HMRC, having admitted that their call centre service is not running at its best, have decided to further improve its "customer service" by shutting down its website between 2nd - 6th April (ironically 5th April is the end of the tax year).
Yes, you did read the correctly, HMRC will shut down its website between 2nd-6th April!
HMRC insist that this closure is necessary for "routine" computer maintenance.
Funny time of year to choose to do it, even if HMRC are not at their busiest during this time, their "customers" (taxpayers to you and I) are busy sorting out ISA's etc etc.
Taking the pish or what?
Tax does have to be taxing.
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Were it to start 1 day earlier, 1st April, people would think it an April fools day joke. Who would you vote for as the joker who thought this one up. Beyond belief.
ReplyDeleteI guess it will be paper returns this time then.
ReplyDeleteImagine working for HMRC in a call centre on Thursday morning 7th April?
ReplyDeleteThe bullies will be in bed early Wednesday night.
It wouldn't make any difference, because all of HMRC's computer systems will be shut down for that period anyway to enable the transition from one tax year to the next (deleting obsolete years, updating the software to reflect this, etc.).
ReplyDeleteThis has happened every year since I've been with them (20) - "Reconstitution", it's called.
21 March 2011 10:28
ReplyDelete"This has happened every year since I've been with them (20) - "Reconstitution", it's called"
You mean with the Inland Revenue?
What the f***k are the Revenue at. Reconstitution.
Never heard of systems closing down like that with Customs.
I am sure this will prove to be a nice little earner for HMRC with the penalties they can impose.....Kerching.
ReplyDeleteKen I am a bit shocked at this article reconstitution happens every year at this time all the systems are closed for two days it's nothing new why have you suddenly chosen this year to point it out.
ReplyDeleteIt just happens to be this year 4 and 5 april are monday and tuesday where the last few year it has happened over weekend.
"Ken I am a bit shocked at this article reconstitution happens every year at this time all the systems are closed for two days it's nothing new why have you suddenly chosen this year to point it out."
ReplyDelete"2nd - 6th April"
Two days!!! I hope you never calculate my tax.
""2nd - 6th April"
ReplyDeleteTwo days!!! I hope you never calculate my tax."
We don't need to - we have computers to do that for us...
Ken I am very shocked at this article - you should know that we in the Inland revenue are still in the days of quill pen and ink. Can you imagine any remotely competent organisation closing its computers down for two days? This beggars belief.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of systems closing down like that with Customs.
ReplyDeleteYes Customs systems never fell over and were reknowned for being at the leading edge of IT. I also have a bridge in Brooklyn that you might like to buy.
Sorry but as others have said, this is not news. Every year the systems go down for the last day of the old tax year & the first one of the new.
ReplyDeleteI have been with IR & HMRC for 10 years and never know it different.
Staff are encouraged to take leave, if they don't want to, they catch up on the filing.
"Ken I am a bit shocked at this article reconstitution happens every year at this time all the systems are closed for two days it's nothing new why have you suddenly chosen this year to point it out."
ReplyDelete"2nd - 6th April"
Two days!!! I hope you never calculate my tax.
21 March 2011 16:57
As I work Monday to Friday the systems for me are down on 4 and 5 April which is two days!!!
22 March 2011 09:44, just confirms what a useless organisation you are part off. You cannot even arrange "Customer Service" when it is needed.
ReplyDelete"As I work Monday to Friday the systems for me are down on 4 and 5 April which is two days!!!"
ReplyDeleteWhy am I not surprised at an arrogant answer like that coming from within HMRC.
"As I work Monday to Friday the systems for me are down on 4 and 5 April which is two days!!!"
ReplyDeleteMonday 4th, Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th - I reckon that's 3 days.
Are you saying you only do two days work in these three days - or is it that you can't count?
11:08, careful, you will upset them.
ReplyDeleteThis is an exaggeration. The 2nd is a Saturday, only HMRC offices that are open are the contact centres and my colleagues there will no doubt bear the brunt of people whose default behaviour should be *facepalm*.
ReplyDeleteSunday is a non working day in the department (Yes tabloid readers, a majority of civil servants on less than 20K a year do not work Sundays!).
It is then down on Monday and Tuesday and should be up again by Wednesday Morning. If you take the average working day and spread the hours out over a year. This downtime equates to 0.95% (22.2 hours in 2316 working hours a year).
Systems often go down in the private sector - who often have 5 percent of the type of records that HMRC has. DO I then choose to spend several hours on the phone stating they should never have to carry out maintenance and threaten to go to my MP about it? No because that's f*****g absurd.
But, regardless of any coherent argument by any HMRC employee here, everything that happens is obviously the fault of the staff who actually work for the country as always. It always amazes me that all these self employed nose to the grind stone 'alarm clock worker' types always find time to complain about HMRC on here during the day.
"Ken I am a bit shocked at this article reconstitution happens every year at this time all the systems are closed for two days it's nothing new why have you suddenly chosen this year to point it out."
ReplyDelete"2nd - 6th April"
Two days!!! I hope you never calculate my tax.
Do you work for a newspaper? The sentence below what you quoted clearly qualified what the poster was talking about yet you chose to ignore it because it fitted your ignorant way of thinking.
I would suspect that you are also the kind of person who would expect HMRC to pay you the full 40p rate of mileage on your 'tax relief for expenses' form despite the form being so named in the top right hand corner.
Also if you are determined to argue that 0.95% downtime is still to high, then direct your comments towards the private company that HMRC's systems are outsourced to and perhaps give them some suggestions as to how this could be cut even further.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could get an overpaid private consultancy job with them.
11:08, I said you would upset them.
ReplyDelete23 March 2011 21:38
ReplyDeleteI think this actual story is really a non story.
Unlike last year when if you needed to amend your SA after it had been submitted you could not log back into the system. This lasted from May to November so maybe you could calculate what % of downtime that equates to.
"It always amazes me that all these self employed nose to the grind stone 'alarm clock worker' types always find time to complain about HMRC on here during the day."
ReplyDeleteIt always amazes me why anybody would bother to make an effort to defend HMRC.
24 March 2011 00:38
ReplyDeleteI think you should be more concerned as to what you lot have got to moan about on here when despite everything, HMRC is actually working as it should be in this particular area if not others lol.
23 March 2011 21:38 As this is a government gateway problem I cannot comprehend your argument.
HMRC don't build these systems in house. Write to the private company that holds the country to ransom because HMRC can't afford their extortionate fees because the ******* in government keep cutting funding.
Paradoxically, this means you are actually not paying any extra for something that you don't directly pay for in the first place, seeing as the service is free. People who use 3rd party software developed by people who know what they are doing seemed to have no problems whatsoever. Assuming you are one of those 'free market' types the current government keeps pandering to, you should have no problem whatsoever with this.