Why are HMRC so bloody hard to get hold of??

[BeautyQueenIamNot]

I have been trying for over a week to get hold of someone

I’ve tried 6 times today waiting over an hour at the longest and then get cut off...my battery is about to die on my phone I’ve been waiting for 48 minutes again

All because they have decided to change my tax code....my wages have stayed the same ffs it’s not rocket science

Also can’t get hold of them on live chat either

What have they changed it to? Is it for the new tax year?

same. They've sent me a letter saying I owe them 180 in income tax from 4 years ago. letter looks legit but can't get through. ridiculous They've only just worked it out now!

I'm trying to get through to them too because they've emergency taxed me on a temp job during lockdown when I haven't earned nearly enough in the last tax year to warrant this. My accountant told me to call but the automated message tells me they are unable to help right now and brightly says "GOODBYE!"

It might be worth using the government portal as I had to use it to change my tax code a few times when they got it wrong. They're usually pretty quick to pick it up off there and there's an inbox so you can get your messages. I always find trying to get hold of any public body over the phone is nearly impossible as their stupid automated messages redirect or hang up on you.

@GooodMythicalMorning

same. They've sent me a letter saying I owe them 180 in income tax from 4 years ago. letter looks legit but can't get through. ridiculous They've only just worked it out now!

I had one of these letter, managed to log in on line and there was no mention of it at all.

My portal is telling me I have 2 jobs (I haven’t for 5 years ffs)

Won’t let me take the 2nd job off either (which wasn’t on last years)

I also owe them £900 apparently 🤦‍♀️

took me an hour to get through to them earlier.

Use the webchat. It's usually quicker and they can do everything they can do over the phone.

The reason they're hard to get hold of is because they're understaffed.

We've had this. I had a letter saying I owe them about £200 due last Dec and since I had the letter (around last October time) I've been ringing or logging on to their gateway system. There's no mention of it on the gateway system. It's infuriating. I'm on mat leave now and I know I will have over paid tax. No idea how I will get that back with the woeful system they have in place.

When you do get hold of them, don't think that will be the answer to your problem. I owe them some money, my own fault, I pay them and then a few months later they send me a cheque back for the same amount. Whenever I try to sort it out properly, they sound very confused and don't seem to know what they are talking about.

This is all I get for the web chat been trying nearly all day.

I’m just amazed how they can muck it up so much

The live chat is life changing!!

Because you can't take your business somewhere else.

This government has managed to make a complete mess of almost every public service they provide over the last decade- including the one that brings in most of their revenues! It is no coincidence that most senior Tories will be in a position where self assessment means a lot of their tax fiddles will go unchallenged due to an underfunded HMRC.

ooh I completely forgot about the online gateway!! Thank so much. Just checked online and it doesnt mention it anywhere.

I use the app. But if you go to through the portal and go into
Check your income tax - previous years
It shows your figures and theres a bit about 3rd down the page saying - send us an update.
You can type a message in and send it to them

This

Apparently I have not paid enough tax but they can’t tell me when or why argh

Might have sorted my tax code tho 🤣

@amijustparanoidorjuststoned

If you go online then you can claim any tax refund that's due - since it's now a new tax year as of today.

www.gov.uk/claim-tax-refund

I did this just this morning and they state that they will reply within 15 days (not too sure if that's working days though)

Oh i had that (deciding I had two jobs) they asked me to prove I didn't! Stupid stupid stupid idiots. I wrote a letter to "confirm" I only had one job and had no way of proving I didn't have a second job. They never mentioned it again.

I truly believe they messed up. They have told me before if they make an error it is down to me to spot it. They literally are not accountable for their own incompetence.

@B33Fr33 how I can I spot it? I’m not an tax expert I expect my employer to sort it out ffs 🤦‍♀️

This is so maddening 1h 25 mins and I’m still no further forward just on hold why they can and find out why I owe money

Phone lines are crazy busy today with it being the start of the new tax year. Take what's on the portal about second job/owed tax with a pinch of salt until you speak with them as it'll still be reconciling. Quietest time to ring is usually just before opening (8am) or just before closing (currently 6pm but going back to 8pm soon).

Oh man, they’re fucking shiteeeee! Was on hold for ages and then they’d just hang up. Finally got through after 55 minutes final time only to be told my mam must of not of sent over my p45 from the family business I worked at 7 years ago!

Well, how in the fuck has it never came up at any other job in them 7 years call literally lasted seconds. Majorly pissed me off.

Mams trying to sort it but sage accounts don’t go back that far so looks like I’m owning money on a job I’ve not had in 7 years!

They’re just robbing fuckers, be even worse now trying to pull more money back into the economy!!