PHSO Casework Decisions
3,622 published casework decisions from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (Apr 2021–Mar 2026). PHSO selects a subset of completed investigations for public publication — these 3,622 decisions represent approximately 1.1% of the 321,459 total complaints received across the same period. Source: decisions.ombudsman.org.uk.
3,622
Published Decisions
3,089
Health
533
Parliamentary (Govt)
18%
Upheld / Partly Upheld
Showing 81 results matching "HM Revenue and Customs"
HM Revenue and Customs (P-003707)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr M complained HMRC provided misleading information about tax on his deferred state pension lump sum, causing him to pay an avoidable additional £11,891.71.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-003695)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Complaint handling
AI summary: Mr N complained HMRC failed to ensure a debt collection agency effectively addressed his complaints after HMRC incorrectly assigned a non-existent debt, causing him stress.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-003658)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mrs O complained HMRC errors caused tax underpayments which she was asked to repay, despite her efforts, causing significant stress. She wanted the tax waived and compensation.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-003584)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Employment and low income benefits
AI summary: Miss K complained about an HMRC tax code error causing underpaid tax, delays in recognising the error, and contradictory information about financial remedy.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-003532)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr A complained HMRC gave him incorrect tax advice in 2012, resulting in penalty charges from German tax authorities and causing him stress and worry.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-003520)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
Complaint handling
AI summary: Mrs A complained HMRC made tax repayments to a third-party company without her authorisation, suspecting forgery. She was unhappy with HMRC's investigation process into fraudulent claims.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-003470)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr C complained HMRC gave him incorrect tax advice in 2002 about UK income while resident in France, leading to unnecessary tax payments and stress from a French tax investigation.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-003378)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Tax credits
Tax credits
AI summary: HMRC wrongly reduced tax credits despite evidence and refused a mandatory reconsideration request for the 2016-2017 tax year, causing repayment burden.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-003388)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
Personal taxes
AI summary: Ms O complained HMRC charged her interest and late payment penalties for tax she did not know she owed, causing financial and emotional stress.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-003230)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr L complained HMRC failed to follow previous reimbursement recommendations and had poor communication with his accountants, leading to denial of cost reimbursement after he paid fees.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002944)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Business and regulation
AI summary: Mr A complained HMRC wouldn't accept his 2019-2020 tax return was filed on January 31, 2021, not March 5, which caused him to miss SEISS grants.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002914)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr L complained HMRC took 267 days to refund overpaid tax and refused to pay incurred mortgage interest. He also alleged wrong advice and delayed complaint handling, causing frustration and distress.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002978)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
COVID-19
COVID-19
COVID-19
COVID-19
AI summary: Mrs T complained HMRC incorrectly denied her Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants, failed to pay approved appeals, and poorly handled her complaint, causing financial loss.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002933)
UK Government
Partly Upheld
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr E complained HMRC failed to consider his disability and reasonable adjustments, causing delays in his SEISS grant applications. He also felt the financial remedy offered was too low and his case wasn't properly reviewed.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002958)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr O complained HMRC refused his request to amend his 2015/16 tax self-assessment due to time limits, leading to him incorrectly paying a significant sum of tax.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002875)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr U complained HMRC stopped his CJRS payments without explanation, delayed compliance, used an incorrect wage for calculations, and underpaid him, causing financial loss.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002772)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Complaint handling
Business taxes
AI summary: A complainant alleged HMRC unfairly charged interest on Corporation Tax due to their own delays and handled her complaint poorly, refusing discretion for online submission.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002773)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Employment and low income benefits
AI summary: Mrs B complained HMRC failed to properly investigate her husband's allegation of fraudulent joint tax credit claims and did not consider evidence he provided.
Child Maintenance Service (CMS) (P-002559)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
None
None
None
AI summary: Miss A complained on behalf of Mr O that CMS failed to consider another child in maintenance calculations, used incorrect HMRC data, breached data protection, and incorrectly debited arrears. He sought apology and recalculation.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002531)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Tax credits
AI summary: HMRC is recovering a Working Tax Credits overpayment for the 2022-23 tax year, despite being informed she had stopped employment.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002440)
UK Government
Not Upheld
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr R complained HMRC mishandled his non-residency status and DT relief, refusing to retrospectively apply an NT tax code to his pension, causing financial difficulty.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002343)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
AI summary: Miss I complained HMRC incorrectly refused to write off outstanding tax credit arrears from 2011-12 and failed to compensate her for distress and financial hardship.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002375)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr C complained HMRC's £350 payment was too low and did not fully recognise the impact of its mistakes regarding his Self-Assessment Tax Return and SEISS application.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002357)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Benefits for families and death benefits
AI summary: Mr K complained HMRC insisted he repay a tax credit overpayment from 2013/14, despite his evidence of an error, and refused reconsideration due to time limits.
