IRD website down again --- and , they have abandoned their phones.

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › IRD website down again --- and , they have abandoned their phones.

surfisup1000

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#128916 28-Aug-2013 11:19

Today , GST returns due, and first provisional.

So, you'd expect IRD to cope with demand on days like this, but............

Hello xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Your last successful login was 28/08/2013 at 11:10 AM.

Our online services are unavailable.

Our system is experiencing difficulties. Please log out and try again later. We appreciate your patience.
The following services are still available for you to use:
(Click on the link below to use the service)

No point phoning them --- after navigating through their phone system for several minutes, they announce they are too busy and disconnect you.

Inphinity

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#885790 28-Aug-2013 11:22

This happens quite frequently to the IRD, though. I must say, leaving your returns till the last day may not be the best approach if you're frustrated by delays contacting them :(

It'd be great if they had the magical scaleable staffing levels to not encounter these problems, but it's nothing new, and it probably isn't going away anytime soon.

Dairyxox

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#885799 28-Aug-2013 11:55

They need to do better, especially as the their online systems are being promoted more, and the investment in infrastructure.
Its better for the whole country if this works right, and embarrassing that it doesn't, and makes their strict timeframes look laughable when they have wide-scale unavailability like this.

surfisup1000

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#885800 28-Aug-2013 11:59

Inphinity: This happens quite frequently to the IRD, though. I must say, leaving your returns till the last day may not be the best approach if you're frustrated by delays contacting them :(

It'd be great if they had the magical scaleable staffing levels to not encounter these problems, but it's nothing new, and it probably isn't going away anytime soon.

But, what bugs me is they don't even bother answering phones during busy times .

It was bearable 5 years ago, but, their phone service is just abysmal now. All I needed is the amount I need to pay.

Fortunately, the banks websites are a bit more reliable than IRD.

Inphinity

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#885801 28-Aug-2013 12:00

Dairyxox: They need to do better, especially as the their online systems are being promoted more, and the investment in infrastructure.
Its better for the whole country if this works right, and embarrassing that it doesn't, and makes their strict timeframes look laughable when they have wide-scale unavailability like this.

Totally, it does. It's silly that it has been like this for so many years. And their online services need a huge overhaul, both in capacity and in functionality. But it really isn't helped by the masses of people who leave things till the last day :P

Inphinity

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#885803 28-Aug-2013 12:02

surfisup1000:
But, what bugs me is they don't even bother answering phones during busy times .

Because they can't. They don't have unlimited staff to answer calls. Would you have sat on hold for 3 hours if it had given you that option?

For cases like yours, the best option is they need to get their online services sorted to handle the volume, reliably. It would help them cut call volumes, too, because if people could easily & reliably get the info online, fewer would need to call. Of course, if they try and set aside $x million to upgrade, people will complain there's better ways to use taxpayer money :(

clevedon

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#885810 28-Aug-2013 12:13

Did our GST and Provisional tax three weeks ago, we always just post date the cheque for the due date. Much easier than leaving it until the day it's actually due.

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timmmay

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#885823 28-Aug-2013 12:23

I read that post dated cheques are usually ignored.

Don't leave things until the last minute and you'll have more luck.

clevedon

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#885826 28-Aug-2013 12:30

timmmay: I read that post dated cheques are usually ignored.

Don't leave things until the last minute and you'll have more luck.

You have to highlight the date on the cheque - been doing it for many years. The day it is post dated to is always the day it is debited from the account without fail for us.

And your second point is correct for nearly any scenario.

wasabi2k

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#885834 28-Aug-2013 12:43

IRD's online services have improved significantly in the last 3 years.

The only paper I have to use now is end of year returns.

Provisional, GST, FBT all done online. Online forms work great.

I also sorted all my stuff out LAST week, knowing load would be high today.

As far as call centers - yeah it's a rubbish situation - but unless they have 200% staffing and have a bunch of people who know what to do on standby (yeah right) it isn't going to happen.

Online services - it is hard to scale load on legacy systems. Would you be happy if they spent 10 million to cope with load twice a year?

sen8or

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#885855 28-Aug-2013 13:37

managed to do mine this morning online sometime between 11 & 12, just keep trying I guess

surfisup1000

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#885904 28-Aug-2013 14:36

sen8or: managed to do mine this morning online sometime between 11 & 12, just keep trying I guess

I did get my gst return done OK -- i just needed to confirm my provisional tax amount when their system crashed.

In the old days I could phone them but they don't answer phones any more .

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#885906 28-Aug-2013 14:41

when I was in Australia I had a correspondence with ATO which took place over 18 months ... no email no phone no nothing works (yes I could call them but no one knows anything about my file) - the only way was to wait for their letters to arrive and every time I reply it took 4 months to respond with a threat of a fine for late something that I didn't need to pay

as the saying goes we learn from them so expect it to get worse ;p