HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) handled 91.7 per cent of all customer telephone calls during 2016\/17 \u2013 way above its self-set target of 85 per cent, a new report reveals.<\/p>\n
The tax authority\u2019s Annual Report and Accounts 2016\/17<\/em> appears to suggest that customer service standards at HMRC are on the rise \u2013 despite widespread criticism earlier this year that standards were slipping.<\/p>\n Previously, an internal report published in February had revealed that customer satisfaction with HMRC had fallen sharply in January this year.<\/p>\n Many unhappy self-assessment taxpayers were left waiting on the line during HMRC\u2019s busiest time of the year, after its telephone lines \u201cdescended into chaos\u201d due to a \u201ctechnology failure.\u201d<\/p>\n Some were left waiting on the line for hours.<\/p>\n Since then, however, the tax authority\u2019s latest internal report \u2013 which was published earlier this week \u2013 reveals significant improvements.<\/p>\n The report claims that, on average in 2016\/17, HMRC\u2019s typical speed for answering a customer call was just three minutes and 54 seconds \u2013 almost half its Government-set target figure of six minutes.<\/p>\n The Revenue also managed to turn around 81 per cent of all post within 15 working days, the report claims.<\/p>\n Edward Troup, executive chair and permanent secretary at HMRC, said: \u201cOur ability to collect the money required to fund the UK\u2019s public services is, of course, the ultimate yardstick by which we will be measured, but the public rightly judge us on the quality of service we provide to the overwhelming majority of people in the UK who are honest and pay the right amount of tax on time.<\/p>\n \u201cOur continued focus on giving our customers the service level they deserve is paying dividends.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are now quick and simple online tools to allow people to deal with their taxes or tax credits anywhere, anytime and the best phone service in years for those wanting to call us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The comments come shortly after HMRC announced it had hired an additional 800 call centre operatives to speed up its telephone helplines.<\/p>\n