Teething problems with new phone system
Last month HMRC introduced voice recognition telephone system, Intelligent Telephony Automation (ITA) to all their main helpline numbers. Rather than selecting options by a series of pushing buttons callers are asked to state the reason for their call before being connected to an adviser.
Despite Revenue assurances that the ITA system was fully tested before its implementation the department has admitted that it is aware of a small minority of callers that have been erroneously diverted to a different helpline.
One person told AccountingWEB that they had stated quite clearly ‘payroll’ but three times were transferred to personal tax! This is just one of a number of instances where taxpayers and accountants have tried to contact the Employer Helpline but have ended up with a completely different helpline. HMRC are apparently working quickly to resolve the glitch.
In the interim, whilst HMRC seek to fix the problem, the Revenue have introduced a direct connection service in instances where a taxpayer gets put through to the wrong helpline. Rather than a person having to make a second call an adviser will simply transfer that person to the Employers Helpline – well it’s not rocket science is it!
HMRC has produced some hints and tips to help taxpayers with their calls:
- Eliminate background noise, as far as possible, as this could distort the information heard by the speech application.
- Speak at a steady natural pace, not rushing, shouting or speaking slowly.
- State amounts clearly.
- When giving dates, clearly state the date, month and year.
- When prompted to state the reason for a call keep this to a few words. For example ‘SMP’ or ‘Maternity pay’ is sufficient , rather than launching into a full sentence.
- The system will recognise common abbreviations and acronyms, so both PAYE and Pay As You Earn will be recognised.
- A UK regional accent should not cause any problems to the system.
- The system will offer confirmation of what a caller has said and will ask the person to repeat if it is unsure or requires further clarification.
Good luck!
Good to see them making the effort, if they sort out the initial direction to a helpline, then my experience of the actual people answering has been good. All that leaves is to do something about the half hour wait in the middle.