HMRC will now include details of waiting times on more of its telephone helplines. In their own words:
Following a successful trial, messages on the estimated time to speak to an adviser will now be extended to more HMRC helplines from 4 July.
The message will be played at the start of the call so customers can make an informed choice about whether they want to hang on, use our digital services or call back another time.
Call wait time messages are based on the previous day’s average and will be included on the following Helplines:
- Child Benefit
- Tax credits
- VAT
- Online services
- National Insurance
- Construction Industry Scheme
- Employers
Expected call wait times are already given on the PAYE helpline. This has proved successful with a significant number of customers choosing to leave the queue and resolve their query elsewhere. We’ve been able to take more calls from customers who still need to speak to us, and wait times reduced from 40 minutes at the start of the trial, to consistently below 20 minutes.
We want to be open and transparent about how long our customers can expect to wait and encourage the use of our digital services which are quicker and easier than calling us.
