HM Revenue and Customs has done a rapid U-turn on a decision to close its self-assessment telephone helpline for half the year.
The Revenue said earlier this week that the line would be closed between April and September, with taxpayers directed to online services instead.
But within 24 hours a U-turn has been completed with HMRC chief Jim Harry saying: “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.”
Over 12 million complete self-assessment forms every year – hundreds of thousands of them landlords – and high volumes ring for help.
HMRC had also planned to only open the VAT helpline for five business days every month ahead of the deadline for filing VAT returns, and refuse calls about refunds to the PAYE helpline.
However, it’s done a U-turn on that, too.
The Commons all-party Treasury Committee – which denounced HMRC’s closure decision – welcome the about-turn and says in a statement: “While we do not oppose expansion of digital services for those who want to use them, we remain entirely unconvinced that HMRC is adequately prepared to impose such a significant change in how it serves taxpayers.
“Planned changes to the operation of HMRC’s phone lines have been mismanaged from the beginning. Questions still remain over the extent to which the department are prioritising its own needs over those of law-abiding and vulnerable taxpayers.”
Other MPs on the Public Accounts Committee last month described customer service at HMRC as being at an all-time low with nearly two-thirds of taxpayers forced to wait more than 10 minutes to speak to an adviser.
The average wait for a call to HMRC to be answered was 16 minutes and 24 seconds in the year to April 2023, according to the committee’s report.
That compares with 12 minutes and 22 seconds the previous year.
Some 63% of callers waited more than 10 minutes to speak to an adviser, up from 46% in 2021-22. The committee said this proportion had increased every year since 2018-19.
