MPs accuse HMRC of ‘deliberately’ deteriorating phone services to push taxpayers online

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

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

Average call waiting times have reached record levels, exceeding 23 minutes in 2023/24, compared to 16 minutes and 24 seconds in 2022/23.

The report also shows that HMRC only responded to 66.3 per cent of customer attempts to speak to an adviser, falling short of the 85 per cent target. The company last met its annual target for telephone services in 2017/2018.

Increased demand for HMRC services, resulting from more people paying tax due to tax barriers, has been a key driver. The tax authorities say they do not have sufficient resources to meet the telephone demand.

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

Waiting times are increasing: The average waiting time for calls has increased to more than 23 minutes

The report warns that public confidence in the tax system has been damaged as 44,000 calls were dropped to customers who had waited 70 minutes without explanation.

‘It doesn’t offer a callback option. It cannot provide callers with accurate information about expected wait times.

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

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chairman of the committee, said: ‘As citizens have no choice but to engage with HMRC, it has a responsibility to strive for the highest standards of service.

“Unfortunately, what we have instead is a tax administration that works its way to new lows in service levels every year. Worse, it appears to be downgrading its own services as a matter of policy. HMRC is a defensive organization and needs bold and ambitious leadership to map out the recovery.”

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

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

PAC also said the tax authorities had been too quick to restrict access to its telephone services before the 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 encouraging more people to pay tax.

And although it received £51 million in extra funding last year to fund an additional 1,500 staff, MPs warn that services will deteriorate further as it struggles to meet demand.

Among the recommendations to tax authorities are for MPs to call on HMRC to re-set a call waiting time target and ensure customers are given accurate estimates of waiting times, rather than using the previous day’s average.

While telephone services have declined, HMRC has improved in other areas. In 2023/2024, HMRC received 22 million pieces of mail, forms and interactive forms, 70 percent of which had to be scanned or entered manually.

In 2021/2022 HMRC dealt with just 45.5 per cent within the 15 working day target, but this improved to 76.3 per cent in 2023/24. However, the 80 percent target is still not being achieved.

Sir Geoffrey said: ‘There is some hope in our report. HMRC has now secured more money to enable it to pursue what it is owed, and has a welcome new target to reduce the gap in unpaid taxes.

“We urge the country not just to use its new resources to chase low-hanging fruit, but to do more to recover older debts so they don’t become uncollectible, and to better understand what remains to be done.” may be hidden further offshore.

“Furthermore, if it is serious in its plans to reduce prosecutions, it should also explain the best way to deter criminal tax evaders.”

Jim Harra, HMRC’s first permanent secretary and chief executive, said: ‘The commission’s claims about our customer service are completely unfounded. In reality, we have vastly improved our service standards, with waiting times falling by 17 minutes since April last year.

‘We will always be ready to answer the phone for anyone who needs extra help. At the same time, more than 80 percent of customers are satisfied with our digital services and more and more people are using it to quickly and easily arrange their tax affairs.’

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