CRA call centre staff blocking calls, giving taxpayers incorrect information: AG | CTV News - Rachel Aiello:
"November 24, 2017 - Canada's tax collectors often aren’t picking up the phone, and when they do, Canadians are being given incorrect information, a new federal audit reveals.
"The examination by Canada's Auditor General Michael Ferguson into whether the Canada Revenue Agency’s nine call centres were providing Canadian taxpayers with timely access to accurate information, found that call centre agents only answered the phone about one-third of the time.
"When the callers do get through to the call centre, the audit found that agents are giving Canadians incorrect information nearly 30 per cent of the time....
'"If people aren’t told the right date for when interest will be charged on what they owe, they may make a payment later than they should, and they may get charged interest that they weren’t expecting to get charged,' said Ferguson, giving an example of the impact of the CRA staff’s erroneous information. 'Every time the answer that they get from the call centre isn’t a right answer, there’s always the potential that that is going to impact individuals'....
"The auditor general found that ... the CRA blocked about 29 million calls, more than half of its 53.5 million total call volume.... The CRA reported that about 90 per cent of callers are able to be connected.... However when the blocked calls are factored in, the Agency’s overall success rate dropped to 36 per cent....
"Ferguson said ... calling in for help is the main way for Canadians to get help with specific questions, or is the only way for those without internet access or who are not comfortable or able to use a computer. 'If taxpayers cannot get timely access to accurate information, they may file incorrect returns, miss filing deadlines, pay too little or too much tax (and later be subject to reassessment), or miss out on benefits they are eligible to receive.'"
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/cra-call-centre-staff-blocking-calls-giving-taxpayers-incorrect-information-ag-1.3687250
'via Blog this'
"November 24, 2017 - Canada's tax collectors often aren’t picking up the phone, and when they do, Canadians are being given incorrect information, a new federal audit reveals.
"The examination by Canada's Auditor General Michael Ferguson into whether the Canada Revenue Agency’s nine call centres were providing Canadian taxpayers with timely access to accurate information, found that call centre agents only answered the phone about one-third of the time.
"When the callers do get through to the call centre, the audit found that agents are giving Canadians incorrect information nearly 30 per cent of the time....
'"If people aren’t told the right date for when interest will be charged on what they owe, they may make a payment later than they should, and they may get charged interest that they weren’t expecting to get charged,' said Ferguson, giving an example of the impact of the CRA staff’s erroneous information. 'Every time the answer that they get from the call centre isn’t a right answer, there’s always the potential that that is going to impact individuals'....
"The auditor general found that ... the CRA blocked about 29 million calls, more than half of its 53.5 million total call volume.... The CRA reported that about 90 per cent of callers are able to be connected.... However when the blocked calls are factored in, the Agency’s overall success rate dropped to 36 per cent....
"Ferguson said ... calling in for help is the main way for Canadians to get help with specific questions, or is the only way for those without internet access or who are not comfortable or able to use a computer. 'If taxpayers cannot get timely access to accurate information, they may file incorrect returns, miss filing deadlines, pay too little or too much tax (and later be subject to reassessment), or miss out on benefits they are eligible to receive.'"
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/cra-call-centre-staff-blocking-calls-giving-taxpayers-incorrect-information-ag-1.3687250
'via Blog this'
No comments:
Post a Comment