ComplaintsforLegal Tax Defense, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  05/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I called the company because I had a tax audit that left me owing $14,000 I described my situation and my tax filing and they said that they could help me reduce that bill. I made payments in two installments 1/13/2023 $250.00 /21/2023 $250.00 after the payment was made there was one call to the *** with me on the line. After I was contacted filing as a corporation and other thing but nothing about reducing my tax bill.

  

  Business response

  09/18/2023

  Legal Tax Defense was contracted for a Tax Investigation.We contacted IRS on behalf of the consumer to compile tax records to advise the client what needed to be done.We advised the client that tax returns needed to be done and representation needed to be extended for future services. Client did not want us to represent them for the additional services.
  

  IRS Agent Name; PHILIPS
  Badge ID# **********
  
  TOTAL BALANCE DUE; $19,209.36
  BREAKDOWN YRS
  MFS 2019 $15,265.92
  MFS 2020 $3,943.44
  
  Missing Return; YES
  2021
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  04/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On February 27, I received a call from ******************* of Legal Tax Defense of ***********, **. ************** talked with me about my tax situation as if he represented Vercy Tax, a tax liability relief company with which I had contracted in ******* of 2023 and without disclosure that Legal Tax Defense had acquired Vercy Tax after Vercy Tax closed business In February of 2023.The fee I paid to Vercy Tax in ******* was $1605.00, and I was told that would be the entire amount to pursue a resolution to my tax debt. I filled out several forms about my tax liability and sent the forms to Vercy Tax. I attempted to let ***** Tax know that I was dissatisfied because my case manager did not communicate with me. On February 27, ************** told me he had to present my case at a hearing on March 6, 2023, that it was vital and urgent to any resolution, and asked for $3500.00 for legal fees. After that I heard nothing. I emailed *********************, my case manager, (supposedly with Vercy Tax, but retained by Legal Tax Defense) with questions about the March 6 hearing and about the filing of my 2022 tax return, which was supposed to be covered by the initial $1605.00. I exchanged a number of emails with ********************* in March, and on April 5, I received an email from him saying my 2022 tax return would be completed "soon." On April 28, 2023, my 2022 tax return has not been filed by Legal Tax Defense; I have called and email messaged ********************* and ******************* and received no replies.

  

  Business response

  05/27/2024

  There is a mix-up with the company you originally hired and Legal Tax Defense. The monies paid and contract signed was not through Legal Tax Defense. If you are looking for services Legal Tax Defense was contracted to provide we can give you more detail of work completed. One of our representatives will contact you within the next 24/48 hours. 

  Customer response

  06/17/2024

  There is no mixup. I hired Vercy Tax which was taken over by Legal Tax Defense. In March of 2023 *******************, a representative of Legal Tax Defense called me, but implied that he represented Vercy Tax. No one from Legal Tax Defense contacted me within 24 to 48 hours after the message was posted. Therefore, the complaint remains open.

  

  Business response

  06/25/2024

  **, a representative will connect with you today. 

• Initial Complaint

  04/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We requested the help of Legal Tax Defense in 2020 due to the audits we received from the *** for 2013-2016 taxes. We paid them $2500 and they guaranteed they can get the job done. However, there has been hardly any communication from their staff. I recently emailed our so called Representative working on our case. However, the email came back as "BLOCKED ". Legal Tax Defense also have a big turnover apparently because when they do decide to contact us it's someone new and we have to fill our another ****b form to update our income.I will not recommend Legal Tax Defense to anyone.

  

  Business response

  04/14/2023

  Hi ****, you started with Legal Tax Defense 01/25/2021 and since than weve done everything we can to keep your account protected from collections. The reason we havent secured resolution with the *** is because of your 2020 tax returns which was missing until recently. We recommend clients file their missing tax returns with us so we can control how quickly they get submitted for processing. Since confirming there were no missing tax returns,the legal representatives have been working on resolution. 

  Please contact us to resolve this dispute. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I submit a contract for services with Vercy tax relief who was bought out by Legal Tax defense. The company refused to honor my contract of tax investigation with filing of the 2020,2021,2022 tax years. I contacted the company multiple multiple times, with no response, no communication, no assistance.

  

  Business response

  04/18/2023

  We have completed this clients Tax Investigation and Tax returns for $495 dollars! Our firm honored what the previous company told her in terms of scope of work. We ask the this client contact our representative for copies of her documents.  

