HMRC digital tax account

twhitehead

:mad:No idea if anyone has had this before or if it is being discussed elsewhere, if so SORRY.
I had a notice of coding yesterday from HMRC and a leaflet with it asked me to register for a digital tax account.
I have done self assessment successfully for about 4 years and also as Church Treasurer claimed Gift Aid on line for years as well. So I went to their website and logged in as usual (as myself). Then I got diverted to a page saying 2nd stage verification. This would be done by them sending a message to my mobile phone. I do not have a mobile phone so I clicked on the bit where it says 'No mobile phone, click here'. And SURPRISE it reloaded the page saying '"2nd stage verification is required, if you do not have a mobile phone click here'. Then I logged in as Church Treasurer and got exactly the same page.
Why do I need to have a mobile phone? HMRC have set up a loop and if anyone knows how to overcome this problem I would be grateful. When I contacted them (online chat) I was told I did not need a mobile phone to do self assessment.

Aquamania

twhitehead wrote: »

:mad:No idea if anyone has had this before or if it is being discussed elsewhere, if so SORRY.
I had a notice of coding yesterday from HMRC and a leaflet with it asked me to register for a digital tax account.
I have done self assessment successfully for about 4 years and also as Church Treasurer claimed Gift Aid on line for years as well. So I went to their website and logged in as usual (as myself). Then I got diverted to a page saying 2nd stage verification. This would be done by them sending a message to my mobile phone. I do not have a mobile phone so I clicked on the bit where it says 'No mobile phone, click here'. And SURPRISE it reloaded the page saying '"2nd stage verification is required, if you do not have a mobile phone click here'. Then I logged in as Church Treasurer and got exactly the same page.
Why do I need to have a mobile phone? HMRC have set up a loop and if anyone knows how to overcome this problem I would be grateful. When I contacted them (online chat) I was told I did not need a mobile phone to do self assessment.

When you log in through the government gateway, you get as you say the option to set up 2 step verification. (This requires a mobile phone)

There is, as you say a link that says "I don't have access to a mobile phone"

If you click that you should see a scren that says

You have not set up 2-step verification

We'll remind you to set it up next time.
Your details are still secure.

Click the green box marked "Continue", not the link below that.

However, it would appear you now need to set up 2 step verification to use the service as the next screen says

You need 2-step verification to use the personal tax account

You can only access this service if you have a mobile phone or have access to one.

If you have a query you can contact HM Revenue and Customs (opens in a new window) to get help.
Back to 2-step verification

At the bottom of every page there is another link saying "Get help with this page"

I would suggest you click that link on the appropriate page, fill in the info and explain the issue.

Do let us know how you get on

twhitehead

Just done it. Someone will get back within 2 working days (they say). So look here next Tuesday.

Aquamania

I think it's already resolved.

Now if you click "Continue" from "You have not set up 2-step verification" now get the screen that says:

You need 2-step verification to access all parts of this service

You can continue but you will not be able to access all parts of your personal tax account. Your details are still secure.

Press "Continue" again, and off you go

(I'm not sure which parts, if any, you can't then access)

twhitehead

O no they haven't. What I get is a message that says You can only access this service if you have access to a mobile phone and that is both my personal self assessment and the Church Gift Aid account.
Yesterday I did get an opportunity to do online chat. Put my problem and the advisor typed 'I am transferring you' Message, 2 minutes delay. Half an hour later I had to go for my tea with no reply. I am going to have another go next week when I can devote at least an hour waiting time for a 2 minute response. :mad:

twhitehead

Had a reply from HMRC.

A member of the HMRC digital support team has replied to your ticket (HMRC-BTF9VWEE)
Hello Terence Whitehead,

Thank you for your enquiry,

We are unable to supply you with an immediate response and have assigned your query to a specialist team, who will reply as soon as possible.

Kind regards,

HMRC User Support Team

But I shall try their online chat Monday when I have made myself a strong cup of coffee and can wait half an hour for a reply they say is timed at two minutes.

twhitehead

I did have half an hour yesterday which ended up with the advisor telling me to click on the link at the bottom of the page and send a query via email. As I have already done that I will have to wait for the specialist team to reply. Only hope they fix it before I have to fill my 2015/6 self assessment form in. (Jan 2017?)

twhitehead

I have just had a reply.

