HMRC to open its call centres 7 days a week

HM Revenue & Customs plans to open call centres 12 hours a day, seven days a week to improve its much-criticised customer service.

The taxman yesterday revealed plans to open call centres on a Sunday for the first time, as well as extending Saturday opening times.

Speaking at HMRC’s annual conference, chief executive Jon Thompson said: ‘I believe we should be open between 8am and 8pm for seven days a week, an aspiration I think this organisation should be able to deliver in the next year or so.’

It has come under fire in the past two years over call waiting times after cutting 11,000 jobs between 2010 and 2014.

Customers waited an average of 47 minutes in the run-up to the self-assessment paper tax return deadline in October, according to the National Audit Office.

The report revealed 4.2million people gave up waiting after an average of 16 minutes. HMRC added 2,400 call centre staff, and claims callers now wait less than five minutes on average. Its call centres are open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and from 8am to 4pm on Saturdays.

By next year HMRC plans to open on Sundays from 9am to 5pm, before eventually opening for 12 hours every day. Kevin Igoe, the report’s author, said: ‘The success of the extended opening hours will depend on whether HMRC adds extra resources.’