HM Revenue and Customs is reportedly making a big change from today (Thursday) in the way it deals with calls. According to the BBC, routine calls to HMRC will now be answered by text, instead of a human call handler.
It is being trialled as HMRC attempts to improve its customer service, with it having been criticised by MPs over the years for its poor record. It means that, from Thursday, people who get in touch will be sent a website link by text to some people who want to find out details like their reference number, or reset their password.
It comes days before this year's self-assessment deadline. According to the BBC, HMRC is expecting 170,000 calls this months as people scramble to submit their tax returns by January 31.
The trial is set to run until the start of April. The aim is for it to deal with simple requests, leaving call handlers free to help people with more complicated problems.
HMRC said that requests that would be handled by text included locating a Unique Tracking Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number, registering for HMRC online services and resetting a lost or forgotten online service password or user ID.
The BBC reported that callers would also be given the choice to receive an online link or speak to a member of staff for things like help filling in their tax return, receiving their income and employment history and getting their National Insurance number. The tech being used is widely in use across business.
Earlier this month, the Public Accounts Committee of MPs said that taxpayers and their accountants were receiving an unacceptable level of service from HMRC. The number of tax authority customer service staff has been cut from 25,500 to 19,500 in the last five years.
"We were surprised to learn that at times in the past, HMRC has simply closed its telephone line when it could not cope with demand. It is not acceptable not to answer calls from people who are trying to pay the government money," the committee said.
Richard West, director of personal tax operations at HMRC, told the BBC: "Redirecting these sorts of queries to online services should help customers find the answer more quickly. It also means calls from customers during the current self-assessment peak, whose questions cannot easily be answered online and require help from an adviser, get the appropriate support they need.
"Customers who cannot use digital services will be able to get support in the normal way. This is available through our telephony service and through our extra support team for those who have difficulty using our other services."
