HMRC service issues – why there are some things we can’t fix
Posted on 20th June 2023
What’s the longest time you’ve waited in the telephone queue to speak to someone at HMRC? Have you struggled to do things online? There are certainly some service issues to resolve.
HMRC telephone waiting times
The average call waiting time for HMRC in the busy January period went up from 12 minutes in 2022 to 27 minutes this year. However, there are also reports of people waiting for hours who were then cut off without speaking to anyone. HMRC’s own figures show they only answered six out of 10 calls.
Agent services
When clients appoint us as agents we can often resolve HMRC-related issues on their behalf, but it isn’t always easy. There are some problems even we can’t fix. In January, for example, the Agent Dedicated Helpline was restricted to ‘complex’ self-assessment tax enquiries only.
If you don’t have an agent, you must use online services for help with your self-assessment tax returns for now. HMRC has just closed the telephone helpline until 4 September – it’s one way to solve the waiting time problem.
Scheduled website maintenance and outages cause other issues. For instance, at the start of December last year online services and telephones were out of action for five days. At the end of this month there are likely to be disruptions due to planned maintenance.
Signing up an overseas business often needs information only a UK company can provide. Contacting HMRC directly remains the only solution for this but it could take 14 days to resolve.
VAT registration
Some VAT registration numbers aren’t appearing online. So far we don’t know the reason for this or how long it will take to resolve.
HMRC surprised us all by closing down the VAT registration helpline from 22 May 2023. HMRC says the helpline staff will now work on registration applications and replies to enquiries could take up to 40 days.
Customs declarations
Online maintenance will affect this service at the end of the month, delaying declarations and goods movement references (GMR).
Excise Movement Control System (ECMS) references aren’t available for import declarations that ask for an excise suspension. This ‘chicken and egg’ problem is because the customs declaration must be cleared to receive the code. In the meantime, documents need code C651, status code UE and the text ‘not applicable’. It’s not much of a solution, but it’s all we have for now.
If your business exports goods from Northern Ireland warehouses you’ll already be aware of the problems. A workaround is available online.
HMRC service options
Despite the challenges, HMRC wants us to use their digital services. However, the latest HMRC Net Easy score (positive responses minus negative responses) is less than 60%.
In January HMRC introduced a trial text answering service to reduce waiting times by providing redirects to relevant web pages. However, there are concerns these are difficult to pick out from scamming messages.
MPs on the Public Accounts Committee have commented on staff cuts of 6,000 in the last five years. They’ve also heard that HMRC simply closes telephone lines completely when demand is too high. They don’t believe a solution is on the horizon yet.
We can’t solve HMRC’s service problems but we always do our best to answer our clients’ questions and resolve their issues.
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