HMRC-is it time to call the Army in?

[etf]

Response to complaints
Posted about a month ago by doodek

I requested a certificate of residence from HRMC. I specified the period of time which it should include. I received a standard certificate of residence which includs only the date when it was issued. I submitted two complaints to HMRC (LYV-7XOL-G83, CMR-DW78-KI5) and I did not receive answers to any of these complaints. Can you please explain why?
Posted 30 days ago by HMRC Admin 34 Response

Hi,

Sorry, we cannot provide updates on individual cases on this forum.

Please refer to guidance at:

Complain about HMRC

You can find out when you can expect to receive a reply from HMRC here:

Check when you can expect a reply from HMRC

Thank you
Posted 30 days ago by Jon Tyler

I made a complaint on 18th October 2024 but I've received no response so far. There is no facility for enquiring about the progess of my complaint because it was about gift aid and a very unhelpful person on the HMRC phone. Please tell me about the progress of this complaint made on behalf of a charity. The charity needs the gift aid payments from the last 4 years because otherwise we will have no money to pay the bills this winter.



[Personal information removed - Admin]
Posted 29 days ago by HMRC Admin 19 Response

Hi,

Sorry, we cannot provide updates on individual cases on this forum.

Thank you.
Posted 29 days ago by Daniel Hunt

I recieved a letter from the compliance team and was told my repayment would be issued within 10 working days and i havent recieved nothing. Tried contacting the compliance officer who issued it with no luck at all doesn't answer the phone or voice mails left to him. I was told the payment was issued but my payment is stuck in Pending status once again after passing all security checks.
Posted 27 days ago by doodek

I submitted my first complaint on 14 September 2024. According to the tool on your website I should have received a reply by 9 November 2024, but I still have not received anything. When I try to call HMRC, I have to wait > 50 minutes to be connected with an advisor.
Posted 26 days ago by HMRC Admin 34 Response

Hi,

Sorry for the inconvenience, but we cannot access individual cases on the forum.

Please contact HMRC:

Contact HM Revenue & Customs

Thank you

[etf]

“It's not sharing any secrets to say that customer service has not been at the place that it should be,” said Murrary. He added that HMRC has recently improved some of the metrics around answering phones but he said there is more of a long term issue that needs addressing about improving the digital offering which would reduce the telephone demands and free up HMRC staff to help people with more complicated cases.

What anyone who has had to deal with HMRC has known for well over a decade. And yet we have have a Dame and a couple of Knights rewarded for their poor leadership. This country will continue to struggle whilst we continue to adopt an approach of rewarding failure (because it is a tradition) and ignoring genius...viz Bobby Moore.

[etf]

Once again HMRC not able to cope with demand:

HMRC Customer Forum: Service Disruption
Due to unprecedented demand, the HMRC Community Forum is currently experiencing severe delays in dealing with customer posts.
We apologise for the disruption to our service.

[etf]

MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Surely James Murray with his high level education will twigg that if HMRC's services crumble when one filing deadline is approaching, it is not a good idea to add another four or eight filing deadlines in the same year.

I have also read that agent client accounts are being locked by HMRC. I can only imagine the high levels of stress those agents are facing given the looming self-assessment filing deadline. More likely clients for A&E compounding Labours task.

[etf]

MORE MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....."completely baseless" is my description for the merit of Harra's knighthood.

HMRC has denied running a "deliberately poor" phone service in an attempt to push taxpayers to seek help online instead.

Nearly 44,000 customers were cut off without warning after being on hold for more than an hour last year, a report by a committee of MPs found.

It warned HMRC's service had got even worse since then and urged the tax authority to take responsibility for failing its customers.

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".

The report comes ahead of the deadline for self-assessment tax returns on 31 January, which could lead to increased demand for help.

HMRC's phone line went dead on 43,690 customers who had been waiting 70 minutes to reach an adviser in the first 11 months of 2023-24, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report said.

This was because HMRC's system could not cope with the volume of calls but customers were not warned they were about to be cut off, nor were they called back, the report added.

The figure for the number of callers cut off was published by the National Audit Office (NAO) in May last year but MPs have highlighted it among fears HMRC was running down its own helpline.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the PAC, said HMRC was "excavating its way to new lows" in its customer service every year.

He added: "Worse, it seems to be degrading its own services as a matter of policy."

[etf]

I think the following quote can be filed under the Sex Pistols album title...tell that to the 44,000 Sir Jim.

My message to the other Jim is to sort your own house out before piling further misery upon the long suffering public.



Mr Harra, first permanent secretary and chief executive at HMRC, said: "We will always be there to answer the phone for those who need extra help".

[etf]

I waited about 30 minutes on the phone to chase HMRC for something they have had for a few days under 12 months. I have chased previously on more than one occasion with no joy.

Definitely the poshest HMRC voice I have ever encountered in 40 years, but new to the job (are they recruiting from Oxford?). When told that he would try and chase a colleague to look into the matter, but couldn't advise me when anyone would look at it, alarm bells were ringing. He advised me that there is just too much to do with too few people doing it...well yes, but you have had this for 12 months and Sir Jim keeps telling us that 70+ per cent of post is dealt within 15 working days.

Is Sir Jim believable? Seemingly not:

By Tornado
22nd Jan 2025 07:45
“HMRC’s treatment of taxpayers has damaged trust in the tax system.”

These are not my words but I fully agree with the sentiment.

HMRC used to be worthy of trust, but now you cannot believe anything they say.

[etf]

The regulators of HMRC must up there game...the people who are undertaking that role must challenge Sir Jim because the service is dreadful. Get people.... who suffer from Sir Jim's decision to divert all funds to MTD to the detriment of all other services.... to ask the questions.

Mistakes and problems will always occur, but when people complain the service must have procedures that work. As detailed in my previous post I spoke with posh boy last Wednesday. My previous two reminder calls had yielded zero action and as HMRC had already had 12 months to deal with this item, I initiated a complaint. Nine days later..heard nothing. Given past experience I don't expect to hear from anyone...complaints are just ignored and disappear into the ether.

I made another call on the same day...promised a call back...nothing.

[etf]

...their not there

[etf]

12 days....no promised return call on either complaint or enquiry. It's happening again, it's happening again...HMRC complaint calls are buried in the Fens.

Murray to Harra...how are we doing on complaint handling Jim?
Harra to Murray....we don't receive any complaints James.
Murray..just as I thought Jim. Keep up the good work.