Tortuous tax service

SIR – I joined the Inland Revenue in the late Sixties (Letters, June 1).

Tax matters were dealt with in local offices, telephone calls were answered immediately and letters were replied to promptly. Any unanswered letter over 14 days old had to be dealt with urgently or you were in trouble.

Now, with centralisation and computerisation, we have 45-minute waits on the telephone and letters going unanswered for months. On one occasion, I wrote to HMRC with a query. After six weeks and no reply, I telephoned. They couldn’t even confirm my letter had been received. Bernard Stamp

Matlock, Derbyshire