ComplaintsforWealthAbility LLC

• Initial Complaint

  07/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This letter outlines the chronological events that transpired, underscoring the urgency and complexity of my situation, the lack of effective support provided, and the consequential need to seek external tax legal advice, all of which validates my request for a refund. On December 15, 2023, I engaged in a consultation with Mr. ****** ***** from Wealthability, during a period of immediate and pressing need prompted by demands from the ***. Understanding the severity of my situation, Mr. ***** was insistent and persuasive about the expediency of their services, urging me to sign a document to quickly onboard someone from their team to assist with my tax matter. Trusting his assurance, I proceeded with the payment under duress and a looming sense of insecurity about my tax situation. Subsequently, I was assigned to Ms. ******* *****, a CPA whom I later discovered operates her own private practice and is not directly employed by Wealthability. Our initial discussion took place on January 2, 2024, where I reiterated the urgency of my tax situation. Despite repeated assurances over several scheduled calls (January 16, January 26, February 6, February 15, February 20, and March 5) that she had a plan of action, it became evident that no substantive work towards resolving my tax issue had been initiated. Instead, Ms. *****'s advice ultimately led to the recommendation of seeking external legal counsel. Upon consulting with Attorney ***** ****** with the law offices of **** ****** on March 11, as recommended by Ms. *****, I was advised against following the tax strategies proposed by Ms. *****, which could have led to further scrutiny and complications with the ***. This legal advice starkly contradicted the guidance provided by Wealthability's consultant and necessitated my retention of Attorney ******' services to properly address my tax matters. Your support in resolving this issue reflects the high standards of service and integrity I have come to know and respect of BBB

  

  Business response

  07/17/2024

  Dear **********,
  
  We appreciate your communication and strive to ensure clarity and a great experience with all of our customers. We understand that there may have been some misunderstandings regarding the terms of your agreement.
  
  Upon review, we noticed that you mentioned not having read the contract in full. We would like to bring to your attention that the contract clearly states that the CPA's business is independently owned and operated and not under the ownership or operated by WealthAbility. Additionally, our no-questions-asked 30-day refund and cancellation policy is explicitly outlined in the contract and regrettably was beyond those terms when your request was received.
  
  We understand that this may be frustrating, especially when you find yourself beyond those terms. However, we must adhere to our contractual agreements to ensure fairness and consistency for all of our customers.
  
  If you have any issues or concerns with the CPA’s services, we strongly encourage you to reach out to them directly to discuss and resolve any matters.
  
  Thank you for your understanding.

  The WealthAbility Customer Service Team

  Customer response

  07/17/2024

  WealthAbility did not provide any valuable services and its consultant failed to assist with his 2023 tax return, resulting in Mr. ***** having to hire an outside professional. Due to WealthAbility’s failure to provide the contracted services, Mr. ***** requests that WealthAbility immediately issue a full refund of $12,750.00, via certified funds.

  

  Business response

  07/22/2024

  We appreciate Mr. ***** bringing his concerns to our attention and understand the frustration he is experiencing. However, we regret to inform him that we are unable to assist in resolving the matter as the contract in question is between Mr. ***** and a CPA firm that we do not own or operate which was clearly communicated at the time he began the service. 
  
  We strongly recommend that Mr. ***** reach out directly to the CPA firm involved to address and resolve your concerns. They are in the best position to provide the assistance you need regarding your contract.
  
