HMRC to close phone lines for six months every year

[dutchman]

Annual six-month closure goes ahead despite self-assessment chaos



HMRC is introducing an annual summer break on its phone lines in a bid to push customers online.

From April 8 until September 29 – six months – taxpayers will be unable to call the tax office for help with their tax return. These measures, the tax office said, will be repeated every year to allow “helpline advisers to focus support where it is most needed”.

It comes weeks after the Public Accounts Committee, an influential group of MPs, said HMRC’s customer service had hit an “all-time low”.

The latest statistics showed that nearly one million calls went unanswered in January, the tax office’s busiest month, with taxpayers scrambling to file for self-assessment tax returns on time in order to avoid automatic late fines.

On average those who got through had to wait 25 minutes before HMRC answered the phone.

The six-month closure will coincide with an “annualised hours” pilot scheme that will involve 100 customer service staff working a three-day week during the summer period, generally a quieter month for the tax office, before working extra hours over the winter.

The decision to permanently cut the helpline follows its summer closure between June 12 and September 4 last year.

This trial was highly criticised by accountancy bodies and MPs, with the Treasury Select Committee last year grilling HMRC on the decision – which had been announced with just four days’ notice.

However, HMRC said the seasonal pilot was “successful”, with calls initially spiking when the helpline reopened before returning to “expected levels”.

Chair of the Treasury Select Committee Harriett Baldwin said: “It is a great shame that HMRC have decided now is the time to essentially close down any avenues for people to contact them over the phone for huge parts of the year. I say once again, these are well-meaning people just trying to get their taxes right.

“We’ve heard time and time again that every effort is being made to direct people to resolve issues online. The committee welcomes efforts to make the tax system more efficient but HMRC has not yet demonstrated that the department or the public are ready to make such a monumental change to how they resolve tax issues.

“This should not be forced upon taxpayers until there is evidence that people know how to do their taxes on HMRC’s incredibly complex website.”

Others have warned that the new “seasonal” helpline will result in more taxpayers filing late and filling in their tax returns incorrectly, creating problems further down the line.

The Chartered Institute for Taxation has said it is concerned the summer trial could have led to a drop in the number of people filing on time. Official statistics suggest there were about 180,000 fewer filers in January 2024 compared to the previous year.

Gary Ashford, of the CIOT, said the decision to make the summer closure permanent was “misguided”.

“We are deeply dismayed that, so soon after the criticisms levelled at them by the Public Accounts Committee, and in the light of an inconclusive evaluation, HMRC has decided to make these big, permanent cuts to the help it provides to taxpayers.

“If last year’s announcement of the summer closure of the self-assessment helpline was a ‘flashing indicator’ that HMRC can’t cope, today’s announcements are a blinding light.

“HMRC’s own evaluation of both the closure of the helpline in summer 2023, and the helpline restrictions during the 2024 self-assessment peak, concluded that it is too early to say if there has been a long-term shift from phone contact to online self-service. Yet HMRC have decided to go ahead anyway.”

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales said the decision was “disappointing”, while Victoria Todd, of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, said: “HMRC’s online services, including guidance and the automated digital assistant, are not yet at the standard required to support a forced channel shift to digital.

“This increases the likelihood of errors and non-compliance, storing up problems for taxpayers and HMRC further down the line."

[rebbonk]

I wonder just how much this little farce has cost UK taxpayers?

HMRC halts plans for helpline shake-up following criticism
Changes to the self-assessment, VAT and PAYE helplines previously announced by HM Revenue & Customs will be halted while it engages with stakeholders.

Plans to shake up HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) helpline services, which would have seen the self-assessment helpline closed for some of the year, have been halted following an outcry.

On Tuesday, HMRC announced “permanent” changes to the self-assessment, VAT and PAYE helplines, drawing criticism from a range of sectors in doing so.

By Wednesday morning, the revenue body said is halting the plans in response to feedback.

The plans would have meant that, between April and September, the self-assessment helpline would be closed and customers would be directed to self-serve through its online services.

Chairwoman of the Treasury Select Committee, Harriett Baldwin, said on Tuesday that the move to online services should not be “forced on taxpayers”.

She said the revenue body has not yet demonstrated that the department or the public “are ready to make such a monumental change to how they resolve tax issues”.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) previously described the plans as “misguided”.

Tina McKenzie, policy chairwoman at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said on Tuesday that the plans would “be greeted with dismay by thousands of small businesses”.

HMRC said it is now halting its plans in response to the feedback while it engages with its stakeholders about how to ensure all taxpayers’ needs – including small businesses – are met as it shifts more people to online self-service in the longer term.

It means the changes to the self-assessment, VAT and PAYE helplines announced by HMRC will all be halted while it engages with stakeholders, and phone lines will remain open between April and September.

HMRC chief executive Jim Harra said on Wednesday: “Making best use of online services allows HMRC to help more taxpayers and get the most out of every pound of taxpayers’ money by boosting productivity.

“Our helpline and webchat advisers will always be there for those taxpayers who need support because they are vulnerable, digitally excluded or have complex affairs.

“However the pace of this change needs to match the public appetite for managing their tax affairs online.

“We’ve listened to the feedback and we’re halting the helpline changes as we recognise more needs to be done to ensure all taxpayers’ needs are met, whilst also encouraging them to transition to online services.”

HMRC said it will continue encouraging customers to self-serve where possible and access the information they need more quickly and easily by going online or to its app.

Organisations welcomed HMRC’s latest announcement.

Ms McKenzie said: “Small businesses will definitely be relieved that the drastic reduction in HMRC’s helpline opening hours has been paused.

“We are very glad that HMRC has listened to the chorus of dismay which greeted its initial announcement.

“While online services are a key part of the communications mix for the tax authority, sometimes there’s just no substitute for a real human on the end of a phone line who can listen, engage, and help untangle issues.

“It’s still also the case that people trying to get through to HMRC by phone face long delays, which is causing dissatisfaction to rise, and shows that the appetite for phone services is still high.

“We want to see HMRC investing in its helplines, to cut waiting times and ensure that small business owners with urgent tax queries can get through with minimal fuss to someone who can help.”

Dawn Register, head of tax dispute resolution at advisory firm BDO, said: “We welcome HMRC’s decision to halt its proposed helpline changes…

“Cutting off helplines at this stage was never going to be a good idea as it would have made it harder for taxpayers to be compliant.”

CIOT president Gary Ashford said: “The Government are right to be putting these big, permanent cuts to HMRC’s telephone helplines on hold for the time being.”

Caroline Miskin, ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) senior technical manager, digital taxation, said: “This surprising U-turn is good news for taxpayers, who need HMRC customer service to be responsive to their queries.

“If taxpayers can’t speak to a human when they need to, there is a real risk that they give up on trying to do the right thing and that errors and non-compliance increase.

“We hope HMRC will learn lessons and listen to professional bodies and other stakeholders before making major changes in the future.”

Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/business/money/hmrc-halts-plans-for-helpline-shakeup-following-criticism-b1146494.html