Why are most people at the Inland Revenue such a--holes to deal with even with straight forward enquiries?

Question

Have you noticed that when you speak to representatives for the Inland Revenue on their advice lines they can act like they got their heads up their own asses? They are so arrogant because they think they are above you in terms of what they have been trained to know at the IR.

Answer 1

Sadly, the days of the all-round helpful tax person are gone. The people who man the helplines get 10 days training and then have to be able to answer all sorts of things and take all sorts of abuse on about £15k pa.
Back in the day, when Fengirl was a baby tax inspector, we had 18mths training and it was at least 3 mths before they let a taxpayer loose on you.
Like everyone, the tax officer responds to respect and politeness...my guess is that if you have had probs, they are being defensive to hide the lack of knowledge.

Answer 2

Do not upset the IR ... Al Capone made that mistake and see where it got him (IR is part of Customs & Excise and they still have the power to lock you in the Tower and have you beheaded :-) )

They can make you life hell with a Tax Enquiry that goes back to the date you were born ...

"I see you received a Silver Goblet christening present - tell me, Mr. Smith, did you declare that ?"

If you protest long enough they will eventually tell you the truth of the matter ..."The secret is, Mr. Smith, to STOP THINKING IT'S YOUR MONEY"...

Answer 3

I used to work for an accountancy firm until recently and when we phoned I always hoped for an older sounding voice as they generally know what to do. If a youngster answered I would have to help them through the problem alot more

Answer 4

God you must have been lucky to find someone in a HMRC call centre who has been trained.