  Thank you for your understanding.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  The WealthAbility Customer Service Team
  

  Customer response

  07/25/2024

  This letter outlines the chronological events that transpired, underscoring the urgency and complexity of my situation, the lack of effective support provided, and the consequential need to seek external tax legal advice, all of which validates my request for a refund. On December 15, 2023, I engaged in a consultation with Mr. ****** ***** from Wealthability, during a period of immediate and pressing need prompted by demands from the ***. Understanding the severity of my situation, Mr. ***** was insistent and persuasive about the expediency of their services, urging me to sign a document to quickly onboard someone from their team to assist with my tax matter. Trusting his assurance, I proceeded with the payment under duress and a looming sense of insecurity about my tax situation. Subsequently, I was assigned to Ms. ******* *****, a CPA whom I later discovered operates her own private practice and is not directly employed by Wealthability. Our initial discussion took place on January 2, 2024, where I reiterated the urgency of my tax situation. Despite repeated assurances over several scheduled calls (January 16, January 26, February 6, February 15, February 20, and March 5) that she had a plan of action, it became evident that no substantive work towards resolving my tax issue had been initiated. Instead, Ms. *****'s advice ultimately led to the recommendation of seeking external legal counsel. Upon consulting with Attorney ***** ****** with the law offices of **** ****** on March 11, as recommended by Ms. *****, I was advised against following the tax strategies proposed by Ms. *****, which could have led to further scrutiny and complications with the ***. This legal advice starkly contradicted the guidance provided by Wealthability's consultant and necessitated my retention of Attorney ******' services to properly address my tax matters. I've attached the payment, contract, and legal services retained to help hold Wealthability accountable for fraud as requested.

  

  Business response

  07/30/2024

  Dear **********, 

  It is our understanding that a reply to the demand letter has been sent to attempt to clarify that issues with the Network CPA providing the services, needs to be addressed with the Network CPA providing the services directly. 

  Thank you, 

  The WealthAbility Customer Service Team

• Initial Complaint

  05/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I joined wealth ability in 2022 to help me organize and file my 2022 tax returns, both personal and business. I furnished all information and necessary documents in January of 2023 and did not get a response that my taxes were almost prepared until October 12th of that year, 3 days before it all had to be filed. I then didn't get a response or a copy, so I followed up in January of 2024 only to find that it wasn't completed. I've been trying endlessly to get some answers and at the very least my taxes completed, with no real response. I've since requested a refund as Wealthability and the *** assigned to me did not live up to what was promised, especially the completion and filing of my tax returns. I can't help but feel that this is a scam.

  

  Business response

  05/17/2024

  Hi ********, 

  We understand that this situation is being addressed by the servicing network member referenced below:

  From: ***************************************;<*************************************; 
  Sent: Friday, May 17, 2024 12:36 PM
  To: WealthAbility
  Subject: RE: ***********************
  
  We received a call from *********************** yesterday. He explained his situation to us and asked for ***** help in completing his tax returns for 2022 and 2023. We have the 2022 information already so we will be moving forward with that return. We issued a new portal for his 2023 information and we will follow up with that return as well. He has a hard deadline of June 1st to have both completed. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************
  Administrative Assistant
  ******************************
  
  ************************, CPA PC
  *******************************
  ******, OR  97322
  
  **************  Phone
  **************  Fax
  **************  Cell

• Initial Complaint

  02/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  WealthAbility charges $25k to act as a middleman that pairs you with a contract CPA that has their own company. In 6/2023, WealthAbility swindled ** out of $25k by using deceptive practices, false promises, & inaccurate claims of providing a "full-service" detailed & customized ************ strategy plan, guidance for plan implementation, tax preparation/filing with a rigorously vetted CPA & support team. Claims we first read on their website & then had repeated by *******************. The ethical thing to do would've been for **** to tell us we weren't a good fit given we were too advanced. The advanced tax courses are generic & vaguely introduce financial *********************** They are basic & NOT tailored to the client. After doing 3/10 courses, we shared our dissatisfaction with the program to our CPA, who talked us into giving the program a chance. Nothing improved. They claim to pair you with an elite CPA AND tax strategy team - instead we got a poorly vetted arrogant CPA who was usually late & never took notes on our situation. The 1hr sessions were used to repeat the info on the online courses & to sell us on buying his whole life insurance policy he sold on the side. We were easy clients - we came with a plan wanting help on claiming REPS, setting up a cost seg. for a rental home to file for 100% bonus depreciation in 2022. He avoided our requests & said to claim it in 2023. Then, he asked for another $7.5k to file our returns resulting in us speaking with client services in 8/2023. ******************* and *********************** were both aware that our CPA had a bad ********************* with clients, but was still paired with clients! Since our taxes were due soon, we agreed to allow another CPA file our taxes, while they worked on our refund. ****, the client success manager, has lied about providing us a refund repeatedly. He fails to follow up, never reaches out or provides updates, and avoids our communication attempts. After 6 months of promises - still no resolution.

