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Where Taxpayers and Advisers Meet

HMRC Agent Line Help

emma.br29
Posts:1
Joined:Fri Oct 01, 2021 11:27 am
HMRC Agent Line Help

Postby emma.br29 » Fri Oct 01, 2021 11:34 am

Morning all,

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a compliance team or quality team for the Agent Dedicated line at HMRC?

I have advisors who when calling the helpline are either being hung up on, or being told incorrect or differing information for customers' claims depending on who it is that answers the phone.

Essentially I'm wanting to actually speak to someone and see how this can be reported and how to work better with them instead of feeling as if you're going round in circles.

Some things we have been told:
Agents have 1 hour with whoever answers the Agent line, others have told us they can only deal with 1 customer at a time
Some agents can work cases on the phone where others are sending referrals to departments to work cases
We have been told that some R40/Marriage Allowance claims don't have a timescale to be worked, where some are worked in as little as 2 weeks.

I was told previously to write to the Central Agent Authorisation Team address in Newcastle but there was no timescale as to if or when they would reply.

Any help would be great!

Jholm
Posts:360
Joined:Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:22 pm

Re: HMRC Agent Line Help

Postby Jholm » Fri Oct 01, 2021 2:59 pm

I think you will fight a losing battle to be honest.

I've said for years the amount of times I get two different answers from two different advisors is ridiculous.

I've found the way you word things to them can be a massive factor too. For example I can call HMRC re: a client and get some info out of them that will be totally different to the info the client gets given.

They are usually happy to check their updated guidance if you contest anything with them on the phone.

robbob
Posts:3228
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:01 pm

Re: HMRC Agent Line Help

Postby robbob » Fri Oct 01, 2021 3:52 pm

I simply hang up and tyry again if i don't get the answer i know i should get - unfortunately its learning teh exact best way to treat every situation where you ned a reponse from hmrc - generally i have found agent helplien to be mostly adequate or above when thy answer.



I would say at present timescales ref anything post related are ridiculous so for anything that can be done online or via phone never do via post unless you want to wait forever.

Eg marriage transfer claim simply ring up or enter on tax return - hmrc should happily process marriage claims there and then when you speak to them.

etf
Posts:1278
Joined:Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:25 pm

Re: HMRC Agent Line Help

Postby etf » Mon Oct 04, 2021 12:54 pm

I do think having to answer questions on our complicated tax system must be a daunting task and I'm sure we would all be capable of dropping the odd clanger if put in that situation. That said, at times the waits are intolerable and I'm fed up of waiting up to 2 minutes listening to recorded messages or to automatic voice recognition systems that can be problematic.

As the other two responders have indicated experiences will vary. At worst I've been cut off on purpose and when I've complained the recorded telephone message has mysteriously been lost (all I wanted was an apology and in many ways the likely cover-up was 10 times worse than the initial crime).Conversely, I've recently received really excellent service from Nigel in Public Department 1.

At the end of last week I received a letter replying to mine dated 8 March (so nearly a 7 month delay), to reinforce Robbob's comment.

Good luck with your task; publicising it is a good starting point. If you make any headway, it would be great if you would update the thread.


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