‘My tax refund is three months late – HMRC is an absolute mess’
Neil Matthews has been chasing HM Revenue and Customs for a refund for the best part of three months.
The retired accountant, 63, filed a self-assessment tax return in mid-December, well before the January deadline.
“I make additional pension contributions most years,” he said. “I usually get a refund and it usually comes in a week or so.”
But after months of back-and-forth with the tax office, Mr Matthews does not expect to see his money until May. Returning from holiday in January he rang HMRC and after a 30-minute on the phone was told by an adviser that the money would come through soon.
By February, nothing had changed. Another 25-minute wait on the phone later and Mr Matthews found himself on the phone with another adviser, who said Mr Matthews’ money had been “put through security clearance”.
Mr Matthews said: “They apparently have 10 weeks to do this. I’m a retired accountant and my wife is a tax adviser, and we have never heard of this.”
Over the past week scores of readers have contacted The Telegraph with stories of long wait times, unhelpful chatbots and withheld refunds.
Charlie Clarke, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, said HMRC cancelled a cheque he had received after his late brother had overpaid tax. Mr Clarke said he rang the tax office three times, each time being left on hold for 30 to 45 minutes.
“I phoned HMRC and was told there was an error and the cheque would be reissued,” he said.
“Some time later I called again and was told someone was reading my notes. After I was left on hold, the call was cut off.
“I finally called again. I was told that I would need to write in and make a complaint, which I did. I’m still due a reply.”
Last week the tax office was forced to U-turn on plans to permanently close its helplines for self-assessment and VAT for half the year, in a move to drive more customers online.
Public outcry at the decision, announced with just four days’ notice, was swift and immediate.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ordered HMRC to “pause” the idea which was condemned in the House of Commons by MPs from all parties.
HMRC’s chief executive Jim Harra said: “We’ve listened to the feedback and we’re halting the helpline changes as we recognise more needs to be done to ensure all taxpayers’ needs are met, whilst also encouraging them to transition to online services.”
The backlash may not have come as a shock to HMRC, which itself admitted that a trial run of phone line closures saw taxpayers who were pushed online call back within a day.
The results of the trial, handed to the Treasury Select Committee, said that policies to encourage more taxpayers online during the self-assessment season resulted in longer wait times and lower satisfaction.
The committee’s chairman, Harriett Baldwin MP, said at the time: “The idea that they can interpret those figures as justification for making it even harder to contact them over the phone indicates something is seriously wrong at HMRC.”
10 week refund delays
Ironically, Reverend Scott Watts, 57, was on hold with HMRC while the chaos was playing out. The tax office, he claims, owes him a £1,098 refund after he moved from effective self-employment in a vicarage to full-time employment at a hospital trust in Cambridge in 2022.
Rev Watts filed his self-assessment form ahead of the January 31 deadline with the help of a clergy tax expert. But two months later, Rev Watts said the money had still not been repaid.
“£1,098 might not be a lot of money to most people, but it’s a lot to me,” he said. “It left me feeling like these are untouchable people. I am a vicar and I’m not known for being difficult, but 10 weeks is totally unacceptable.
“I work as an NHS chaplain and have to respond within hours to see a patient – if I waited 10 weeks a lot of them would be dead.”
Rev Watts claims he initially rang the tax office on March 4 and after waiting an hour spoke to an adviser, who confirmed the amount he was owed but said HMRC would have 10 weeks in which to repay it.
“I feel deeply disappointed. By their admission, this is my money and I have no access to it,” Rev Watts said. “If you don’t submit your returns on time you’re penalised but once they have your money they can do what they like with it and run to their own timelines.”
HMRC’s previous trial of phone line closure was chalked up as partial success. The tax office had succeeded in transferring some 26,000 customers to HMRC’s extra support team – more than three times the number of calls before the trial.
But HMRC remains hard to reach – average callers had to wait 25 minutes on the phone last month before getting through to an adviser.
For taxpayers like Mr Mathews, the wait goes on. “If I am one day late I am hit with a fine,” he said. “I don’t know whether in eight weeks I will get my money back, or if they’ll finally advise me then. It’s left me feeling like these are unaccountable people. It seems HMRC is in an absolute mess.
“We have had every official body from Treasury Select Committee to parliamentary committees criticising HMRC but they seem to be a law unto themselves.”
An HMRC spokesman said: “We’re enhancing and expanding our digital services to give customers the quick and easy ways to manage their tax affairs that they expect.
“Our helpline and webchat advisers will always be there to support those who need that specific type of support. But we recognise some can experience difficulties and that is why we are always working to further improve our customer services.”
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