Following the release of statistics that presented an inconsistent call handling performance in 2014/15, HMRC has promised to allocate £45m of its budget to improve its regularly criticised customer service.
This decision will allow HMRC to create a further 3,000 additional staff positions to join customer service teams, and also reallocate 2,000 members of current staff from other parts of HMRC to provide support with tax credits deadlines, letters and forms.
HM Revenue & Customs receives more than 60 million calls each year, hitting its peak around key deadlines such as 31 January and 31 July.
The department holds a target of 80% of calls answered each year and they fell short of this with only approximately 73% of calls answered during 2014/15. Further figures proved there was inconsistent service standards with some months such as September falling below 70%, with only 65.4% calls answered.
During some months, it is reported that as many as 20% of customers heard a busy tone and could not get through to the department.
Lin Homer, HMRC chief executive, commented:
“Despite our best efforts, our call performance hasn’t been up to scratch and we apologise to all those customers who have struggled to get through to us.”
“Good customer service is an absolute priority for HMRC. We set ourselves the target to answer 80% of calls, to provide a more consistent level of service across the year and to reduce peaks and troughs in service levels between busy and quieter times.”
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