A member of the HMRC digital support team has replied to your ticket (HMRC-BTF9VWEE)
Hello Terence Whitehead,

HMRC is required to adapt to changing security threats and must take action to ensure the security of our customers online. As such, for individuals using a Government Gateway account, we have made the registration of a mobile phone an essential requirement. This means that, as a customer, you will have something you 'know' - user ID and password - along with something you 'have' - a mobile phone - protecting your account. This significantly raises the security of your Government Gateway account. Mobile phones are used in this way by other government identity services and the private sector.

Individuals using the Self Assessment services have, until recently, been able to skip the need to register a mobile phone. However, we have now made the registration a requirement in order to protect our customers accounts.

We recognise that some of our customers may have issues with mobile phone access and this will cause issues with them being able to interact with us online. In the near future, one of our major improvements will be introducing a new mobile messaging provider which will make landlines an option for customers who may suffer mobile phone issues.

For customers impacted, we can only apologise for this and reiterate that we must ensure the security of customers interacting with us online.

The following link details other ways in which to interact with us - https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-forms-and-helpsheets

This change does not impact customers registered as self-employed or businesses, they will still be able to access their services through the 'Your Tax Account'.

Kind regards,

HMRC User Support Team

I suppose anyone wanting to fool the HMRC website will now have to buy a mobile phone. THAT WILL STOP HACKERS.:rotfl:

When they get the landline option it might help. They could then put an automatic check on the address the landline is registered to but you can tell the mobile provider you live anywhere if you have prepaid phone. That took 5 seconds for me to crack the new improved security and I am not a criminal.:eek:

ChiefGrasscutter

I know this is not exactly being helpful.....
but,errrr,umm, have you just maybe even possibly thought of getting a mobile phone might be a good idea in 2016.
£10 from Argos last time I looked for a throwaway base model.

I hear they are a new fangled device that allows to you to make and receive calls when you are not at home - can't see why that might be of interest though to anyone....

Seriously
Two factor authentication using mobiles has been around for ages. As I recall Tesco and Santander banks use it for logging into your account by sending a text message to the phone registered in your account with a code in the text for you to enter up on the computer screen to let you in.
Others that you can set 2FA to 'on' are Paypal, Gmail and possibly Hotmail that I know of.
There are endless articles on the web about the advantages of 2Factor Authentication - you might like to read them.

When you first set up 2FA on a mobile you will be sent a text to it with a code to enter by the bank/whoever having told them your number. The organization/bank etc then knows that that mobile and that mobile number is your mobile - whether it is on PAYG or on a contract or even to which address it is registered if any is of no interest to them as is not needed.

The ones I have sympathy for are those who have mobile but find at home when doing banking that their mobile does not have decent enough reception in the house to get the 2FA test - that must be really very annoying indeed.

spenderdave

I also am uncomfortable with the assumption that everybody has a mobile phone and always is in coverage range. I do have a PAYG mobile but I only use it when I am away and it normally sits switched off - it very rarely gets turned on, I simply don't need one for my style of living.
I have registered its use at Santander, and as mentioned they send you a text with a code every time you transfer money or other things. When I transferred an amount once it was large enough to trigger their anti-fraud system and I immediately got a string of texts and voice mail messages to the mobile I had just used to authenticate the transaction. If a thief had acquired my mobile he could probably have answered the security questions asked and approved the transfer - mobile verification adds an extra layer but it is far from foolproof.

I also found this slip of paper in my tax coding notice about the new digital account. Do I take it that those of us who have used self assessment online for several years now need to set up a completely separate account or are the two things just the same thing in disguise?

2010

ChiefGrasscutter wrote: »

I know this is not exactly being helpful.....
but,errrr,umm, have you just maybe even possibly thought of getting a mobile phone might be a good idea in 2016.
£10 from Argos last time I looked for a throwaway base model.

You took the words right outta

---

I too, never bothered with a mobile phone until about four years ago when my son left home and I had to keep in touch.(no landline where he went).

If these various organisations require codes to be sent then the OP will just have to bite the bullet and go to Argos.
Or don`t bother going onto the HMRC site.

Trouble with the latter, these codes are going to get more common for nearly everything you will need to do in the future.

The time the OP wasted on this issue, he would have been quicker going to Argos.

Dear twhitehead, I`m afraid the HMRC aren`t going to change their system just to suit you.:)