The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and ICAEW are calling for HMRC to invest in its services and staff following the publication of the study, Tackling HMRC’s customer service challenge, today (Wednesday 11 December 2024).
The six-week study tracked attempts to contact HMRC across phonelines and webchats, and found that more than one-third of contact attempts were made to chase progress on existing enquiries, rather than to make a new enquiry.
The bodies pointed to key findings which showed that, while improving customer service performance remained crucial, a significant reduction in the need for agents and taxpayers to contact HMRC in the first place was vital, the bodies said.
Only 33% of contact attempts to HMRC resulted in the query being fully resolved, the study found, with the average wait time across phone and webchat standing at 19 minutes.
If the findings were broadly representative of all calls that HMRC receive, the introduction of an automated tracking system to eliminate progress chasing calls could save more than 1.7 million hours each year, the equivalent of 1,000 full-time employees or approximately £36 million, CIOT and ICAEW said.
Additionally, an automated tracking system would reduce the number of staff needed to answer such calls, who could be redeployed elsewhere.
The research also found that:
- 88% of phone calls were connected to an adviser
- Half (49%) of webchat attempts were connected to an adviser
- 11% of attempts to contact HMRC were to ask for an HMRC error to be corrected
- When asked to rate satisfaction on a scale from zero to five, the average score was 2.7
The bodies made 10 recommendations in the report, focused on HMRC’s services, staff and digitalisation. The recommendations include enhancing tracking and monitoring systems, strengthening staff training and accountability, and developing and optimising digital services.
Ellen Milner, CIOT’s Director of Public Policy, said:
“We are grateful to the firms whose participation in our study has, for the first time, provided a comprehensive dataset evidencing where HMRC customer services are not meeting agent needs, and the impacts this has.
“The report's recommendations are practical solutions which can deliver significant improvements for agents and taxpayers. Additionally, from an HMRC perspective, resolving issues with progress chasing alone has the potential to save them over £36 million a year in staff costs. This seems a good place to start for releasing funds for much needed investment in training and digitalisation.
“We hope HMRC and the government will take our proposals into account in their work to improve customer services and in providing facilities like progress trackers when drawing up the much-anticipated digital roadmap, which we expect to see in the spring."
Frank Haskew, ICAEW Head of Taxation, said:
“Problems with HMRC customer service are well-documented, so it’s not a surprise that our research shows that although agents can generally connect with HMRC advisers through the phonelines, there are still significant challenges. In particular, wait times are notably long and resolution rates are poor, with only a third of contact attempts fully resolved during the first call.
“In our view, one of the most effective ways to reduce pressure on HMRC's traditional support channels is to minimise the need for agents to call in the first place. We found that over a third of calls to HMRC are for progress chasing and we’d like to see the introduction of a dedicated mechanism to meet this demand. Developing better online services would pay for itself and secure significant savings in HMRC staff time.
“While we support HMRC's digital transformation, this study has identified critical gaps in their digital services. As a result, many agents are forced to phone about tasks that they should be able to do online. It is essential that HMRC’s support for taxpayers and agents remains robust and effective during this transition period, ensuring agents can effectively and efficiently manage their responsibilities in the here and now.”
The six-week study was conducted over September and October and involved 634 attempts to contact HMRC across helpline and webchat services from 31 agent firms.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
CONTACT: ICAEW media office stephen.froome@icaew.com or 07970 402 073 / CIOT media office jpresland@ciot.org.uk or 0207 340 0595
About the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT)
The CIOT is the leading professional body in the United Kingdom concerned solely with taxation. The CIOT is an educational charity, promoting education and study of the administration and practice of taxation. One of our key aims is to work for a better, more efficient, tax system for all affected by it – taxpayers, their advisers and the authorities. The CIOT’s work covers all aspects of taxation, including direct and indirect taxes and duties. Through our Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG), the CIOT has a particular focus on improving the tax system, including tax credits and benefits, for the unrepresented taxpayer.
The CIOT draws on our members’ experience in private practice, commerce and industry, government and academia to improve tax administration and propose and explain how tax policy objectives can most effectively be achieved. We also link to, and draw on, similar leading professional tax bodies in other countries. The CIOT’s comments and recommendations on tax issues are made in line with our charitable objectives: we are politically neutral in our work.
The CIOT’s 20,000 members have the practising title of ‘Chartered Tax Adviser’ and the designatory letters ‘CTA’, to represent the leading tax qualification.