ComplaintsforAptos Personalized Tax Service

• Initial Complaint

  08/03/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  For assistance with my 2020 taxes, I visited their office on May 10, 2020, one week prior to the May 17, 2020 deadline. I left the docs with Julie and phoned her on Saturday, May 15, when she assured me that my forms would be submitted by the deadline, no extension needed. I emailed her on the deadline May 17, to see if the forms had been submitted on time, but never received a reply. A few weeks later, I called the business and spoke to Julie's colleague, Dave, only then learning that an extension had been filed, and we then filed my taxes. The tax service did NOT file for a CA extension. Later, I received a bill for late payment $487.45 (CA state). Coupled with the charge of $94 for the Federal extension, the two late fees combined = $581.45 -- neither of which would have been levied had the tax service honored its initial promise to me. I am therefore asking for refund of the $581.45 late charges. Note that the staff have NEVER answered any of my emails or my phone calls!!

  Business response

  10/12/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/09/16) */ Client dropped off his tax paperwork as a new client on May 10, 2021, asking if this could be completed by the May 17, 2021 deadline. Aptos Tax professionals informed him that we would try to meet the extended deadline of May 17, 2021, but no promises were made. Client's tax scenario involved the sale of a residence in another state, and calculating his capital gain involved obtaining additional records of expenses to get him the best result on his income tax return. While waiting for more information crucial to the tax return, the decision to file an extension was discussed through email with client. Subsequently, client emailed additional information in bits and pieces over the weeks following his initial paperwork, with the last submission of information dated June 15, 2021. Our office operates on a first-come/first-serve basis and we typically work with a high volume of clients who are attempting to file their taxes at the last minute before deadlines. Usually, a tax return such as this client's can take two to three weeks. Aptos Personalized Tax specializes in in-depth analysis to provide our clients with the best result within the framework of the tax law. In client's case, retrieving additional information and filing the extension resulted in an estimated savings to him of $5800.00; additionally, saving client $568.00 (failure to file penalty) as an extension was filed and the state of California was notified. (Also note, Aptos Personalized Tax did not charge client for filing the extension.) Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the taxpayer to pay his/her penalties. The penalties were discussed with client at the time his tax was e-filed. Client contacted us when he received the letter from the Franchise Tax Board notifying him of his penalties due. We advised him to pay them or dispute them with the Franchise Tax Board, acknowledging that California does levy substantial penalties when payment is due on taxes and not made on time. In closing, Aptos Personalized Tax was not negligent in filing client's taxes as client was aware that an extension would be filed and there were numerous emails exchanged, including emails in which the penalties were discussed prior to filing the tax. Every email client sent to us was answered within 24 hours. Client was given ample notice about the status of his return and was provided with an excellent result on his 2020 tax return. Business Response /* (-10, 6, 2021/09/16) */ Business supplied email: [email protected] Use this address for any contact with the Better Business Bureau Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2021/09/22) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) First, the amount of money the tax service claims to have "saved" me is irrelevant. The rest of the agency's response is almost entirely false. 1. "Aptos Tax professionals informed him that we would try to meet the extended deadline of May 17, 2021, but no promises were made." FALSE. In a May 15, 2021, phone call with Julie, she informed me that the forms would be submitted by the deadline and no extension would be needed. When I called on May 17 to confirm this, no one answered. 2. "the decision to file an extension was discussed through email with client." FALSE, there was no such email correspondence. Please provide the email. In all of my contact with this business, they routinely failed to respond to emails and to phone messages. 3. "While waiting for more information crucial to the tax return..." The tax service maintains that they were waiting for ME to provide certain documents, and that this explains the delay in processing the return. As I recall, I submitted all necessary documentation (regarding house sale) PRIOR to the May 17 deadline, not after it. It is not true that "client emailed additional information in bits and pieces over the weeks following his initial paperwork." 4. "The penalties were discussed with client at the time his tax was e-filed." FALSE: the penalty for the federal return was discussed with Dave, but the (much stiffer) California penalty was never mentioned. When I later called Dave regarding the $581.45 late charge from California, Dave expressed surprise and instructed me to call the CA tax office and ask if they had received the tax service's request for an extension. When I did so, I was informed that California does not technically grant extensions and instead attaches a late fee. That Dave apparently did not know that this was the policy suggests a lack of expertise on his part. It is therefore confusing to read that "an extension was filed and the state of California was notified." An extension was filed for the federal return only. I am not sure what "California was notified" means. 5. "client was aware that an extension would be filed and there were numerous emails exchanged, including emails in which the penalties were discussed prior to filing the tax. Every email client sent to us was answered within 24 hours." Every bit of this claim is FALSE. I sent numerous emails to them but as I recall, only ONE was answered, toward the very end of the process. After emailing, I waited for a reply, received none, then called them on the phone, usually got an answering machine, and no one returned the call! This was the routine. I am shocked to read that "every email" was answered "within 24 hours." In fact, my emails were consistently unanswered. I heard NOTHING from the tax service between the deadline May 17 and the date we finally submitted the forms, June 16, 2021. As the time grew closer to the second month of late filing, I became concerned that the forms would not be submitted and I would be liable for a second month's late penalties. Had I not convinced Dave to meet with me on June 16, I am convinced that the filing would again have been delayed. Why did it take an entire month after the deadline to file these forms? My complaint to the Better Business Bureau is much more serious than simply whether I had to pay for an extension (feds) or late payment (CA). As noted here, Aptos Tax Service has apparently not instituted "best practices" in its relations with at least some clients, and certainly not in my case. I am referring to larger deficiencies in this agency's operational procedures, noted above and below. The consistent lack of follow-up was a problem I discussed with Dave on the day we filed the returns, June 16, 2021. I complained to him, in detail, about the unprofessional conduct of his colleague (who, until then, was my main contact person), and he nodded in agreement and told me that this was indeed a chronic problem with that colleague. He added that there were several other clients who were, at that time, incensed over their treatment and were in a similar situation of not knowing the status of their outstanding tax returns. Indeed, Dave recommended that in future years, I work with one of his other colleagues. This shows that the business is well aware of its customer-unfriendly business model. There is no doubt that were multiple forms of negligence during the entire process.

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