whats the best time of day to call hmrc?

I would say as soon as their phone lines open, I get through in a reasonable amount of time when I do it then, but I've done it in the evening before and I was on hold for 10-15 minutes. So morning, definitely.

Reply 3

OP

Original post by kkboyk

I usually call in the morning right after it opens/

Original post by mikeymk

I would say as soon as their phone lines open, I get through in a reasonable amount of time when I do it then, but I've done it in the evening before and I was on hold for 10-15 minutes.

So 8am on a weekday is best? Think it'll be the 1st thing on my list on my day off on monday then :smile:

Reply 4

Original post by claireestelle

So 8am on a weekday is best? Think it'll be the 1st thing on my list on my day off on monday then :smile:

Definitely, you could try during the day if its urgent but if not, don't waste your time and wait till Monday morning

Reply 5

OP

Original post by mikeymk

Definitely, you could try during the day if its urgent but if not, don't waste your time and wait till Monday morning

I'll wait till monday morning, i dont think they'll see me wanting £170 of tax back as an urgent matter:P

Reply 6

Original post by claireestelle

So 8am on a weekday is best? Think it'll be the 1st thing on my list on my day off on monday then :smile:

Oh, just checked their website, and if I have the right department, they're open at 8 am on Saturday too, which may be good, with it being a weekend it may be less busy as maybe people will presume its closed and wait till Monday.

Reply 7

OP

Original post by mikeymk

Oh, just checked their website, and if I have the right department, they're open at 8 am on Saturday too, which may be good, with it being a weekend it may be less busy as maybe people will presume its closed and wait till Monday.

I was going off the assumption that less people work on saturdays so could be busier? I'll give it a go then, just dont want to use all of my minutes on one phone call:P

Reply 8

Reue

20

Never

There is no good time to call them. Their incompetence at operating a call centre cannot be beaten. My last experience dealing with HMRC involved waiting for 75 minutes to speak to a human only for them to then send 2 different tax codes in the same envelope. Idiots.

Reply 9

kkboyk

21

Original post by claireestelle

So 8am on a weekday is best? Think it'll be the 1st thing on my list on my day off on monday then :smile:

It's hard to say, because in my experience no matter the time I still ended up waiting more than 10mins (although during the morning I get a quicker response, but only by a slight few minutes shorter compared to when I call in the afternoon).

Reply 10

OP

Original post by kkboyk

It's hard to say, because in my experience no matter the time I still ended up waiting more than 10mins (although during the morning I get a quicker response, but only by a slight few minutes shorter compared to when I call in the afternoon).

So being on hold for 10 minutes is the norm you'd say? I better call them on my day off then.

Reply 11

Original post by claireestelle

I was going off the assumption that less people work on saturdays so could be busier? I'll give it a go then, just dont want to use all of my minutes on one phone call:P

Thats true, could be less staff, or could be same amount of staff but lazier coz its a Saturday :frown:

I'm sure half the time the line is free and they just can't be bothered, stick to plan A, Monday morning, and good luck sorting it out, I still have to do my taxes too :s-smilie:

Reply 12

OP

Original post by mikeymk

Thats true, could be less staff, or could be same amount of staff but lazier coz its a Saturday :frown:

I'm sure half the time the line is free and they just can't be bothered, stick to plan A, Monday morning, and good luck sorting it out, I still have to do my taxes too :s-smilie:

thank you, i m hoping it's not too complicated to fix :smile:

Reply 13

kkboyk

21

Original post by claireestelle

So being on hold for 10 minutes is the norm you'd say? I better call them on my day off then.

Pretty much. It'd be a miracle if you had to wait any less.

Reply 14

OP

Original post by kkboyk

Pretty much. It'd be a miracle if you had to wait any less.

I see, well they better have decent hold music on:P

Reply 15

username2488725

7

I phoned them at 7:45 PM on a weekday once (Incorrect tax code too) and they picked up within 10 minutes, asked me a few basic questions such as NI Number, place of employment, gross earnings etc. and they swiftly sorted it out and my employer refunded the tax back to my account fairly quickly too.

Reply 16

smartalan73

16

I had incorrect tax code and all I had to do was fill this in and send it and they sent me an email saying they'd fixed it within week and now my tax code is correct:

https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/shortforms/form/P2?dept-name=&sub-dept-name=&location=43&origin=http://www.hmrc.gov.uk

Reply 17

OP