Complaints against HMRC 'on the rise'

Date: 11th June 2010

Taxpayers are becoming increasingly frustrated with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), an investigation has revealed.

A report on BBC programme Watchdog found that the tax authority is making more and more errors with people's tax records and files.

Self-employed workers are struggling as well, with some being owed thousands of pounds on pensions contributions for previous years.

Electrical contractor Richard Lavier told Watchdog: "If I ran my business the way that Inland Revenue runs theirs I wouldn't be in business very long."

His comments were echoed by Andy Wigg, another taxpayer, who told the show: "I was becoming very, very frustrated and actually angry that money that I'd over-paid in tax and was due as a rebate was sitting in the government's tax funds."

"The operational system they've got at HMRC is shambolic, there are not enough people on the front line to be able to make decisions, look at individual cases," Mr Wigg added.