Is HMRC Sabotaging Its Phone Services? Shocking Report Reveals Long Wait Times!

The Accusation Against HMRC

Parliament’s spending watchdog has accused HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of deliberately degrading its phone services to push taxpayers towards online solutions. According to a recent report, the average call waiting time has surged to over 23 minutes, nearly double the figure from two years ago.

Damaged Trust in the Tax System

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) expressed concern that this degradation in service has damaged trust in the tax system. However, HMRC has strongly denied these allegations, labeling them as completely baseless.

Customer Service Decline

The PAC's report highlighted that after experiencing an all-time low in customer service levels last year, HMRC's performance has continued to decline in 2023-24. In the first 11 months of this tax year, HMRC disconnected 43,690 customers who had waited over 1 hour and 10 minutes—a staggering 535% increase from the previous year.

Struggling to Cope with Demand

As the number of taxpayers rises and their financial situations become more complex, HMRC has struggled to keep up with demand, resulting in long wait times for callers. The department appears to be encouraging taxpayers to use digital services instead of speaking to a representative over the phone, claiming that many queries can be resolved online.

Current Service Metrics

In the 2023-24 period, HMRC managed to answer 66.4% of calls, falling short of their 85% target. Average wait times have climbed from just over 16 minutes last year and around 12 minutes in 2021-22. To put this in perspective, wait times were approximately five minutes in 2018-19.

HMRC's Response

Jim Harra, HMRC’s chief executive, refuted the committee’s claims, asserting that they have made substantial improvements in service standards, with current wait times reportedly down to around 11 minutes. He emphasized that over 80% of customers are satisfied with their digital services, which many are now using to manage their tax affairs efficiently.