HMRC-is it time to call the Army in?

[etf]

So 13 days without a call back to my complaint and follow up call number 4 from me, to someone who dealt with my call very well. I'll refer to him as Middle England.

It appears posh boy didn't initiate my complaint in the correct manner as it needed to go to a local complaints team. Middle England confirmed there is a massive backlog of claims that is known about (the queue is seemingly at least 12 months long) but not enough people have been drafted to process them. If you pardon my French, this supports my assertion that Sir Jim spunked the whole budget (and more) on MTD so there is nothing left to deal with the day to day running at HMRC. This leaves people like me to explain what you have already explained three times before, to Middle England who knows there is a problem but can't fix it because Sir Jim his boss is an idiot.

And then on top of that, you get apparently well educated people like James Murray MP telling Sir Jim to carry on as before even though the project can't work as at first envisaged. It will bung up the system even further, people who are supposed to be growing the economy will have to make an extra 4/8 filings per year that nobody will look at and this will come at a cost in terms of both their time and money.

So what is the fall out for people like me? I've still not been able to raise an invoice for work I completed in January 2024 and there is no clarity when I'll be able to raise one. Harra's leadership of HMRC sucks!

[etf]

12-24 months to answer correspondence and they spout this guff.....James Murray MP you are in charge....what are you going to do?


Being responsive
When you get in touch with us, we’ll make sure that the people you deal with have the right level of expertise. We’ll answer your questions and resolve things first time, or as quickly as we can. We’ll also explain what happens next and when you can expect a response from us. If we make a mistake, we’ll put it right as soon as possible. If you’re not satisfied with the service you’ve received, we’ll explain how you can make a complaint.

[etf]

Sir Jim is shameless...post and refunds both taking 12 months plus to process and he is still spouting his 80% of correspondence in 15 working days statistic....it makes 12+ month waits unexplainable unless you are seeking to deceive/lie/mislead. Hopefully Clifton-Brown will raise this point with Sir Jim. It should have been asked years ago. Call Posh Boy and Middle England to give evidence...they both realise there are huge backlogs parked in cul-de-sacs.


Dear Sir Geoffrey, Sir Jim Harra KCB Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ 21 January 2025 Third Report of Session 2024–25: HMRC Customer Service and Accounts

I am writing regarding the Committee’s report and related press notice on HMRC’s Customer Service and Accounts, shared with me under embargo. I am disturbed by the Committee’s claims that HMRC is deliberately degrading its customer services performance as a matter of policy and that service levels continue to deteriorate. I refute these claims in the strongest terms. They expressly contradict the oral evidence my colleagues and I provided during the oral evidence session on 28 November 2024 (see question 55 of the transcript). HMRC has always deployed its available resources to maximise its performance across all customer services channels and continually strives to meet its service standards. In 202324, there was a growing taxpayer population with more complex needs. Combined with budget constraints, this meant that we were not able to meet our service standards. We have apologised for the inconvenience which this caused our customers. HMRC received extra funding earlier in this financial year to enable us to recruit more customer service advisers to improve our telephony service performance. Since then, we have made strong progress towards meeting our telephony and correspondence service standards and wait times have reduced. We aim to maintain this improved performance through the remainder of 2024-25 and meet our service standards through 2025-26. In 2024-25 to November, HMRC has answered 69% of phone calls where the caller wished to speak to an adviser. This is below our service standard; however, it shows strong progress in improving telephony performance during the year. In October and November, we met our service standard, with an average across both months of 85% of phone calls to advisers being answered. Information is available in large print, audio and Braille formats. Text Relay service number – 18001 Similarly, our performance in responding to correspondence has seen steady improvements throughout October and November, close to our 80% service standard. We aim to maintain this upward trend through Quarter 4. For the 2024-25 year to November, we have seen consistently high levels of customer satisfaction with our phone, webchat and digital services – nearly 80% of customers said they were either ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access 24/7 and we encourage taxpayers to self-serve online where they can. This will enable HMRC advisers to focus on helping those who need support and providing them with a prompt service. We are continuing to expand our online services and in spring 2025 we will publish a digital roadmap which will set out how we will further implement our digital-first strategy. We will, of course, respond in detail to the Committee’s recommendations via a Treasury Minute in due course.
Yours sincerely, Jim Harra CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND FIRST PERMANENT SECRETARY

[AGoodman]

Does the 80% target explain why letters are so often dated 10 days before they are posted?

Or are they in fact carried on horseback to a remote post box in the Outer Hebrides to keep the Hebridean Royal Mail in business?

[etf]

That made me smile.

If Clifton-Brown asks Sir Jim the million dollar question, he will be DOOMED! (to carry on your Scottish theme). He will have to admit he has chased goals ignoring what they declare they should do in HMRC's Charter.... viz prioritising recently received post and ignoring the stuff 12 months old.

The decision making at the top seems to be to get things wrong and carry on as though everything is fine. Even well-educated Murray MP must be close to working that one out.

[etf]

Currently 57 minutes on hold to HMRC. That equates to one episode of Escape to the Country and now well in Antiques Roadtrip. And all the time you get a message confirming 'Your call is important to us'...what absolute b******.

Will I hit the hour...will they cut me off...will everyone have gone home when I reach the top of the queue?

More questions please Clifton-Brown.

[etf]

Hit the hour on hold...'one of our advisers will be with you as soon as possible'

[etf]

If they don't cut me off only 28 mins to The Repair Shop on the Road!

[etf]

Harra in action or should that be inaction....total cobblers from him as usual...and yes I am losing my mind.... 1 hour 8 minutes....

HMRC chief executive Jim Harra said the committee's claims on its customer service were "completely baseless" and added "we've made huge improvements to our service standards, with call wait times down by 17 minutes since April last year".

[etf]

1 hour and 13 minute wait...great service when you get through. Why are service standards infinitely worse than 1984 when I started?....my money is on weak management at the top.