Just before Christmas David Savill, who for the last tens years has been head of owner-managed business services at Bishop Fleming, ranked 37th in the Accountancy Top 75 firms survey, was sent the letter which went to his home address and asked him to fill in and return a form to HMRC, together with the original correspondence.

The letter from HMRC informed Savill he would be allocated a temporary reference and asked for confirmation of his name, National Insurance number and tax reference if he had it.

Savill said: ‘Having paid considerable sums in tax every year for three decades, and not having moved home for 17 years, I could not believe that HMRC has managed to lose my tax record.’

Savill’s frustration was further compounded by the length of time one of the firm’s staff had to spend on the phone to HMRC helplines, waiting to be connected to someone who could discuss what had happened.