At what point can I make a complaint about HMRC's service?

[nicesunday]

I submit a P800 at the end of last year for some expenses from a few years ago. They automatically declined the claim without asking anything further because they believed it wasn't covered under their 'things you can claim for'. I know that it is because I know a lot of people who have done so. I called them to query and was advised to write to them with a cover letter and relevant evidence, which I did. This was mid January.

I've been checking my online account, the "submitted form" is there and says it's in progress. I was supposed to have a response, according to their system, by mid February. I didn't chase it up for a further six weeks past their own deadline because it was towards the end of the tax year, they were likely to be busy, etc. But I thought six weeks on top of their own quoted four weeks was quite a generous extension.

Was told on the phone that I was right, it should have been completed by now and they couldn't see any reason why it hadn't been. They said they would push it to be completed and advised I'd only hear from them in the meantime if they needed more information. I haven't heard. This phone call was end of March.

So we're now about 15 weeks after their 4 week quota and still nothing. It's for quite a hefty sum of money too.

At what point is it reasonable to make a complaint?

[IamRoyFuckingKent]

You can complain any time, just do it!

[peacelemon]

Now?

[ChannelLightVessel]

There is an iform on the gov.uk website, which is the quickest way, but you can also call and ask an advisor to complete a form for you.