Taxpayers are being warned that they face long waits for tax refunds without any interest being added, an accountancy firm has warned. The warning, from PKF, comes at the same time HM Revenue & Customs is anticipated to issue a statement on the matter which acknowledges the problem. Confusion has arisen from those tax refund claims that are selected for manual security tracks to target fraud. They are transferred to a specialist unit in Bristol to be investigated without the taxpayer knowing. When a refund is due, messages on HMRC's website indicate that a repayment has been issued without any reference to the checking system. According to PKF, this unit only accepts written communications, so if a case is referred there is no way to speed up the process or find out why refunds have not been made. John Cassidy, tax investigations partner, expressed concern for taxpayers claiming refunds: 'Some are effectively being treated as if they have made false claims, perhaps a knock-on effect of the problems with MPs' expenses,' he said. 'I do not see the need for this somewhat clandestine operation, with no facility for telephoning HMRC. Obviously HMRC does have to protect the public purse, but it ought to be able to carry out sufficient checks on most businesses very quickly. I'd like to see some statistics on how many refund claims eventually prove to be fraudulent - I expect the number will be miniscule with the loss of revenue too small to justify such delays for honest taxpayers,' he added.