Revenue’s customer service quality declining year on year according to latest report
HMRC must stop ignoring negative feedback on its customer services that it has been receiving from taxpayers, advisors and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Paul Noble, a Partner at the firm, said: “At a time when the Government is under huge pressure to effectively manage public finances and avoid further tax rises or spending cuts, it’s imperative that HMRC is firing on all cylinders. However, as taxpayers, advisors and the PAC have outlined in their latest report issued today, it is not.”
He added: “According to the report ‘HMRC Customer Service and Accounts: Third Report of Session 2024-25’ issued today by the PAC, not only is HMRC performing poorly, but the same issues with their customer services have been reported year after year by PAC to no avail. In fact, HMRC’s customer service has declined even further since the PAC’s last report. Clearly the reports, despite being accurate, are not having much impact on HMRC.”
Paul said: “HMRC responded to the publication of this report on social media by stating that the ‘PAC’s claims were completely baseless, that 80% of customers were satisfied with their digital services and that they had made improvements to their telephone service by cutting wait times by 17 minutes. This refusal to take accountability for poor customer service which a number of individuals and organisations can prove beyond reasonable doubt is occurring is deeply frustrating.”
He added: “Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of the Committee even went as far as to say in the report that HMRC is deliberately providing poor service. It is without precedent to say that a vital pillar of the economy is effectively shooting itself in the foot. It is a shocking such a strong statement wasn’t enough to get HMRC to admit to even having a problem with their services, let alone apologise or offer a solution.”
Paul said: “The PAC’s observations give the impression of an organisation pulled in many directions, struggling to cope with a changing digitised landscape. HMRC has been working to become a ‘digital-first’ organisation since 2010, meaning it has had 14 years to create a digital service that can meet taxpayer’s needs, but has failed to do so.”
He added: “Whether it’s understanding the needs of its customers or collecting taxes, the perception is that HMRC is failing badly. The Government and taxpayers in general need to be confident in the abilities of HMRC and its capable running, and this report undermines that.”
Paul said: “You can hear the pain and frustration in this report, a frustration many taxpayers and advisors are familiar with. I made a request recently to HMRC for a named individual to speak to. I was told that a name couldn’t be given for security reasons and was pointed in the direction of a Helpline, but my call was left unanswered. I reported this to my German clients and I felt their disbelief at the inability to get a simple answer from HMRC.”
He added: “Over the last few years HMRC have been swift to ask for more funding and powers. The challenge for the Government is to make sure that funding is allocated and used properly by HMRC and the powers to deal with non-compliance are functioning.”
Paul said: “Criminal investigations lie at the heart of HMRC’s non-compliance deterrent policy and while a decline in numbers as per the report may be indicative of ‘higher quality’ investigations, such headline figures undermines the very policy of deterrence.”
He added: “This report must be hugely difficult for Treasury Ministers to digest, but something must be done urgently to fix HMRC so it can collect taxes effectively and efficiently to support the economy in a time of extreme financial pressure, regardless of if those in charge of HMRC want to admit there is a problem or not.
“HMRC must listen to taxpayers and advisors going forward if their service is to be effective.”