  

  Business response

  02/12/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Were committed to providing a high-quality service and are sorry your experience has not met your expectations. Our team has been in contact with you to discuss this in more detail, and were happy to be actively working with you toward finding a resolution. If you have questions or concerns in the meantime, please feel free to reach out to us directly.

  Customer response

  03/01/2024

  To be fair with WealthAbility, I wanted to provide an update - Within a few days of filing my complaint with the BBB I was contacted directly by WealthAbility. After a lengthy zoom call, I can finally say that I felt heard and cared about by the company. We were able to reach an agreement that was fair and favorable to both parties. I feel content with the outcome and am thankful for their recent efforts made towards rectifying the situation.
  

• Initial Complaint

  09/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contacted WealthAbility on 8/7/22 after reading *** ***********’s books and listening to his podcasts. I was assigned to **** ***** a WealthAbility Specialist. We went through how the program works and how they would develop a comprehensive tax strategy and in two months we would have a complete action plan ready to implement (as outlined in my engagement letter). I was then assigned a WealthAbility Advisor ***** ****** who is a CPA. Starting on 9/23/22 Josh and I had five Zoom calls in two months, but we never went over the action plan or developed any kind of tax strategy. So, on 11/28/22 I emailed Noah asking about how the program works because nothing was being developed or planned and I wanted to know if the $****** fee was for finding a CPA. Then I get a call from **** ***** inquiring about my issues and halfway through our call **** got defensive when I asked him if the $******, I paid to WealthAbility was just to find me a CPA. He defended Josh and told me he would review everything and get back to me. I never heard back from him. I also never heard back from **** after our last **** call on 1/19/23. I emailed him several times during a 3-month span, and it wasn’t until I reached out to WealthAbility again on 4/24/23 that I finally heard back from him after speaking to ******** ******* and **** ******** about ****** non-response. **** then sent me an email letting me know he doesn’t work for WealthAbility and that I need to contact him about any issues and that it would be a couple more weeks before my taxes were done. He said then we would go over the taxes in more depth which I thought meant we could finally start developing a tax strategy. But then I never heard from **** again. I reached back out to WealthAbility again on 7/25/23 realizing nothing I signed up for had been done. I received a call from **** again and informed him about my on going issues. He said he would investigate getting me a refund but give him a week. I never heard back from him, so after two and a half weeks I called him again; he wasn’t available, so I left a message. After a few more days of not hearing back I called **** again on 8/10/23. He said he would process the paperwork for a refund stating that he would have it done in a week and there would be a document for me to sign. It has been another month now, so on 9/5/23 I called again and left another message. The irony in all of this is that I just listened to one of *** ************* latest podcasts “Scam Alert” and I all could think was “did I just get scammed by WealthAbility?”

  

  Business response

  09/14/2023

  WealthAbility® works diligently to place clients first, and receive and consider all feedback, such as this, very seriously. WealthAbility® has a long track record of delivering an outstanding return on investment for its clients and is committed to working with Mr. ****** to wrap up this concern.
  
  As noted by Mr. ******, WealthAbility® has been working towards a resolution of this matter and is working with his advisor to understand what took place during their engagement. In particular, what was discussed and accomplished during the strategy meetings. Also, our records indicate a difference in the number of meetings completed by the advisor, and the communication follow up that was described by Mr. ******** post. Additionally, Mr. ******** post didn’t recognize a big win that the advisor identified through these strategy meetings that provided him a substantial return on this investment. We’d like to understand and resolve these items as well.
  