• Initial Complaint

  02/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contacted Legal Tax Defense on June 2022 because I owed about $16000.00 in Back Taxes. And was told that they could help me get a resolution with the **** in which I would only have to pay a lower amount of back taxes. They said it will cost a $500.00 fee to get started with this process, so I sent them on June 3, 2022, $250.00 and another $250.00 on the 17th of June, and then another $5000.00 from a company named ********************************** to finance the balance (They're finance people working with The Legal Tax Defense) than they start working on an agreement with the *** to see if they could reduce the amount of my back taxes. I'm paying $167.00 a month to ****************** Services and $250.00 that I'm paying The *** monthly. Which I started on my own before contacting Legal Defense. company. After one year they have not done anything to get this done. I'm paying all this money for nothing. They do not answer or return phone calls when I do speak with someone, and asked for my money back they said a manager will call me back that never happened. I took care of my back taxes on my own. So, when I asked for my money back. I got no response. I called *************** services to see if I could stop paying them and they said they paid Legal Defense the $5000.00 that was financed. I'm paying a lot of money for no services. I can't reach the Legal defense people. I never talked with any of their Attorneys all want is some kind of refund I'm paying a lot of money for service not received. No success. Worst investment ever.

  

  Business response

  02/15/2023

  The team at Legal Tax Defense has done their part to resolve the tax liability of *****************************. Unfortunately, we had challenges getting in contact with ****************** to collect the necessary information to proceed with resolution. This process does require the cooperation and communication of the individual who owes taxes. Mr. ******** claims that we havent reached out to him are untrue. We called him at least every two weeks and left text messages as well; we have written accounts of every time we attempted to make contact with him.
  Our efforts to resolve ****** liability has not stopped and our ***** of ******** is still on file with the **** We are requesting for this client to contact us directly to resolve this dispute.

• Initial Complaint

  01/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I initially reached out to the company, LTD early June. I informed them that I owed over $4k in taxes because my previous CPA neglected to file all my returns and she had also taken advantage of me by stealing money from my return. I specifically stayed n wanted to take her to court and make it so that I do not owe that money. I was told they WERE NOT ABLE TO ASSIST ME. Then,****** called me on 6/28. I explained my story to her and she said she could help. I paid $500 in June and didn't hear from anyone for MONTHS! I reached out and they said they hadn't called me because they hadn't heard back from the IRS. I told them the IRS sent me another letter and they asked for a copy of the letter. Then they scheduled a call with the IRS and the IRS told them the same thing I said in reference to all returns weren't filed. I told LTD I didn't need the IRS to tell me that. I reminded the rep I told them several times what the issue was. I've also asked for assistance with removing the tax penalties and they will not assistance me. The woman assigned to me stopped responding to my emails and dripped returning my calls. I've called multiple and sent multiple emails all to no avail. I was told they will file an amended return and now the IRS and I'd be receiving a refund. I signed the docs one month ago and they have not filed them. I called today and the woman ******** yelled at me and continuously talked over me because she didn't like what I said while she allegedly put me on hold by simply pressing the mute button. And she let me know this. Today is 1/6 and she said she would e-file my return on 1/23 and hung up in my face. I called back multiple times politely asking to speak with a supervisor and I could hear a woman in the background yelling staff to just hang up on me. And they did exactly as they were told. Before ******** yelled at me and hung up in my face I was trying to tell her to send the returns and I'll mail them. I want ALL of my money back.

  

  Business response

  02/02/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2023/01/18) */ To Whom It May Concern, we followed our normal protocol with ******************. With all of our new clients, we perform a tax investigation to verify their missing tax returns and liability.************ was made aware of this and even signed a contract which clearly stated the service to be performed was a tax investigation. Regardless, we understood************ wasn't satisfied with our tax investigation so we prepared her 2020 amended tax return for no additional cost. Due to it being the beginning of the year, the IRS has their e-file system suspended until January 23rd; we will e-file her return as soon as the day comes. We've gone beyond our service agreement for Chanel but she's still dissatisfied and has became aggressive with employees. We are requesting this client call us to resolve any issues or concerns she may have. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2023/01/23) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I never became aggressive. I was allegedly placed on hold and said how I felt. ******** made it very clear she heard me. She overtalked me, yelled at me, hung up the phone on me and also instructed other staff to hang up on me; when I called back several times, staff were also told to hang up on me. Now you want me to call?? Your calls are recorded so you can listen and know I was not aggressive. I'm very upset and rightfully so. I want my money back. I even asked that someone speak with the IRS on my behalf in reference to additional late fees. If I never owed the IRS, why should I pay late fees? I've emailed this company multiple times to no avail. My next step would be to report hike to the states attorney. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2023/01/24) */ As previously mentioned, we completed work beyond our service agreement for ****************** at no additional cost. The agreement paperwork she signed clearly states we were only assisting her with a Tax Investigation, however we made an exception for her. Fortunately, as a result of the************* Tax Return we filed for her she no longer has a balance due and any late fees previously applied should be removed. ****************** is requesting a refund for work she didn't pay for, she authorized us to perform and have now rendered. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2023/01/30) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) As previously mentioned, when I first contacted the company, I specifically stated what I needed. I never asked them to amend my return nor did I ask them to find out why I owed money. I KNOW WHY I OWED THE MONEY!! I was trying to file charges against the tax preparer who'd caused the oversight and stole money from me. I made that very clear. I was told they could not assist me. They later contacted me and said they could help me. Yes I signed documents which i was rushed into doing. Why did they say they could help me? They told me in December they would file the amendment and then January 6th (WHEN I CALLED THEM after there was no response to two emails), I was told they could not e-file until 1/23/2023. What?? Please understand that after putting me through hell with your lack of communication and unprofessionalism, you certainly aren't doing me any favors by filing an amended return. Then I was trying to tell ******** I will file my own amendment and she hung up on me. They said they would file it on 1/23/2023. Was it filed? I would like ********'s complete name because I will be filing a complaint against her. I have some of the other names already. Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2023/02/02) */ We would like the opportunity to resolve this issue with the taxpayer. Since our firm has completed the scope of services outlined in the retainer agreement & Pro Bono Tax Preparation there is no breach of contract on the side of the business. We will now ask our third party mediator to reach out the taxpayer.

