HMRC-is it time to call the Army in?

[etf]

I have had a few swipes at Sir Jim today and here is a real life case study to detail the day to day problems that flow from his inability to lead:

1) Nearly 40 minute wait for the phone to be answered...thought Jeremy's extra millions were supposed to improve wait times...errrhhh no!

2) Was advised HMRC had two unallocated payments...clearly nobody had looked to resolve this as the amounts matched two figures detailed by HMRC in their letter to the client.

3) It appeared another payment which covered a number of years had been incorrectly lumped into one year. Asked that this be looked at and was advised to expect a 19 week wait for a written reply.

You won't find these wait times in HMRC's published numbers because they play a game of deceit.

Hopefully Kier's first move will be to remove Sir Jim from his post (suspect this would gain near universal support from taxpayers/advisers) and put somebody in post who deals with post etc in date order. 'World class' service Angela?

[benjamin11]

May provoke frustration or concern over unresolved tax issues or complex situations requiring urgent resolution. It prompts thoughts on government efficiency, legal obligations, and the impact on personal or business finances, urging decisive action or intervention.

[etf]

By Tornado
25th May 2024 13:30
In have one client whose 2023 Tax Return was filed some 6 months ago but it has not yet been processed. He has paid the correct SA Tax which shows as an overpayment at the moment. His wife's 2023 Tax Return has been processed correctly with a reduced personal allowance.

My client has done everything correctly, but I do not have time to chase HMRC to just process his Return. Eventually I expect HMRC will get around to processing the Return, especially as the 2024 Return will be submitted shortly.

I was told yesterday these 2022/23 tax return filings are now in a queue at least 7 months long before they will be processed....has anyone got an email address for King Charles' gong adviser?

[etf]

Will increased funding halt HMRC’s blunders?

My 2 point plan for Labour:(you promised CHANGE)

1) Sack Sir Jim to get rid of the lorry loads of work that are currently parked in cul-de-sacs and left to fester because they were not dealt with within 15 working days (WAKE UP REGULATORS!!!!!!)
2) Appoint Kevin Ringer in his place


By kevinringer
10th Jul 2024 11:52
When I started in the profession, HMRC (or Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise as they were at the time) used to answer the phone within a minute (no queues, no pre-recorded waffle), would respond to post timely (those were the days of hand-written assessments, which were issued faster than HMRC currently captures digital Tax Returns with Marriage Allowance claims), were very much an enabling organisation by holding PAYE, CIS and VAT workshops for businesses new to tax. Everyone we dealt with in HMRC knew their tax. Everyone in business would expect an in-person VAT visit every 5-10 years, and occasional investigations. As a result, HMRC were treated with respect.

The HMRC of 2024 has such dismal performance that we’ve lost all resect for HMRC.

Amy says “can HMRC’s mistakes be stopped by modernisation and investment?”

In my view, it is the modernisation that is the problem, modernisation without the investment. HMRC has attempted to replace HMRC people with IT when the IT is not fit for purpose. And instead of fixing their problems, HMRC introduced more complexity (30/60-day CGT, Basis Period Reform, MTD). HMRC is intoxicated with IT and completely lost sight of its purpose.

[etf]

By Self-Employed and Happy
10th Jul 2024 11:31
A bit like throwing money at the NHS it won't solve the issues.

HMRC needs a complete overhaul and re-organisation.

Do away with MTD for ITSA as well, no need for it, no value to the public whatsoever.

Put some value into Agents being qualified by giving those people an increased level of control within the HMRC portal / ability to do more things.

It took me 10 phone calls in the last 2 weeks (all of which cut off after 30 minutes) and probably 20 attempts at PAYE chat before I didn't get the "no one is available" message, all this to be told my issue that was escalated 6 months ago can only be dealt with by a certain team and there is no way of contacting them, cue a Agent Management Service email to see where that gets me....

Its [***] mentally exhausting.

[etf]

Are you listening Labour????

By FactChecker
09th Jul 2024 20:15
Bad direction from the top + a mortally damaged culture + low (often no) skills within the majority of remaining staff ... SO throwing money at it is intended to change what exactly?

And I'm serious about all 3 of those 'charges'.

Top management in any organisation needs to have a cohesive story that connects the major planks of their strategies with a 5-year 'vision' - with those strategies built on measurable metrics that are reviewed regularly, and (when necessary) used to justify short-term operational changes ... rather than relying on the 'sunk cost fallacy' and 'too big to fail' mantras of those who are incapable of effective management.

