National Insurance Contributions Office - Quality Service through people


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Inland Revenue National Insurance Contributions Office

We are the National Insurance Contributions Office, (formerly the Contributions Agency) a new Singleton Executive Office of the Inland Revenue. We are responsible for the recording of National Insurance contributions and, together with other parts of the Inland Revenue, we are also responsible for the collection of National Insurance contributions. This includes the maintenance of 65million National Insurance accounts, databases containing the records of 1.5million employers and 2.9million self- employed people.

We also play a key role in administering the arrangements for those contracted out of the State Earning Related Pension Scheme. This includes people who are members of their employer's occupational pension scheme and those who have contracted out personal pensions.

Contacting us

Your enquiries can usually be sorted out more quickly if you contact the office you have been dealing with. Their telephone number will be shown on any letters they have sent you.

If you need help or are not sure who you need to speak to you can write to us at:

Inland Revenue
National Insurance Contributions Office
Longbenton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ

Or you can telephone us on: (0191) 213 5000

Our telephone lines are open from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm Monday to Friday.

Whenever you contact us you should always quote your name, National Insurance number, and any reference number you have been given.

Our Standards of Service

Our aim is to get your National Insurance records and details right first time, on time, every time.

If you telephone us we aim to:

  • Answer within 30 seconds (ten rings) at the switchboard.
  • Connect you to the right extension first time (unless your call has gone direct).

If you write to us we aim to:

  • Provide a full reply within 20 working days. Where this is not possible, we will tell you why and when you can expect a full reply.
  • Our target for 1999- 2000 is to provide a full reply to 95% of all written enquiries within 20 working days.

Our Quality of Service

We will apply quality tests to all of our business processes to help us meet or exceed our customers' requirements.

How you can help us

We need to maintain your National Insurance records accurately and securely. You can help us by:

  • Telling us your National Insurance number, when you contact us. You should also give your full name and, if possible, a phone or fax number which we can use if we need more information. If you have forgotten your National Insurance number, you should contact your nearest Inland Revenue or Social Security office.
  • Telling the National Insurance Contributions Office when your circumstances change - for example, your name or address.
  • Giving your employer your National Insurance number as soon as you start work.

If you are self- employed, please tell us as soon as possible if you:

  • Expect your self- employed earnings in your first year of trading to be low.
  • Work for an employer as well as being selfemployed.
  • Stop being self- employed.

If you have a complaint

If you are unhappy with our service please let us know. We will do our best to settle your complaint quickly and satisfactorily.

You should first of all complain to the person that has been dealing with your affairs. You will find a contact number on any correspondence we send to you.

Or, you can write to the Assistant Director who has overall responsibility for the business unit you have been dealing with. The address will be shown on any correspondence you have received from that business unit

.If you are not satisfied with the way the Assistant Director has handled your complaint you should write to the Director.

George Bertram
Directors Complaints Office
Inland Revenue National Insurance Office
Room C1813
Longbenton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ.

You can find out more information about the Inland Revenue's complaints procedures in leaflets:

IR120 You and the Inland Revenue and
A01 How to complain about the Inland Revenue and the Valuation Office.

These leaflets are available from all Inland Revenue Offices. You can also obtain copies by contacting any of the people mentioned above.

Data Protection

The Inland Revenue is a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act. We hold information for the purposes specified in our notification made to the Data Protection Commissioner, and may use this information for any of these purposes.

We may get information about you from others, or we may give information to them. If we do it will only be as the law permits, to check accuracy of information, prevent or detect crime, protect public funds.

We may check information we receive about you with what is already in our records. This can include information provided by you as well as by others such as other government departments and agencies and overseas tax authorities. We will not give information about you to anyone outside the Inland Revenue unless the law permits us to do so.

Your Views

We want to hear what you think about the service we provide. It helps us to see where we can make improvements and be of more help to you. We may pass your ideas onto other parts of the Inland Revenue so that they can improve their service too.

Other facilities we provide

We produce a wide range of leaflets and booklets which either explain a different aspect of the tax and National Insurance systems or give you advice. Our Inland Revenue list “catalogue of leaflets and booklets” gives brief details of them all.

Some you might find particularly useful are:

How to contact the Inland Revenue (A general guide to sources of help and information)

C/FS Complaints and putting things right (PDF 264K)

Code of Practice 10 Information and Advice

Our Charters (details of the standards we set ourselves)

These leaflets are available from all Inland Revenue Offices. This leaflet gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law.

Leaflet CA 83 from April 2000.
Prepared by Inland Revenue National Insurance Contributions Office,
Publications,
Newcastle upon Tyne.

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