I am currently sat on hold in a telephone abyss at present so thought would post the latest gem from HMRC.

Like many taxpayers I often wonder where my tax paid goes (frankly into a Civil Servant monetary abyss is the answer ...)

Lovely letter today from HM Revenue & Customs where most tas districts seem to have heavy backlogs of post and delays are increasing...

To

My Firm

Dated 16 July 2008

Dear Sirs,

NAME OF CLIENT...

Thank you for your letter of 17 June 2008.

Your letter has been sent to a more experienced officer to review. I will let you know the result as soon as I receive a reply.

To help us improve customer service please quote our reference number and provide a daytime telephone number in any correspondence.

Yours faithfully,

Mr J Dogsbody

Assistant Officer.

This letter is about the third or forth in recent weeks almost identical. They do cuase a lot of laughter in the office due to the sheer shock that HMRC would write such as letter and I think it would be a fair comment to say as fair amount of anger too. Why anger?

CHEATING THE POST TRY TARGET 

Is this letter a way of meeting post tray targets or rather CHEATING them? Bit of a coincidence that these type of replies seem a desperate attempt not to exceed a MONTH target as HMRC replies are nornally a day or so less than a month from the date of our letter. Or is that a bit cynical?

LACK OF DUE CARE AND ATTENTION TO INCOMING POST ON ARRIVAL

Why did it take a whole month to realise the post was with the wrong member of staff? What lack of management set up a post in system like this in the first place?

LACK OF BASIC TAX SKILLS BY HMRC STAFF

All our letter did was send in EIS certificates in support of the tax return entries already made and submitted, which HMRC have reversed with no letter or explanation? Not exactly a highly techincal letter !

On a less cynical note just maybe HMRC could be trying to be polite. After 20 years of dealing with HMRC on a daily basis I have ruled that out as an option frankly.

Why do I criticise HMRC alot in my posts? What other way is there of getting the message across of the waste of time, money and resources that is now at rediculous levels in HMRC and the Government generally and at my expense as a taxpayer in the UK?

I could perhaps send the following reply but as HMRC but as I doubt HMRC would get the point it would be a double waste of my time. Anyway posting it hear gets the message to a wider audience. 

REPLY

To HMRC Bootle 

Date 22 July 2008 (or perhaps I should wait till 15th August?)

Dear Sirs

CLIENT NAME

Thank you for your letter of 16 July 2008 in response to our letter of 17 June 2008.

You letter has been "sent" to the next floor down as they deal with letters that might be a waste of time and resources. They will sit on the your letter for a month and will let us know how to reply to your letter and whether it is a waste of time to reply to. When we have the result of their review we will let you know the result. 

To help us improve customer service, please quote our reference number and also provide us with a daytime telephone number that is not constantly engaged in any correspondence.

Yours faitfully,

Mr A Frustrated

Tax Adviser

Will this post change anything.....