This isn't the place to explain corporate culture in practical terms ... but at its heart there are basic truths, like:
- a healthy culture being one where it isn't wrong to admit mistakes
- where resolving a problem is a higher priority than allocating blame
- where management understand that listening involves absorbing unwanted feedback not just erecting defensive barriers
- where the concept of service (particularly public service) recognises a collaboration with 'customers' rather than a default of confrontation
... ultimately treating all staff and customers (and therefore agents) first and foremost as people, not as a component of a process.

And the lack of skills?
Arguably more worrying even than the lack of knowledge and experience (both of which fell off a cliff in the rush to slash the numbers and take a lot of effort/time to rebuild) is the all-time low level of skills (competences) required in new recruits at most levels.
You can (given money, commitment and time) rebuild the knowledge base through training ... but if the foundational competences don't exist then no amount of money will be transformative!

[etf]

# It's [*******] mentally exhausting trying to interact with HMRC

P85 submitted with P45 on 4 March 2024
Chased using 'receive a reply tool' on 19 April and told should have received a reply by 15 April (when I tried again today said 11 April....HMRC re-writing history?).
Chased by telephone on 22 May...HMRC confirmed letter received.....looked at and filed away as no refund due. No letter of advice to me the agent. Asked for a call back.
Chased again on 1 July letter dated 21 June on its way to me.
Letter dated 24 June received on 15 July stating they tried to call and not clear why I had called.
Attempt to call HMRC ....not taking PAYE calls.
Went on digital thingy and no-one available.

FFS Labour please sack Sir Jim immediately. HMRC service levels are dire. How many robots and people does it take to issue a tax refund? In old money one person and 20 minutes work time perhaps.

PS And yes I know my mother would be disappointed with my use of expletives but there is a limit to the lorry loads of shit that HMRC are dumping on one person.

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King Charles is giving Sir Jim a knighthhood for this service..what incentive is there for him to try harder? Labour needs to sort this out quickly or they'll soon go the same way as the Tory Party.

Complaint re communications from overseas
Posted about a month ago by Neil Wilkinson

Trying to deal with HMRC from overseas is impossible and frustrating. I have been trying to contact people from the self assessment unit and the international debt unit over an issue that has gone on for months and months.
Letters take weeks, or get lost in the postal systems. Phone calls are always cut off, after listening to an automated response for ages. I cannot access their website as I don’t have the UK credentials or UK post-code needed. I am being threatened with penalties and interest and cant seem to do anything about it. All I want is the direct contact details of someone to appeal to / get answers from. I cant even get access to any complaint mechanisms.
This is the worst communicating organisation I have ever dealt with and I cant see how to breakout from the ping pong of old style letters. I have sent the info to them to allow e.mail communications but still get letters……
HELP!

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The complaints team that you have to complain about...hard to make this up.

Tier 2 Complaint
Posted 12 months ago by

Hi
I recently escalated a Tier 1 complaint to Tier 2 as I am not satisfied with the response. How long can I expect to wait for a response and when should I start chasing this up?

Thanks
Posted 11 months ago by HMRC Admin 10

Hi

If you have any contact details for complaints you would need to contact them directly as we don't have access to timescales for escalations within complaints.


Posted 11 months ago by

Absolutely useless as always, Thankyou
Posted 9 months ago by

Hi
Still waiting on a response from my tier 2 complaint. Received a text end of August saying they aim to resolve within 4 weeks and nothing since. Called through to the helpline to be told they can’t give out a phone number for this department and that they would pass a message on to them to contact me….,,,.still no response. How can I get an update on my complaint if nobody will call me back?
Posted 9 months ago by HMRC Admin 25

Hi Lou H,

We are sorry you have not received a call back, we can only suggest you call again to progress chase your compliant.

Please see attached contact details.

Make a complaint about HMRC

Thank you.

[etf]

The unprocessed 2022/23 tax return queue is approaching at least 8 months long e.g. tax returns submitted at the start of December 2023 are yet to be looked at. Parked in lorries in dead-end cul-de-sacs whilst Sir Jim 'Ali Bongo' Harra continues to issue monthly updates indicating post is being processed....only the stuff that make the stats work for him.....no element of fairness in dealing with items in date order.

The regulators of HMRC make sleepy Joe look like a sprightly 20 year old. At least he (belatedly) had the good grace to stand down.