HMRC helpline callers 'wait average of 38 minutes for an answer'

Survey carried out by consumer watchdog Which? finds figure is much higher than last year's average of 18 minutes

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If you were planning to get advice about your tax return this year, you may want to put the kettle on before calling.

A survey carried out by consumer watchdog Which? has found that people dialling HMRC helplines had to wait on average 38 minutes before getting through to a human being.

The figure was much higher than last year’s average wait time of 18 minutes. However, on the upside, only seven out of 100 calls carried out by Which? were cut off, compared to 29 out of 100 in the same survey last year.

HMRC officials said that the survey, carried out in September and October this year, was “out of date” and that the service had “significantly improved in recent months”.

3,000 more customer service staff have recently been recruited to man phones and advise customers, and even more will be drafted in to give tax advice over the next few weeks, as people begin completing their self-assessment tax returns ahead of the 31st January deadline, an HMRC spokesperson said.

“Our service levels were not good enough at busy periods earlier this year, and we have apologised for the inconvenience caused to our customers,” the spokesperson said.

Despite an average wait of 38 minutes, rising to 61 minutes after 6pm, a survey of Which? members found that fewer than one in 10 people who have called HMRC in the past 12 months were happy to go on hold for longer than 10 minutes.

In another report published today, the National Audit Office said that HMRC currently estimates that losses to tax fraud currently amount to £16bn a year. However, auditors said that bringing down losses was “not straightforward” and said HMRC was meeting its targets to raise more tax revenue in the short-term.