culture of unprofessionalism and a wave of unskilled recruits. Pictured: Hector the Taxman

When Colin Ronson took his first job at HM Revenue & Customs 39 years ago, he was proud to be at such a hard-working and well-respected department.

But as the former VAT inspector and fraud investigator hangs up his hat nearly four decades later at age 64, he says he barely recognises his old workplace.

‘It’s certainly not what it was,’ he says. 

Its downfall? A toxic mix of chaotic management, a culture of unprofessionalism and a wave of unskilled recruits, according to the recently retired HMRC employee, who asked for his name to be changed.

‘It’s a shambles. It’s a great shame and very disappointing to see it at an all-time low. It used to be a good government department and an enjoyable job but that’s no longer the case,’ he adds.

Today, we give readers a rare insight into the chaos experienced by staff inside the tax office.

HMRC is in the grip of a customer service meltdown — just as millions of taxpayers have only two weeks left to file their 2022-23 tax returns. 

Last week we revealed how those seeking help are finding it difficult to speak to anyone ahead of the January 31 tax return deadline after HMRC’s surprising decision to reduce the service on its helpline from December 11 until the end of January. 

Many complain of hour-long call wait times to get through and say that letters have gone unanswered for up to a year.

Now, insiders provide a clue to the cause of the chaos and delays. 

Colin says: ‘It’s a poor old department now and it’s letting people down. People used to be able to come into local tax offices with their questions, now you are waiting an hour to speak to someone on the phone. Everyone who works there knows it’s awful but it’s very difficult to do anything about it as a staff member.’

Colin, from Warwickshire, joined a former division of HMRC called Customs & Excise in 1985 as a VAT inspector and spent most of his career as a fraud investigator.

When he started, he says he spent 95 per cent of his working hours on VAT and other tax work, inspecting records and doing reports.

By last year, just 50 per cent of his time was spent on fraud investigation, he says. The other half was spent battling ‘ridiculous’ systems and in unhelpful training.

‘We get blasted with all sorts of ridiculous training courses that have nothing to do with tax. It’s generally accepted that you spend so much time on non-productive work now,’ he says.

Over the years, the department has cut staff and rolled out new electronic systems in a bid to streamline the service. 

But Colin says that many of these systems are unworkable and create delays.

‘Some appalling software systems have been brought in to supposedly improve things and they have been dire.

‘You are not allowed to criticise anything in the department,’ he says.

In one case, he says it took him 351 days to upload a case of underpaid tax on to the system and issue a penalty to the taxpayer.

‘In 2021 when I was an investigator I identified a man who had under-declared on his taxes and owed corporation tax and VAT on his one-man company. We sorted it amicably, I drew up a report with the amount he owed and he signed it, agreeing to pay. 

‘But until we get that record on the official system, it isn’t legally enforceable. The problem was that the staff who used to upload it have been taken off that area so it became incredibly hard to find anyone to do it for you.’

Colin says his manager was unable to help and he received no guidance when posting his problem on an internal HMRC forum online. In fact, following his request, someone responded with a post to announce that fraud investigators were starting to put pronouns after their signatures on emails.

By last year, Colin was spending just 50 pc of his time was spent on fraud investigation. The other half was spent battling ‘ridiculous’ systems and in unhelpful training

‘In a fit of rage, I responded saying it’s great that pronouns are being included but never mind my problem. Someone reported my post so I was called in front of my boss and was forced to remove it on pain of misconduct proceedings,’ he adds.

‘They didn’t even remark on the tax issue or help me solve it, I was told inclusion was the priority above all. It says a lot about the department that collecting tax was not the top priority.’ Similar system issues have created delays across the department, he says.

Dozens of Money Mail and This is Money readers have voiced their frustration over year-long waits for tax refunds and being unable to get the answers they need from the Revenue’s online chatbot, which taxpayers are being told to use instead of calling the helpline.

Others complain that HMRC is operating in an ‘unprofessional’ manner and many staff appear to be working from home. This is largely down to the low bar set for new recruits, Colin claims. HMRC no longer requires applicants to have higher education or even A-level qualifications for many positions. 

Current vacancies seen by Money Mail and This is Money for the job of a support officer, in which the applicant is expected to resolve customers’ tax queries and complaints, state: ‘You don’t need any existing knowledge or experience of tax to apply.’

