Adjudicator’s report 2018-19

Key points

• In 2018-19 the Adjudicator’s Office resolved 1 120 cases.
• It upheld 35% of complaints about HMRC.
• HMRC departmental culture contributes to customer dissatisfaction.
• The department says it listens to the adjudicator and is working with the Adjudicator’s Office to improve its complaint handling.

The Adjudicator’s Office received 4 513 enquiries in 2018-19 and took on 1 043 new complaints for investigation according to its 2019 annual report (tinyurl.com/aoreport2019). The office resolved 1 120 complaints and mediated just two. There were 316 cases awaiting investigation compared with 393 the previous year. The organisation deals with individuals’ complaints about HMRC and the Valuation Office Agency.

In her foreword to the report the adjudicator Helen Megarry reported that she upheld either substantially or in part 35% of the complaints against HMRC. This maintains the downward pattern from 2017-18 when 39% were upheld and 41% in 2016-17. However...