ROBOCALL SERVICES TO THE IRS ON HOLD:
Before the usual menu options were listed, I was asked to repeat this sentence: “I pay my taxes on time.” I did so (and I do!), chose my menu option, and was immediately put on hold. In any normal universe, this wouldn’t sound so fantastic, but in our world, we all know this is a huge improvement. The hold time wasn’t any better than before, but MAYBE the days of repeat dialing are over. Thanks to the clever folks who figured out how to weed out the robocalls – until, of course, the clever folks at the robocall companies figure out how to trick the new system.
The IRS has struggled to answer the phones and commercial services such as enQ utilizes technology to speed up the wait time for IRS assitors. The service offers a number of fee-based plans that range from about $100 to $300 a month. While directed at practitioners, it is also available to taxpayers. Essentially, the person who buys the services gets to jump the line of persons waiting to talk to the IRS by riding the coattails of a robo-call.
Senators Cassidy, Menendez, Young and Warner had written a letter to Commissioner Rettig criticizing the service and questioning whether the robo-call approach that enQ apparently uses reduces the quality of phone service for those who do not use the service. The senators also question whether the Service could use Section 7212 to address the problem. That is a criminal statute used when there is an attempt to interfere with administration of internal revenue laws. As the senators explain, “being able to call the IRS is a free, public service that should be available on an equal basis. Paying to receive preferential access to the IRS should not be permitted.”
Last week the IRS began to take action to fight back against one of the problems facing the phone issue – robocalls by companies allowing their clients to reach the IRS via a pay for service contract. On Friday, October 21, it was reported on the listserv for low income taxpayer clinicians that she had called the IRS and:
Before the usual menu options were listed, I was asked to repeat this sentence: “I pay my taxes on time.” I did so (and I do!), chose my menu option, and was immediately put on hold. In any normal universe, this wouldn’t sound so fantastic, but in our world, we all know this is a huge improvement. The hold time wasn’t any better than before, but MAYBE the days of repeat dialing are over. Thanks to the clever folks who figured out how to weed out the robocalls – until, of course, the clever folks at the robocall companies figure out how to trick the new system.
Others on the listserv reported being asked simple math questions.
The IRS discussed the steps it was taking to try to address the robocalls at the most recent ABA Tax Section meeting:
The pilot program is going to use artificial intelligence technology to attempt to weed out calls made by these services. The initial roll out will be on lines used by tax practitioners.
It was also reported on what appears to be the response of the robocall industry:
In the meantime, EnQ has noted on its homepage that it is “temporarily suspending services to: Practitioner Priority Service Business, Correspondence Examination Individual/Business, and Automated Underreporter due to changes on the IRS call center.” It recommends their paid subscribers “direct [their] calls to other departments while we work on a solution.”
