Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs

My tax code has been wrong for the past six months and now that we're in a new tax year I really thought it would've been sorted out. Wrong! Originally they were waiting for information from the Chinese restaurant I used to work at, but they were sent that MONTHS ago now. COME ON GUYS!

I, like most other people, hate being on hold on the phone. Unfortunately I had to resign myself to listening to the bizarre Super Mario-esque music of the HMRC helpline in order to try and get this sorted out. I mean I'm losing ~£150 a month in overpaid tax! (I know you get it back eventually, but I need that money to do the things that I want to do, rather than have it gain interest in the government's coffers (or worse..).

So:

14:15 – get home from work.

14:30 – settle down in my room with my lunch, a cup of tea and an Easter egg. You just never know how many supplies you'll need! Got to keep your strength up!

14:35 – finally make it past the irritating “If you want this random selection of options, press one”, complete with a minute or two of “helpful” advice after each option, including the never-ending referring you to their website. Believe me, if I could do this online I WOULD!

14:50 – still on hold. Getting a little narked now because the sandwich is gone and I've been thanked for waiting about 400,000 times already.

15:00 - every so often the music seems to cut out, causing me to hope against hope that my call will be answered. Then it starts again. Same track.

15:10 – wishing I had driven the 30 minutes to the tax office. It'd have taken less time, AND probably have cost less (since it's an 0845 number and we're not with BT..)

15:15 – starting to go a bit crazy. What if I accidentally press the hang up button? Would I have the stamina to ring again? (Answer: no).

15:20 – I was two chapters into my book when someone announced themselves. It made me jump! I explained my situation, and she told me that they'd send out the new tax code to my employers and that the tax rebate should be set in motion sometime in June when all the information has been received from employers. (I will be checking up on this as they've never actually managed to do it on their own before...)

15:28 – I finally get off the phone. My ear is sweaty.

FIFTY-EIGHT MINUTES! I know it must be a busy time of year for them, but I also know they take on extra staff to deal with the influx of calls. Still, it's probably worth it to get an extra £150 a month. Probably.

If you are in a similar situation, write to them. It will probably get there faster.