Vent-- HMRC

FOREVER21

I registered for HMRC Personal Tax Account earlier this year already having an online account forSelf Assessment. I have used the PTA to check up my latest information,all was well until last week when I tried to access the account. Input my ID/password and got a text with my access code, but then a message said " we need more information to identify you".

This seemed strange since they had obviously searched my account to get my mobile number to send the access code. However I continued and was asked if I had a valid passport which I don't then I was told I could not access my Personal Tax Account but I can view details of my Self Assessment returns.

So they could not verify my identity for my personal account but were quite happy to let me see my self Assessment details which contain much more pertinent information.

I spoke to HMRC explained what had happened and he immediately said did I have a valid passport, no I replied. He then said the system had been updated ,I then asked what I had to do to get into my account, only to be told I couldn't at present and would have to wait until they next changed their procedures.

So as far as I am concerned the all singing and dancing new PTA is useless.

Chrishazle

You're not alone. Wife and I both have valid government gateway accounts and I've done our tax returns online for a few years now. However, this year I was able to do mine as I have a valid UK passport, but hit the same problem as you because my wife's passport is Irish so neither HMRC nor one of their "identity partners" (I tried 3, Experian, Post Office and another) could verify her identity. Had a right royal go at HMRC via their online reporting system and by phone, got precicely nowhere. Bloody stupid - our gateway ID's were issued by them not chosen by us, and have 16 characters which could be upper or lower case letters or numbers - so about (24x24x10) to the power 16 possible combinations - and then our password is another 11 characters, so between the 2, the number of possible combinations is an astronomic number - yet they've chosen to screw with a working system to "enhance security"!!

Total muppets.

flagstone

The system, has in this mornings experience, actually got much worse so as to be totally user unfriendly. Today I logged in, for the first time in a year, and using the 'odd' telephone verification process - where I entered the phone number to use as they didn't use my registered details!! - I proceeded to fill out my self assessment tax return. I did not submit the return but logged out to review it all using the print out I took. OK I thought, same-ish as last year.
Now I want to correct some errors I'd entered. So tried to log in again but unable to do so as NOW the site demands my passport details to verify my identity. So as previous poster says locked out until I do so.

What 'security' expert worked out the process that allows you to enter/divulge all your tax information AND see all of the previous years tax details but only THEN next time asks you to verify yourself - totally A about T.
I see the website is at Beta release so they are using 'their valued customers' to test and debug the process for them - lazy and less then professional!!!
Left a stinging comment but little hope of a response. Who did you find to actually talk to??

kwikbreaks

I have always completed my own and my wife's self assessments. Having retired they don't ask me for one any more but my wife's still has to be filled in to reclaim interest taken from savings and I did that a week or so ago. Neither of us have had current passports for years.

The sometimes minor idiot things I found with the self assessment this year were...

As already mentioned they asked for a mobile phone number to be entered to text an access code to. Obviously this would completely flummox a scammer. There is clearly no check at all as I used mine.

They asked for her Government retirement penion amount - they don't issue P45s - I just accepted the figure they suggested with no idea if it was correct or not.

The form is picky over whether 0, 0.00, or space gets entered - some places it's one and elsewhere another.

The form won't accept a bank sort code with hyphens in it.

It used to be quite good but seems to me to slowly be going downhill.

Hopefully the changeover to not taking tax by default from savings interest will mean I don't need to do hers again so won't have to overcome not having a passport.

molerat

Strange, MrsM got access answering straight forward CRA type questions such as bank account dates etc. Also showed up on her credit report as an identity check carried out.