"We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to do what is needed at the right time, at minimum cost. We aim to provide services which fit the needs of customers..."

HM Revenue and Customs' Service Commitment says that tax offices will

• act fairly and impartially
• treat your affairs confidentially
• want you to pay only the right amount of tax due
• give clear and simple forms and guidance
• give accurate and complete information in a helpful way
• handle your affairs promptly and accurately
• be accessible in ways that are convenient to you
• keep your costs to the minimum necessary
• take reasonable steps to meet special needs
• be courteous and professional

The same commitment applies also to national insurance contributions and to VAT.

You are entitled to a good service when you deal with HM Revenue and Customs and need not put up with, for example:

• Letters and forms that you cannot understand or read

  Tax offices should not use jargon or gobbledygook. If you receive a letter or form that is not in plain English, you may contact your tax office for a clear explanation (in writing if you like), or ask a local HMRC enquiry centre to help you.

  Welsh taxpayers can ask for letters and forms in Welsh, and tax offices are sometimes able to help those who speak only other languages.

  If you are blind or partially sighted, HM Revenue and Customs will provide leaflets and forms in large print, braille or audio cassette, and will write to you in large type or braille if requested.

• Long delays

  HM Revenue and Customs aims to deal with most letters and enquiries within 28 days. If it does not, you may phone or write to chase things up. If the delay is seven months or longer, HM Revenue and Customs should not charge interest on tax unpaid because of its delay, should pay interest on amounts due to you, and pay you any reasonable costs - such as postage or phone calls - that you incurred in trying to sort things out.

  If HM Revenue and Customs takes more than a whole tax year to ask you for tax that it has known was due, so that you could reasonably have thought that you did not owe anything, it may agree to write off the tax.

• Tax office mistakes

  If your tax office makes any mistakes, they should be sorted out quickly. If it makes a serious mistake, or many smaller mistakes, it will pay any reasonable costs you incur as a result. These might be postage, phone calls, bank charges, loss of wages or fees which you would have earned but were lost because of the time spent sorting things out, or the cost of employing an accountant to deal with the problem for you.

• Difficulties in contacting a tax office

  HM Revenue and Customs encourages us to make contact by phone. But if your tax office is some distance away, this could be expensive. To keep your costs down, you may ask them to call you back.

  If you need to see an HM Revenue and Customs official but cannot get to the tax office - because you are disabled or older - you may ask for a home visit.

• Unfair treatment

  HM Revenue and Customs should not treat you differently from other people in the same position, or adopt a harsh attitude towards you when examining your tax affairs.

• Stress and worry

  If a tax office makes an error that is so bad that it affects your personal or family life, or perhaps even your health, you may ask for a 'consolatory payment'. Most payments are between £50 - £250, but higher payments are sometimes made.

Sometimes things can be cleared up by asking to speak to a more senior official (for example, the manager of the person who has been dealing with your affairs) or the customer service manager. Do this first.

If this does not resolve the problem, consider making a complaint. Often this is the only way of getting things sorted out and you will not get a 'black mark' against your name.

• To make a complaint, you need to write to the tax office that you are dealing with. To make sure that your letter is treated as a complaint we would advise:
  • Address your letter For the personal attention of the Officer in Charge or complaints manager
  • Head the letter COMPLAINT
  • Although you will need to give your tax office reference, it may be a good idea if this is not given at the top of the letter, but within the first paragraph. This reduces the chance that the letter will simply be passed on to the person who would normally deal with your affairs, and is properly treated as a letter of complaint.
  
  In your letter you should explain what has gone wrong and say how you would like things sorted out. You should receive a reply pretty quickly.

• If you are not happy with the reply, or do not receive one, you may take your complaint to the regional Director. Your tax office will give you their name and address.

• If you are still unhappy, you may take your complaint to the Adjudicator, who works independently from HM Revenue and Customs. Don't delay! If you want the Adjudicator to help, you must take up your complaint with the Adjudicator within six months of receiving a final answer from HM Revenue and Customs.

This procedure may seem complicated, but works quite well in practice. If you think you would find it difficult, contact the Adjudicator's office (020 7930 2292) and ask them to help you through the process. You can also email the Adjudicator or look at the website.

Finally, you can ask your MP to refer your case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (0845 015 4033).
Or email phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk. Other ways of contacting the Ombudsman can be found on the website.

We all want HM Revenue and Customs to do a good job, and it helps if we do the same. HM Revenue and Customs asks that you:

• Keep accurate and up to date records of your financial affairs that may affect your tax.
• Let your tax office know if you move home or there are other changes in your circumstances that may affect your tax code or the amount of tax due.
• Respond fully and in good time to forms and letters you receive from your tax office. (If you think that the information requested is unreasonable, ask for an explanation.)
• Pay your tax on time. (If you have problems, see Can't pay your tax?)

TaxAid would add:

• Try to be polite when dealing with your tax office. It can be frustrating to deal with officials, but they are usually trying to do their best and it never helps to be rude.
• Keep copies of any letters or forms that you send to the tax office, in case they are mislaid or lost in the post.
• Whenever you speak to HM Revenue and Customs on the telephone, make a note of the name of the person you speak to, the date of the conversation, and what was discussed or agreed.

A copy of a letter or a written note of a phone call can be very important if you ever need to prove what happened, or to make a complaint.

VAT is also handled by HMRC and offers the same service commitment. If you have a complaint which cannot be sorted out by the local office, port or airport, you should contact the Collector for the region. The local Customs office can give you the Collector's address and a copy of the Code of Practice for complaints about VAT. The Code of Practice (Notice 1000) can also be found on the HMRC website. On the website there is also a copy of the Customs and Excise Charter (Notice 400).

If you are still not happy, you may take your complaint to the Adjudicator and then the Ombudsman.

In addition to the information above, HM Revenue and Customs offers many leaflets which are available free from any tax office or can be downloaded from its website. You might like to look at:

• Customer services standards
• Customer service targets and results
• Code of Practice 1 - Putting things right - How to complain
• Contacting HMRC webpage

The Adjudicator offers a number of publications including:

• AO1 - The Adjudicator's Office for complaints about HM Revenue & Customs and the Valuation Office Agency. Note: This can also be obtained from the HMRC website.
• Annual Reports

All these can also be obtained by telephoning 020 7930 2292 or from the publication section of the Adjudicator's Office Website. HM Revenue and Customs also offers a list of helplines.