Complaints submitted to HM Revenue & Customs are all treated with impartiality and fairness, while being kept confidential. HMRC welcomes complaints, as they provide an opportunity for the organisation to improve the services offered to all its customers.

Reasons for complaints against HMRC

There are many reasons why you may wish to make a complaint. For instance, you may not be happy about the way that a member of HMRC dealt with your phone call, or there has been a lengthy delay in dealing with a letter you have sent. Although HMRC officers try to get it right the first time, there are mistakes made occasionally and you may want to make a complaint about it. You can lodge a complaint about any aspect of HMRC, although if you are disputing an official decision that has been made, you will have to follow the Appeals and Reviews procedure.

Ways to make a complaint

If you don’t want to raise the issue directly with the officer concerned, you may want to telephone to make the official complaint. It will be referred to a dedicated complaints handler. There are telephone helplines for each area of HMRC, including PAYE, self assessment, Tax Credits, National Insurance and VAT, and Excise and customs.

If you prefer to make a complaint in writing, you will need to provide your tax reference number if possible so that your records may be identified. You will have to provide details of the complaint, including what had happened, when it happened, and the officer who was dealing with you. You will also be required to state the effect that the actions taken had on you and how you would want HMRC to rectify matters.

What happens when you complain

HMRC aims to deal with complaints as soon as possible, and you will be notified of the name of the person who is dealing with the issue. The complaint will be thoroughly investigated and once a conclusion has been reached, you will be notified. You will also be informed of the person who you should contact if you are unhappy with the response of HMRC.

How HMRC will deal with the complaint

Once a complaint has been dealt with by HMRC, any reasonable costs that you have mentioned will be refunded to you. Some of the costs that may occur as a result of complaints include postage fees, professional fees, and phone calls. It is possible that HMRC will ask to see receipts before issuing a reimbursement.

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About The Author

Karl Bilby

We work very closely with our expert accountants to bring you the latest factually correct tax and accounting news. We also enjoy writing about small business news that we hope you find useful!

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