HMRC internal manual

Complaint Handling Guidance

CHG605 - Standards of service for dealing with complaints: HMRC Charter

How we deal with complainants is no different to how we deal with our customers in any other situation. In other words, we aim to live up to all of the commitments set out the HMRC Charter (external users can find the guidance at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-charter/the-hmrc-charter)) under the section “What you can expect from us”. You should therefore be familiar with the HMRC Charter and the principles it commits us to.

By the same token, of course, we expect complainants to live up to their obligations under the HMRC Charter, as set out in “What we expect from you”.

When our customers do complain to us, they can expect a standard of service that meets our Charter commitments, and we refer to these standards as our Complaints Handling Principles:

Charter Standards Getting things right Making thing easy Treating customers fairly Being aware of the customer’s personal situation
Complaints Handling Principles We undertake an objective review to establish whether there has been any error or delay. We\nrecognise when we have not correctly applied HMRC processes or procedures, or where customers experience unreasonable delay. We take action to put things right and restore trust. We value complaints and are receptive and responsive when customers do complain. We strive for an accessible and straightforward complaints journey. We treat all our complaint customers fairly and impartially considering individual circumstances. We recognise the impact of our actions on the individual customer. We apologise for any adverse impact on the customer and consider remedy and redress where it is right to do so.