Stop making 'cruel and heartless' loan charge phone calls which are causing maximum distress over Christmas, say MPs

The All Party Parliamentary Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness Group (APPG) said it had received evidence that HMRC was both sending letters and making phone calls to people facing the loan charge just before and over Christmas.

The letter to HMRC's CEO Jim Harra, which has been signed by co-chairs Sammy Wilson MP, Greg Smith MP and Mohammad Yasin MP, states: “This includes letters which arrived on people’s doormats on Christmas Eve, which is downright cruel. We also have another letter that is actually dated Christmas Eve and others dated between Christmas and New Year, which then would land just before or on New Year’s Eve.

“We also this year have reports of phone calls, relating to HMRC’s demands regarding the controversial loan charge, including where individuals were called multiple times by HMRC officers on Christmas Eve. This is disgraceful.”

The MPs said they had previously criticised HMRC for this “unnecessary and heartless conduct, which HMRC are fully aware causes huge distress”.

“We are deeply disappointed that HMRC have chosen to ignore this and to ignore past criticism and have continued to contact people at a time that would cause (in the words of some of those receiving these letters and calls) “maximum distress”, the letter said.

It added: "People have reported that the letters and calls ruined Christmas for some individuals and so for their families and caused unnecessary anguish and distress over Christmas and New Year."

The letter added: “Once again, we reiterate that HMRC should have a policy that sees all correspondence linked to demands/bills suspended from the middle of December till after the New Year’s Day Bank Holiday."

The letter added: " No such HMRC letter should be sent between the dates of 16th December and 2nd January. This would be perfectly easy to do on the HMRC systems."

The MPs are calling on HMRC to “show some compassion” and to announce it will introduce such a policy.

“Should HMRC continue to send letters at these times then it will be assumed that HMRC are content to send letters and make calls knowing full well the distressing impact they will have and will do nothing to counter the perception held by some, that HMRC send these letters and make these calls at this time to actively cause the inevitable distress,’ the letter said.

“This does not enhance HMRC’s reputation and is something we would advise you address before Christmas 2022.”

An email sent to the APPG stated: "“I received a call today on Christmas Eve from an HMRC Officer chasing me up to settle my tax affairs. He wished me a Merry Christmas, but laughed nervously when I commented about Scrooge and Jacob Marley. He called me four times because I had been busy doing other things, so clearly had a remit to keep trying to make contact with people until they responded."

An HMRC spokesperson said: “We do not stop all contact with customers during the Christmas and New Year period. HMRC continues to do its job on the working days.

“Between mid-December and early January, no large-scale loan charge or disguised remuneration related compliance mailings were issued. We did continue to contact customers on an individual basis where it was appropriate to do so, including ongoing tax enquiries.

“We understand that receiving correspondence from HMRC can be stressful for customers at any time of year. We encourage customers who are worried about paying what they owe to speak to us if they need extra help. We can agree affordable payment options that will enable them to resolve their tax affairs.”

Christmas Eve and the days between Christmas and New Year are working days and HMRC does not believe it would be appropriate or practical to cease its operations - many of which are automated - during these days or the days around other religious festivals or public holidays, the spokesman added.

"We continue to do work that supports customers resolving their tax affairs and paying what they owe, as well as time critical work to meet statutory enquiry deadlines, or where a customer needs a response or information prior to the January Self Assessment deadline.

"We cannot guarantee precisely when correspondence will be delivered to customers. That is the case at any time of year but is particularly so in December when post can take longer to arrive."

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Thank you

James Mitchinson