HMRC accused of hitting 'new low' and 'degrading own services to drive people online'
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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has come under fire from a public spending watchdog for allegedly downgrading its services "as a matter of policy" and eroding trust in the tax system. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) raised alarms over worsening service, uncollected debt, and fewer prosecutions. The PAC expressed worries that HMRC is intentionally reducing the quality of its phone service to push people towards digital options.
However, HMRC refuted the allegations, with Jim Harra, First Permanent Secretary and chief executive, labelling the committee’s assertions about customer service as "completely baseless". Mr Harra defended the agency, stating: "The committee’s claims about our customer service are completely baseless. In reality, we’ve made huge improvements to our service standards, with call wait times down by 17 minutes since April last year.
"We will always be there to answer the phone for those who need extra help. At the same time, more than 80% of customers are satisfied with our digital services, with more and more people using them to quickly and easily manage their tax affairs.". Mr Harra reportedly penned a letter to the PAC to counter the suggestion that HMRC has intentionally worsened its customer service. HMRC pointed to recent statistics indicating that call waiting times have dropped to an average of 11 minutes, a significant decrease from the roughly 28-minute wait experienced in April 2024.
The PACreport has criticised HMRC, stating it must own up for its customer service failures, get tougher on tax abuses including probing more criminal cases, and chase down offshore hidden wealth more doggedly. The committee found that public confidence in the tax system is waning.
