HMRC - how disorganised are they?

[ChilliChoco]

DH submitted his tax return in January and was told it would take 8 weeks for a cheque for the £800 rebate we were owed. We heard nothing, so in April, he resubmitted it (which may have been a mistake to do). Anyway, still nothing. There is no one to talk to at HMRC on this but if anyone knows, pls let me know who or how.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation - is there light at the end of the tunnel?

did DH request it online?? If so what is the status?

From my personal experience submitting it twice means it will flag up as potentially fraudulent and they will block the payment so the only way to get it paid is to ring them up. It happened to me I was waiting months due to submitting twice after being impatient - I rung up and it was sorted within a week.

This. If it’s online you can check the progress / status.
also you can use the online chat - it isnt run by bots and in my recent experience is the best way to resolve issues as you can write it all down in detail that gets missed in the phone. I’ve used it several times.

Dh called up and got a bot saying that they are going through the returns and he will get a response on 12th July!

How frustrating. Still, it's a specific date which is something, I guess.

If you'd put his bank details on the return, they'd have paid by BACS not cheque. They only pay by cheque when the personal bank details havn't been entered on the tax return.

DH did put his bank details on the form. I'm just concerned that this July date is a bit made up by HMRC

I’m in the same boat. Awaiting a large rebate that I can see on my account but it hasn’t been paid to my bank yet despite requesting that several times.

Just for anyone else reading, I finally got through this week regarding a claim submitted in January (phone lines just threw me out of the queue last week) to be told it was still waiting to be processed, but as I’d called it would now be prioritised. Not holding my breath though!

Had a nightmare when I tried to get Tax Credits to stop paying me. Phone calls and online submisssions didn't stop them. When I finally got them to stop landed with a bill that was plucked from nowhere as I knew exactly how much I had been overpaid. Put in a mandatory reconsideration so that I could repay the correct sum, took six months and they decided I didn't need to repay anything as service had been poor and I had tried many times to get them to stop. Still they sent first the made up sum to their debt collection service who returned it to them when I sent a copy of the letter then they sent the sum I owed to the debt collection agency who again returned it to them. Had two more letters telling me how much I owed and only 3 years later did they finally put the MR decision on record to stop me being pursued for a debt they decided I didn't need to pay back. Phone calls, online submissions and letters sent recorded delivery just didn't seem to be actioned as I tried them all.

I've found the best time to ring them is when the phone lines open in the morning.

He should prepare his 24/25 return now if he's expecting to be in a refund position again, may aswell submit now and get both refunds on the go. People usually wait till January because they feel this delays the tax owed for as long as possible (psychologically..) but it makes sense to get a refund in early.

Was on the chat to an adviser today. Still don’t know when my refund will be processed. Have started a complaint with HMRC. 😡

The complaints department is understaffed but very good. I’ve dealt with them as an agent several times for clients.

Thanks @GreenClock. I hope I hear something soon! Was hoping to have the money for a summer holiday.

@GreenClock Do you have number for complaints? We still haven't got the rebate back.

IME, spectacularly disorganised when you need information or a rebate from them. Spectacularly organised when they want information or a payment from you.

Honestly, you might not believe me but I was owed over 3k and it took 3 years for them to refund me the money.

There’s been a strike that has affected some rebates. Rebates that usually take max 40 workings days are taking month and month. You can do the ‘when to expect a response’ online which is the same answer you’ll get if you phone. We’re currently waiting for a cis rebate which should have been paid at the latest at the start of July and it’s looking like it’ll be the end of September now 😳 annoyingly there is literally nothing you can do! Ridiculous

I talk to HMRC regularly for job and most I have complaints running, because they give factually wrong advice, and don't do as they agreed. But I see it as a game, phone them, ask them to take specific notes on my cases, call again. It goes on. Shocking.

This is absolutely true. I ring at 8 am and always get through quickly and usually get everything sorted straight away

Also submit TRs as early as you can, once you have all the information required. Dont delay submission

I’m surprised. They processed my refund within turnaround time . Maybe I just got lucky

I can beat that. 6k and 5 years. They didn't pay interest of course.

They are utterly useless. I wrote to them in Feb - apparently I should get a reply by August

@oldnurseretirednowOh my goodness!! Terrible isn’t it? They want you to hand over your money pretty quickly but no penalties for not repaying money that is not theirs!!