AIBU - to expect to be able to speak to someone at HMRC?

[Hedgehogparty]

I've been trying to sort out my tax codes from my jobs for weeks now.
I've never been able to get through on the phone and now I'm having too much tax deducted. The last call I wasted 40 minutes before giving up.

I have no choice but to keep trying, wasting time and money sorting out someone else's mistake.

AIBU to think this is unreasonable poor service?

It's true - the bureaucrats have been cut to the bone by public demand. It turns out rather than living it up at the taxpayers' expense they were actually providing a useful service. Who knew?

What Mejon said. I too had to sort my tax code recently as I was told they were going to treat my new job as a second job. After trying for ages to get through on the phone I found the form linked above. I received a reply within about a week and then they sorted my code straight away. Good luck

flamingoland all HMRC public enquiry centres were closed in 2013 so you cant go to one to phone directly

i've found that when it comes to things like this - no matter which company it is -i get a quicker response if i choose an option that is likely to lose them money. eg - Utility company - choosing option "changing provider/closing account" gets a quicker response than "questions about a bill".

so try choosing a different option and they can either help you or re-route you internally through to the correct department.

Phoning HMRC fills me with rage. if I could find the bloody info online I would but trawling through the website is a bit like herding kittens! After another mamouth on hold session the other day they requested some info I didn't have to hand. They wouldn't wait for me to find it, told me (after me being on hold for 45mins) that my call had exceeded the 7 minutes allowed and hung up!!

It's a painful experience. YANBU.

If it helps, change the 08 at the start of the number to 03 this works with the vast majority of 08 numbers to make them local rate instead.

This definitely works with HMRC after calling them for 45 minutes and not being charged as local rate numbers are included in my phone package.

If your MP is anything like mine it'll be a waste of time.

Almost FOUR YEARS it took me to deal with a tax credits overpayment dispute. I can't tell you how many times I spent listening to that shit hold music.

MP was a shower of shite and I did it myself in the end. I won by the way and intend to frame the letter informing me it was their mistake

If it's any consolation (it won't be), it's just as difficult for the people employed by HMRC to contact any of those teams.

The closure of the enquiry centres was a shame. Somebody I know worked in a HMRC office that had had an enquiry centre in the same building. She said that people would arrive looking for help and were told that the office had closed. These were people who wanted to pay their tax and wanted help to do so, many of whom were not native English speakers. How stupid to make them call an inefficient phone line instead.

Apparently the people who work at HMRC are fed propaganda telling them how great the contact centres are and how quickly calls are answered. They know that it is bollocks.

HMRC us in total meltdown, it's been getting steadily worse since coalition took power and they severely cut the workforce. It will get worse now DC has a free reign.
The government are dismantling it into private hands.

I don't blame the coalition necessarily. Government departments have their settlements reduced by a certain amount and have to find their own savings. They've just chosen the wrong ones. HMRC have plenty of useless eejits adding no value, sloping off early, spouting variants on "that's not my job" or "it's too difficult, and nobody has trained me in how to do it", and sitting on their bottoms waiting for their pensions.

They also have plenty of good people, but have chosen the cop-out option of forcing taxpayers online instead of spending their money on better staff and cutting the no-hopers. Why aren't they contracting out call centre work to third party providers? Because it's easier to pass the pain on to the people trying to contact them than facing up to their own considerable problems.

Nettle nice civil service bashing there.

HMRC is cut back to the bare bones.

Contracting out is not the solution to HMRC's problems; investment in building capability within the workforce is required.

I couldn't get through about this same issue. I emailed instead and it was sorted within 2 weeks. It is appalling that you cannot ever speak to someone though.

I have been trying all week and the same as above, listen to options for 10 mintues then told they too busy and get cut off. Finally got through today after nearly 40 minute wait.

Stupid thing is, I was actually ringing to make a payment to them as they had overpaid me. You would have thought that with all the hassle I had to go through that they didn't want my money.

DH is having this problem. He's decided to put the issue in writing and use the good old fashioned post.

It's a pain in the short term if you are short of cash but you do get the overpaid tax back eventually