The Charity Commission has reported receiving a high number of calls and emails from charities experiencing technical issues switching over to its new digital service for trustees.
My Charity Commission Account (MCCA) went live on 31 July and so far 79,000 charities have successfully set up on the service.
A spokeswoman for the regulator said: “MCCA is an important new service for trustees, representing a significant investment in the future of our relationship with the sector.
“While most customers invited to sign-up have been able to do so, some are experiencing technical issues requiring them to contact us either by telephone or email.
“We are therefore currently experiencing a high volume of incoming queries. Our contact centre team are working hard to assist customers wishing to access the new system, and we have taken steps to prepare for any disruption including making additional staff available.
“However, it is taking longer than we would generally expect to answer incoming queries. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to some charities, and can assure all our customers that we are working hard to address the issues.”
There have been issues in some of the links issued to customers to sign up for their account, meaning they have to call the contact centre. This in turn is leading to longer call waiting times. Customers can also email [email protected] if they require a new link.
Those charities which have not received a link will receive one before their filing deadline.
Charities now have to submit any remaining annual returns for 2022 and all annual returns for 2023 onwards through the new system.
The regulator described its new service as charities’ “front door”, the roll-out for which has begun with charities’ named contacts.
In the coming months, the service will be extended to all individual trustees as the regulator hopes to facilitate a more direct relationship with them, and to ensure better data security.
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