Terrible HMRC service

HMRC criticised over service

Taxpayers have voiced concern over the service being offered by HMRC, with callers facing hour-long waiting times to get through and cases where letters are going unanswered. Some taxpayers are waiting up to nine months to receive acknowledgement of their correspondence. With taxpayers trying to contact HMRC ahead of the January 31 tax return deadline, some have questioned the tax office’s decision to reduce the service on its helpline. HMRC says it will only take “priority calls,” with everyone else directed to its website. Last year, taxpayers made 1.2m calls to HMRC in the eight weeks leading up to the tax return deadline, with an average of 41,000 calls per day.