Computer Says No but why?

As I have said on several occasions, I have a friend who used to work for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. He has been gone for a couple of years now but he does offer a remarkable insight into the mentality that is (he thinks) still prevalent in a department which is (to be frank) under siege. My friend was present during the periods when “Computerisation of PAYE” (COP) and “Computerisation of ‘D’ Assessing” (CODA) was introduced. This was in the early 1980’s and pre-dates Self Assessment by about 20 years. The infrastructure and equipment changed but the people (both before or since) did not. The human touch which was there in part, prior to these massive changes, disappeared completely. “Computer says no” (one of my friends favourite sayings) became the order of the day.

The reasons for this are varied. Computerisation itself is a factor. With the introduction of COP and CODA in the 1980’s there was no corresponding reductions in staff. This was compounded by the introduction of self-assessment when more staff should have gone but hung on. These individuals then hide behind their computers while making life as problematic as they can for the rest of the human beings that occupy the real  world. Others do these strange  “non-jobs” that you here about these days. Like “Outreach coordinators” who spend half their time visiting local college kids who couldn’t give a stuff about PAYE or National Insurance. Some of the staff are full-time union officials. Paid by HMRC for (in my friends view) doing absolutely nothing. The PCS (the trade union) is the very definition of a toothless tiger with no claws. They don’t properly defend the rights and conditions of union members because to do so, they  would effectively be biting the hand that feeds them. This is resulting (my friend claims) to a lot of  dismissals due to poor defending by these PCS representatives.

My friend also thinks that the “computer says no” ethos is easy to adopt,  particularly at the lower grades. In the higher grades (Inspector and above) enforcement is the priority. And it always will be. My friend says that we shouldn’t be fooled by their attempts at “educating the taxpayer” or talk of collaboration and co-operation. Enforcement is their preferred method of action. After the Crown Prosecution Service, HMRC are the second most frequent prosecutors in the UK. “Computer says no” facilitates this course. Good old-fashioned customer service is what is needed. But that takes human beings to make it work. Sadly, this is exactly what HMRC are doing away with.