A report published by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on 28th February has found that customer service levels at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are at an all-time low.
According to the report, 62.7% of callers in the last twelve months waited more than 10 minutes to speak to an adviser, up from 46.3% in 2021-22. HMRC’s official response is that it did not have the resources to meet rising demand for its phone and post services and is instead directing callers to use its digital services. There is however evidence to indicate that these digital services are not up to standard either.
We are sharing these report findings because, as far as we are concerned, they are the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, the delays ultimately impact our clients and other taxpayers.
Some of the greatest delays that we are seeing involve amendments to personal tax returns and requests for repayments. The longest timeframe that we have seen is 18 months to process and issue a repayment.
Once a repayment request has been logged, the minimum response time for a digital enquiry is 8 weeks followed by up to a further 12 weeks for the repayment to be made. According to the HMRC website on 1 March 2024, paper requests for repayments will not be answered until 16 June – that is 15 weeks – with any repayment then to take a further 12 weeks.
Whilst we at RPG Chartered Accountants do our absolute best to deal with clients’ tax requirements in a prompt manner, please be aware that that the delays resulting from interactions with HMRC are completely out of our control. We too are severely hampered by their delays and lack of responsiveness. But that won’t deter us!
Please contact us if you would like any further information about our personal and business tax services. Email info@rpg.co.uk or call 0161 608 0000. We look forward to hearing from you!
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