ICAEW has written to the Treasury financial secretary, Nigel Huddlestone, outlining the ‘unacceptable’ level of HMRC service performance experienced by accountants on a daily basis and the deterioration in the quality of support available when accountants eventually manage to speak to an HMRC adviser.

The problems cut across all HMRC service areas and include ‘extreme waiting times on helplines, calls being cut off and long delays in responding to post’.

More worryingly, the quality of service that they receive when they do speak to an adviser or receive a written reply has deteriorated significantly with HMRC advisers unable to deal with the issue and giving incorrect information, ICAEW said.