HM Revenue and Customs (P-002376)
UK Government
Closed After Initial Enquiries
Personal taxes
AI summary: Mr R complained HMRC refused to write off a tax underpayment caused by employer/HMRC errors and referred it to debt collection, demanding unaffordable payments.
Upheld / Partly Upheld
259 + 397
18% of decisions found fault with the organisation complained about.
Not Upheld
247
Complaint investigated but no fault found. 1 resolved during investigation.
Closed After Initial Enquiries
2,718
PHSO decided not to proceed to full investigation.
Most complained-about:
HM Revenue and Customs (80), University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (72), NHS England (62), Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (50), HM Courts and Tribunals Service (48).
Published Decisions Over Time
Excludes 2,718 closed before investigation. Quarterly, by outcome.
Annual Complaints (PHSO-wide)
Official PHSO annual statistics across all organisations
| Year | Received | Investigated | Upheld | Upheld % | Remedy % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 54,478 | 12,275 | 1,216 | 9.9% | 0% |
| 2020-21 | 44,139 | 7,822 | 617 | 7.9% | 0% |
| 2021-22 | 62,553 | 13,426 | 727 | 5.4% | 0% |
| 2022-23 | 61,297 | 15,734 | 782 | 5.0% | 0% |
| 2023-24 | 63,471 | 17,321 | 946 | 5.5% | 0% |
| 2024-25 | 35,521 | 10,070 | 519 | 5.2% | 0% |
Remedy % = percentage of PHSO remedies complied with on time
Top Themes
Themes by Upheld Rate
AI-classified themes across PHSO casework decisions
| Theme | Decisions | Upheld | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delayed Recognition of Deterioration | 747 | 184 | 25% |
| Complaint record keeping failures | 632 | 108 | 17% |
| Clinical negligence harms learning | 460 | 92 | 20% |
| Care plan failures | 436 | 121 | 28% |
| Care and discharge planning | 288 | 77 | 27% |
| No person-centred care | 215 | 46 | 21% |
| Inaccurate and inaccessible patient records | 204 | 37 | 18% |
| Patient dignity and privacy | 147 | 40 | 27% |
| Inadequate Pre-Operative Risk Assessment | 136 | 44 | 32% |
| Duty of Candour implementation | 134 | 43 | 32% |
| Medication Contamination/Misadministration | 128 | 33 | 26% |
| DWP policy impact assessment | 106 | 12 | 11% |
| Poor health and social care integration | 97 | 21 | 22% |
| Mental Health Crisis Referral Delays | 74 | 10 | 14% |
| Coroner family information gaps | 74 | 25 | 34% |
PHSO Complaint Categories
PHSO Categories by Upheld Rate
PHSO's own issue classifications — broad categories such as 'Treatment' cover a wide range of clinical complaints
| Category | Decisions | Upheld | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment | 1,610 | 418 | 26% |
| Diagnosis | 850 | 206 | 24% |
| Communication | 792 | 233 | 29% |
| Complaint handling | 534 | 161 | 30% |
| Drugs / medication | 463 | 130 | 28% |
| Nursing care | 388 | 154 | 40% |
| Access | 363 | 87 | 24% |
| Transfer, discharge and aftercare | 353 | 119 | 34% |
| Referral | 262 | 58 | 22% |
| Administration | 191 | 30 | 16% |
| End of life care | 170 | 50 | 29% |
| Choice and Consent | 165 | 48 | 29% |
| Continuing healthcare | 160 | 14 | 9% |
| Surgery | 145 | 32 | 22% |
| Record keeping and management | 133 | 30 | 23% |
Organisation Accountability
Combines PHSO annual complaint statistics (volume, remedy compliance) with published decisions portal data (uphold rate). Sorted by upheld rate for organisations with 5+ investigated decisions. Benchmark: 73% average upheld rate among fully investigated decisions. This differs from the headline 18% figure, which includes all 3,340 published decisions — most of which were closed before full investigation (upheld/not upheld only applies to fully investigated cases). Sparklines show complaint volumes received 2019–20 → 2024–25.
Received = complaints received in most recent year (PHSO annual data). Remedy compliance = % of PHSO-recommended remedies complied with across all available years. — = no data in that dataset for this organisation.