  WealthAbility® is dedicated to working towards a fair resolution of this matter for all parties involved.
  

  

  Business response

  09/25/2023

  We apologize for the difficulties Mr. ****** experienced during his strategy engagement with his advisor. His feedback is important to WealthAbility®, and we take his concerns seriously.
  
  We have reviewed his engagement and acknowledge the issues he raised regarding the services provided. We deeply regret any frustration this may have caused, and his feedback is invaluable in driving improvements.
  
  We are committed to resolving this matter promptly and to his satisfaction. Our Client Services team has been in contact with Mr. ****** to expedite a resolution and address any remaining concerns he may have.
  
  We thank him for bringing this to our attention, and we appreciate his patience as we work to rectify the situation.
  

  Customer response

  10/19/2023

  I appreciate Wealthability promptly responding to my case with the Better Business Bureau.  They have offered to issue a full refund of my engagement fee.  I have not yet received my refund but am hopeful that we can come to an amicable resolution to my issue soon.  

• Initial Complaint

  04/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have turned to BBB to file a complaint because I have not been able to resolve my issues with the Wealthability service. They overpromised, overcharged and undelivered.I was referred to Wealthability by a trusted friend and paid $35,000 for tax and wealth management services. It was a terrible fit. I spent too much time having to explain various corporate structures, the same of which have been understood by other, A-list competing services within minutes. I thought Wealthability was supposed to be the 'experts'.I have contacted support several times and once received a phone call from someone who said they were going to look into this for me as it had been 5 months since I had heard from anyone on my team. There was no follow up from the unplanned, incoming dispute investigation call from Wealthability so I contacted support again. I asked support to have a partner reach out to me to discuss my problems with the service. When I did, I was instead called by one of the members on my team who rudely told me that they 'were not my babysitter' and referred to my lack of response to their emails in September. While this email communication fdisconnect may exist, I answered the only call I received from them in over 6 months. If they wanted to reengage they could have at any time.A $35,000 wealth advisory service should be top-notch. What I received was a bunch of Webinar invites and other 'planning' that was lackluster at best. I did learn what a Conservation Easement is. If any readers see this they can look that up on a search engine and save themselves $35,000 because that is the ONLY thing that I gained from it. I would not advise anyone to solicit this service for wealth planning or tax services.To make this worse, it was the individual responsible for tax preparation who referred to babysitting. Would anyone reading this trust a doctor, lawyer, mechanic or even a housekeeper to do a good job if they spoke that way? I think not.

  

  Business response

  04/24/2023

  WealthAbility thanks the client, for the notification about his situation with his WealthAbility assigned advisor. Additionally,WealthAbility is working with his advisor to understand where the breakdown in their engagement occurred so that we may better understand how to resolve this matter. 
  
  The wealth and tax strategy service that the client purchased through WealthAbility on May 11, 2022, requires full engagement and cooperation from all parties involved, especially the client. For the advisor to develop a successful wealth and tax strategy that can deliver a substantial return on the clients investment, the client must fully and actively participate in all meetings, do the required tasks assigned by the advisor, and cooperate at a level that they agreed upon in the engagement letter that was signed by both the client and the advisor at the onset of the engagement. 
  
  The client has had 4-5 meetings with the advisor, to discuss tax mitigation strategies, develop a proposed entity structure for all the clients businesses, and provide an opportunity zone fund that would provide considerable tax savings. The advisor team set up meetings for Aug. 18, Aug.30, Sep. 27, and Oct. 4. The client asked to postpone the meeting set for Aug.18, and never responded to any of the subsequent meeting invites or phone calls for over seven months. The advisor team spent a significant amount of time preparing for these meetings, and developing a winning strategy for the client,but without his input or participation, the advisor team was unable to move forward.
  
  WealthAbility prides itself in being the best return on investment for its clients, but due to the lack of cooperation by the client, he was not able to receive a complete strategy. WealthAbility is currently undergoing conversations with the client and has been since April 14, 2023. We would like to come to a resolution.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