CHG615 - Standards of service for dealing with complaints: Response times

You should aim to:

• acknowledge the complaint within the time frame set by your business area (please note: the complaint iForm sends out an emailed receipt to the customer - but only if they state they would like us to communicate with them via email when they submit their complaint and provide an address).
• resolve the complaint at the earliest opportunity in the complaint journey.

When acknowledging receipt of a complaint, please adhere to the contents of our gov.uk ‘Complain about HMRC’ page. Deviating from this can unfairly manage our customer’s expectations and create unnecessary pressure on our resources.

If it becomes clear that you will not be able to provide a full reply within a reasonable timescale (for example due to the complexity of the complaint or the work needed to gather relevant information) send an interim response and explain our progress to date and any outstanding actions. Provide regular updates if necessary.