HMRC accused of running “deliberately poor” phone service

MPs have accused HMRC of deliberately running a poor phone service for customers in an attempt to push them online instead.

In a new report published today (Wednesday, January 22), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says it is concerned that HMRC has degraded its own phone services – willing to let them fail – in the hope that people will be forced to go online. 

HMRC has said that encouraging customers to switch to digital frees up its lines for vulnerable people and more complex cases. 

But the report from MPs warns that phone access has been restricted before digital services are ready. 

It further notes that not all services are available online and do not offer the reassurance people need.

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's phone line went dead on 43,690 customers who had been waiting 70 minutes to reach an adviser in the first 11 months of 2023-24, the report said.

This was because HMRC's system could not cope with the volume of calls, but customers were not warned they were about to be cut off, nor were they called back, the report added.

The figure for the number of callers cut off was published in a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) in May last year.

However, HMRC chief executive Jim Harra said the committee’s conclusions on customer service were “completely baseless”.  

“We’ve made huge improvements to our service standards, with call wait times down by 17 minutes since April last year,” he added.

Last year, HMRC announced its phone line would be closed between April and September, but was forced to reverse its decision within 24 hours.

Furthermore, last year's NAO report found that customers were waiting an average of nearly 23 minutes to get through to an adviser.

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