It’s a long story, but Clancy and I are still trying to get out 5-figure tax refund from 2010. They claim to have sent the check, but we never received it. The next step in the process is to fill out a 3911 form, then wait 6-8 weeks for them to find out whether or not the check was cashed by somebody else. The problem is that I need information from them in order to do so. So I called them today.
Most of the time, when you are calling a company or even a government agency, and all of their customer service agents are busy, they will put you on hold or at least give you the option of being on hold.
Not the IRS. They simply told me that all of their customer service agents are busy and that I should call back at a later date, suggesting Wednesday or Thursday.
The last human I talked to at the IRS was very helpful. I hope to someday get to talk to a human at the IRS again.
FWIW, whenever I’ve actually spoken with a real human at the IRS, they have been remarkably helpful.
Good luck reaching one.
The guy I talked to previously was really nice, though towards the end he also seemed a bit anxious to get off the phone. “Haveyoufoundthe3911greatjustfillthatinandsenditoutisthereanythingelseIcandoforyouno?greatthankshaveaniceday.”
I will confess I was a bit annoyed by that at the time, but considering the call log, I can’t say that I don’t understand a little bit better in the light of day.
This has been my experience dealing with the Service as well. They are firm negotiators, but not inflexible or unreasonable, and more pleasant to speak with than the bulk of attorneys I deal with on a daily basis who, on the whole, are not a bad lot to begin with.
Slate had a good article a while back on how the IRS is taking great strides towards customer service. I think this is it, but it doesn’t contain things I remember, so maybe they had two such articles (or more).
Yeah, same with me. I once had an issue with a past part-time employer refusing to send a corrected W2. The IRS representative listened sympathetically as I vented and comfortingly explained the process for filling out a form documenting the problem and substituting for the refused document. She actually made me happy about additional paperwork!
The IRS is presently in the muck well above its nostrils due to a massive surge in ID theft related tax refund fraud schemes. I’ve seen estimates of present and future losses from these schemes over the next five years as high as $25 Billion. It is a colossal mess.
10 bucks says until someone really important suffers, the IRS won’t get so much as an extra dime to deal with it.
Heck, the IRS can’t seem to get more money for auditors — despite the fact that they more than pay for themselves.
That’s odd. I called the IRS just last week, and had to wait perhaps five minutes before I got a human voice. The person attached to it was quite helpful.
Last time I called the DMV, I got a message saying, basically, “The wait time is ridiculous, but if you type in your number, we’ll call you back so you don’t have to hold all that time.” A nice touch, I thought.
I’ve had similar experiences with Social Security, but they are not helpful or friendly when I finally speak to a human.