HMRC is ‘deliberately’ offering taxpayers poor customer service, according to a report by MPs which found that waiting times have reached record levels.

The tax office strongly refutes the report’s claims that it has ‘deliberately’ provided poor service, but a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published today shows service levels have continued to deteriorate. 

Average call waiting times have reached record levels and exceeded 23 minutes in 2023/24, up from 16 minutes 24 seconds in 2022/23.

The report also found HMRC answered just 66.3 per cent of customers attempts to speak to an adviser, falling short of its 85 per cent target. It last met its annual target for phone services in 2017/18.

Higher demand for HMRC services, as a result of more people paying tax due to fiscal drag, has been a significant driver. The tax office says it has not been adequately resourced to meet telephone demand.

However, MPs have accused HMRC of deliberately degrading its own phone services, ‘willing to let them fail, in the hope that people will be forced to go online’.

Waiting times rise: The average call waiting time has increased to over 23 minutes

Waiting times rise: The average call waiting time has increased to over 23 minutes

The report warns that it has damaged public confidence in the tax system, having cut off 44,000 calls to customers who had been waiting 70 minutes without explanation.

‘It does not provide a callback option. It cannot provide callers with accurate information on expected call waiting times. 

‘It planned to close helplines with just two days’ notice to taxpayers, and then reversed its decision when there was an entirely predictable public backlash.’

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of the Committee, said: ‘Given that citizens have no choice but to engage with HMRC, it has a responsibility to aspire to the highest standards of service.

‘Unfortunately, what we have instead is a tax authority excavating its way to new lows in service levels every year. Worse, it seems to be degrading its own services as a matter of policy. HMRC is an organisation in defensive mode, and needs bold and ambitious leadership to begin to chart its recovery.’

HMRC has pushed to move most of its services online as part of its Making Tax Digital scheme, claiming that 66 per cent of the 37 million calls it received last year could have been done online.

However, MPs say that given the difficulties taxpayers have faced with its telephone services, ‘we have doubts that HMRC’s digital services are as good as HMRC claims’.

PAC also said the tax office had been too quick to restrict access to its phone services, before ensuring replacement digital services were fully in place.

HMRC told the PAC inquiry it did not have enough resources to deal with more taxpayers thanks to frozen thresholds pushing more people into paying tax.

And while it received £51million of additional funding last year to cover 1500 more staff, MPs warn service will deteriorate further if it struggles to meet demand.

Among its recommendations to the tax office, MPs are calling for HMRC to reinstate a call waiting time target, and ensure customers have accurate estimates of call waiting times, rather than using the average from the previous day.

While phone services have declined, HMRC has improved in other areas. In 2023/24, HMRC received 22million items of post, forms and interactive forms, 70 per cent of which required scanning or manual entry.

In 2021/22 HMRC cleared just 45.5 per cent within its target of 15 working days, but this improved to 76.3 per cent in 2023/24. However, it still falls short of its 80 per cent target.

Sir Geoffrey said: ‘There is some hope in our report. HMRC has now secured more funds to allow it to pursue what’s owed to it, and has a welcome new goal to reduce the gap in unpaid tax.

‘We would urge it to use its new resources not to just go after low-hanging fruit, but to do more to recover older debts lest they become uncollectable, as well as to better understand what more may be hidden offshore. 

‘Further, if it is serious in its plans to reduce its prosecutions, it should also explain what the best means of deterring criminal tax evaders may be.’

Jim Harra, First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive, HMRC, said: ‘The committee’s claims about our customer service are completely baseless. In reality, we’ve made huge improvements to our service standards, with call wait times down by 17 minutes since April last year.

‘We will always be there to answer the phone for those who need extra help. At the same time, more than 80 per cent of customers are satisfied with our digital services, with more and more people using them to quickly and easily manage their tax affairs.’

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