I think HMRC are ‘outsourcing’ some debt collection so the quality of the service is with the private contractor however you clearly should be aware of the debt. If you’re not then that suggests potential error or similar so contact them directly. Depending on where you are in the UK you may need to use the phone to do this as enquiry centres are being closed/under review.

“they’re made to look like professionals when compared to the DVLA, that’s for sure!”
there is a manager at DVLA swansea that has the same name as me, when sorting out an issue the other the year that really added to the fun.
One guy i was put through to on the phone thought he was talking to their paul and was quite rude about the customer paul/me (can’t blame him) that was a interesting call.

Trying dealing with 3mobile. Got a problem with your internet connection? The helpline guy immediately offers you a new additional contract and maybe one for your partner Sir. It is the best deal Sir.

The fact is HMRC is seriously understaffed, morale is flatlining and it aint getting better.The new staff appraisal figure has to find 10% of staff as under performing each year whether they are or not. Great motivator. Current staffing is on target for 56000 full time staff. Meanwhile the dutch tax authority which deals with similar stuff as hmrc – employs 30000 staff for a population of 16 million.

Guess which tax authority is the more successful and efficient ?

Trying dealing with 3mobile. Got a problem with your internet connection? The helpline guy immediately offers you a new additional contract and maybe one for your partner Sir. It is the best deal Sir.

When I told them that I was emigrating they still didn’t see that as reason enough to close my account. Clueless.

I’ve dealt with HMRC, DVLA and SLC a handful of times, and they were all perfectly helpful and efficient, esp DVLA.

Ha try Npower.

I once had a tenant move out on 31st month, new tenant moved in 24hrs later.

I took meter readings on exit and entry (they were the same).
I wrote both exit and entry letters for both tenants with meter readings and sent to Npower.
They started sending me bills for £400, then £700 for the void period (24hrs, zero usage).

I sent tenancy contracts, pictures of meter readings, copies of letters, letters from tenants verifying everything. Etc.

I even started sending registered post correspondence including copies of the final bill and new customer bills that used my provided meter readings, and further bills from new tenant that acknowledged payment.

They ignored all this and continued to threaten legal action, followed by court summons.

By which point I was keen to go to court just to shove it up Npowers arse.

A week or so after court summons I got a letter from their solicitor
saying as it was obvious that I would lose under the underwhelming weight of evidence (or some shit like that I can’t remember exactly but it was brazen solicitor speak) and outlining reduced terms if I paid up now rather than go to court.

I called the solicitors, got through to an actual solicitor and had a frank discussion about what evidence they had, vs what evidence I had. She admitted that they had no evidence other than an estimate, and that she had not seen any correspondence from me at all.

I offered to email scanned copies of everything for her perusal, which she was keen for.

I heard nothing until a week later a letter from the courts saying case closed/ended (or something) due to early settlement.

AND

South West Water did almost exactly the same thing 2 years later, but it was worse because I had actually overpaid by about 2k..

I’ve dealt with HMRC, DVLA and SLC a handful of times, and they were all perfectly helpful and efficient, esp DVLA.

Were you on drugs at the time?

I think you may have been transported into some sort of parallel dimension there konabunny. Glad to see you made it back ok though

.The new staff appraisal figure has to find 10% of staff as under performing each year whether they are or not. Great motivator.

from my experiences of HRMC that really shouldnt be too hard…

Had a similar situation with the AA when I discovered I was paying for my sister’s membership. Phoned them and was told they couldn’t discuss it because of data protection it not being my membership, could they talk to my sister. Explained she lived 20 miles away so no. My sister then phoned them and was told they couldn’t discuss it because of data protection because it wasn’t her bank account. Eventually resolved it by explaining to them that taking money from someones bank account without authorisation is theft and I as they were doing nothing to resolve it I was going to the police (It was amazing how quickly things got resolved).

The next year exactly the same thing happened when they took money out of my account for my other sister’s membership (She only lived 10 miles away). Again it was only resolved after threats of the police.

I’m not in the AA anymore.

I’ve dealt with HMRC, DVLA and SLC a handful of times, and they were all perfectly helpful and efficient, esp DVLA.

Me too. And Three.

The claim that HMRC is understaffed is a nice story – it has almost as many staff as the US Inland Revenue Service but for a working population of only c31 million people compared to the 140m people in active employment in the USA.

HMRC is pretty hopeless, as above it’s no surprise companies can rings round them. The fact is its an understaffed and materially under budgeted department. It’s an obvious one where more investment would lead to more revenue but that seems to be beyond the understanding of all governments right or left.

I’ve dealt with hmrc many times, they are polite and helpful, they are doing their best with what they have.

HMRC are cute, friendly, helpful and ever so efficient compared to the IRS…

.The new staff appraisal figure has to find 10% of staff as under performing each year whether they are or not. Great motivator.

Someone needs to learn about regression to the mean.

The claim that HMRC is understaffed is a nice story – it has almost as many staff as the US Inland Revenue Service but for a working population of only c31 million people compared to the 140m people in active employment in the USA.

Federal taxes or state taxes? You’d imagine Federal taxes might need less people as a lot of taxation is done by states, is it not?

I believe there was some research showing that every pound spent on HMRC staff employed to chase taxes made at least double that amount back – so yes it is understaffed.

With half of the employees removed from HMRC as a result of politically driven dogma and many functions (like debt collection) farmed out to the disjointed and disconnected private sector, how could any organisation cope well? If the OP’s demand had actually come from HMRC, he could have approached them directly to establish what it’s for. With this work privatised, an extra layer of beaurocracy has been added. Madness. The staff at ground level in HMRC are not the problem, it’s the idiotic political masters and the yes people parachuted in to run the organisation. Just like the DVLA, DWP, NHS…