Change of Details whilst abroad
Hi everyone,
I just moved to Japan from Scotland (in March), and got a letter to my old UK address advising I am eligible for a tax refund. The issue is that I am trans, and to update your gender with HMRC you need a Gender Recognition Certificate (which I don't have). As such, I never bothered to update my name with HMRC either (which never caused issues when I was in the UK).
However, I am now having problems trying to get my tax refund as the name on my bank account (and passport) does not match the name HMRC have. I have set up a Gov UK account but when I try to link it to HMRC it won't accept my national insurance number.
Is there any other way to contact HMRC other than phoning them? From experience I imagine the waiting times will be astronomical, and international calling charges aren't cheap. Is there a WhatsApp number or online chat function (which lets me speak to a person and not a 'digital assistant')? Or do I just need to bite the bullet and phone?