HMRC criticised for 'threatening' letters

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been criticised by the Treasury Select Committee (TSC) for the number of complaints it has had from people who feel its tax debt recovery letters are threatening and inappropriate. The Committee heard that around 2,000 complaints have been received by HMRC, regarding the tone of the 17 million letters it has sent out since 2009 to recover due tax. The figures came from the government's response to the TSC's latest examination of HMRC's effectiveness.The TSC said that many of the letters were written in a way that was not appropriate for the particular recipients, alluding to vague "potential consequences". The TSC also said that many of the complaints had come from people who did not even owe money to HMRC. "Such language is appropriate only where there is strong evidence of persistent and deliberate non-payment," said the committee. "It is completely inappropriate where the amount owed is in dispute, where the amount may be zero, or where the recipient is vulnerable."The letters formed the backbone of HMRC's "new approach" to the collection of tax debt, which was introduced in 2009/10. The body claimed that the methods used "best practice from the private sector and from the fields of behavioural economics and psychology".

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