The sole ‘desirable criteria’ listed on the job advert is experience of using Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel. Besides this, applicants must be ‘eager to learn’, ‘a team player’ and ‘focused’. Another listing for a customer service adviser states: ‘No experience is necessary as you will be fully trained.’

Colin says: ‘The calibre of people is not the same. The standard of written English is abysmal in official documents from the department as a result. In a department like this clarity and precision are vital — it’s shocking.’

One recent recruit, Stewart Miles, says he has seen the damage caused by this first hand. Stewart, who also asked for his name to be changed, joined HMRC as a part-time VAT Compliance Officer in January 2022.

However, just 16 months later in April 2023, he quit after suffering a stress-related seizure that left him in hospital.

‘I joined with the best of intentions, but it was an eye-opener for all the wrong reasons,’ he says.

Stewart, who is in his 50s and has a background in financial services, says he expected the role to be interesting and rewarding. ‘I had high hopes that I could go in and make a difference, but when you try to issue penalties you get caught up in a load of red tape. You find you can’t get things done for one reason or another,’ he says.

New joiners must complete a long training course, but Stewart says it did not serve him in the job and left him unprepared for the work he faced.

‘As soon as I finished my training, I was told by colleagues to forget everything I had learned because it would not be relevant to my job. It was a waste of time,’ he adds.

And as Stewart was part-time, the training course lasted a full year before he started any work. The first two weeks of training focus largely on inclusion and diversity and health and safety, while covering very little on tax, he says. Staff are then taught about interview techniques and how to run tax investigations.

HMRC says: ‘Training typically ranges from two to ten weeks and covers comprehensive tax courses.’

Stewart believes it is no surprise that taxpayers are having issues getting help from support staff, given how unskilled many of his fellow recruits were.

He says: ‘They have lowered the bar substantially in recent years because it’s a revolving door of staff. I was working with people who had joined straight from McDonald’s and who did not have the wherewithal to be responding to important tax queries. That’s who is looking after your tax affairs.’ 

Last week, Money Mail readers warned that while they struggled to get help, many staff appeared to be working from home.

In one case, a reader told of how a call was disrupted by a baby crying in the background and the call had to be put on hold. Accountants and tax experts who rely on HMRC to conduct business tell us the department is ‘no longer fit for purpose’ and has been in serious decline for months.

Stewart says it was an ‘open secret’ that those working from home were taking long breaks.

‘The training staff were openly saying they were doing the gardening, taking the dog for a walk, playing PlayStation. One used the excuse “I’m taking the cats for a walk”. It was astonishing how little work was being done. It’s seen as a nice easy number and there was very little accountability.’

An HMRC spokesman says that advisers answer the same number of calls whether they are in the office or not and performance was in fact better on average where staff work remotely.

The spokesman added: ‘All our staff are held to the same standards whether they are working from an HMRC building or from home. Offering hybrid working is now essential for recruitment and retention in a competitive labour market.’

A report by consumer group Which? shown to Money Mail reveals that taxpayers need help more than ever.

A third of those who need to file a tax return by the end of the month are concerned about being able to pay their tax bill this year.

Many fear they will make an error — one in three of those who’ve filed a tax return before said the thing they disliked most was worrying about making a mistake.

Which?’s Reena Sewraz says HMRC needs to up its game by cutting call waiting times and offering better support for taxpayers with queries.

She says: ‘Many people will be left incredibly frustrated if they face lengthy call waiting times, issues with online chatbots and unanswered letters when trying to contact HMRC.

‘Until there are viable alternatives to calling when they need answers to vital questions about their tax affairs, people will feel they have no choice but to wait on hold.’

The complex nature of tax rules means that many fall into common misconceptions when filing their tax return. Without adequate guidance, they risk making mistakes.

Two in five people are under the false impression you can’t change a tax return form after it has been submitted, while 51 pc erroneously believe you can claim work travel expenses for your commute, the Which? survey finds.

Low salaries have been a key hurdle in recruiting skilled workers, with many jobs paying between £22,000 and £25,000.

Both Stewart and Colin warn this will be the demise of HMRC. ‘You pay peanuts, you get monkeys,’ says Stewart.

• Have you had difficulties with HMRC? Tell us about it at j.beard@dailymail.co.uk