• Initial Complaint

  11/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Legal Tax Defense, Inc's website consists of Services, including Offer In Compromise, Late Tax Filing, *** Tax Liens, etc.. Their Case Success Results detail tax savings where a taxpayer may owe $40,054 and they reduced the debt to $100 or a taxpayer owing $39,542 can walk away only paying $2,700. This represents a 99.75% and 93.17% reduction in tax debt, respectively. For most working families like mine, it felt like a dream-come-true. My wife owed $31,269 to the *** for their 2021 tax return and we were desperate for a break. During my consultation on April 27th, I was promised a thorough investigation into my specific tax debt with a tax attorney.. They charged me $3,000; $500 on April 27th and $2,500 on May 10th for this expertise and promised me client protections in their communications and negotiations with the ***. They provided me with a client intake questionnaire that they stated needed to be filled out in order for them to do their job. After giving that questionnaire to me, they never followed up and he was never asked to turn it in. After they reviewed my return, they stated they found no errors. Unfortunately, they made very minimal contact with the *** and promised to reduce my tax debt down to $22,000, meaning my realized reduction in debt would only be 29.64% (or 20.04%, if the $3,000 fee was factored in). This is far cry from the 90%+ reduction in debt published on their website. This is when I engaged help from ****************** , who performed a thorough audit of my 2021 previously filed tax return. She found some pretty fundamental filing errors that needed addressing and was able to reduce the overall debt to only $8,743.00. A cursory search of complaints on the ************************ website also shows that most taxpayers pay only $495 for the same services they had quoted me. Malina only charged me $300.

  

  Business response

  12/19/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/11/21) */ Mr. ************ serviced us to resolve his tax liability with the ************************. We started our contact with the *** as soon as we received his Power of Attorneys. From our initial contact with the ***, we discovered there was an open examination on Mr.******** account. His 2019 Tax Return was being audited for suspicious reporting; when this is the case our Legal Team is unable to finalize a negotiation because the *** is performing an investigation. When the examinations are ongoing, we can still contact the *** on behalf of the taxpayer but we can't finalize any sort of resolution. Mr. ***** didn't even give us the chance to resolve his liability before he submitted a chargeback. We did request and receive all the financial documents needed by the legal team to start the resolution process but we were waiting on the *** to complete their investigation. We are requesting this client call us to resolve any issues or concerns he may have. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/11/28) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) They never contacted me to let me know that they are waiting for the 2019 tax issue to be resolved. I already resolved the 2019 case with the *** after paying the requested amount. This business has made no effort to update me on what is going on and every time I call they give me the run around that someone will call me back. How do they expect me to keep calling and giving me the run around. This is not a professional practice. I simply want them to refund me the $3,000 since no work was done on their end for the 2021 tax issue, which I already resolved also. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/12/05) */ As previously mentioned, Mr. ************s' account was under examination when he started working with our firm therefore we were unable to close his case. We were waiting on an update from the ************************, there was unfortunately nothing we could do to make things happen quicker. However in the meantime, our team continued contacting the client and the ***. In addition, we started preparing his case for resolution. We understand the client paid his balance for 2019 but he does owe $31,968.16 for 2020 and we have every intention of honoring our service agreement with the client and representing him for that liability. We are requesting this client call us to resolve any issues or concerns he may have.

• Initial Complaint

  10/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This bussiness scammed me. I have been in bussiness********************************************** with them since August of 2021. Everytime I called them they said they sent forms ****** but I would not get any receipt or confirmation of this. I paid them $15,000 and since 2021 I have recieved no real response ************ about any resolution on my case. Everytime I called them, they would change up the lawyers and so yesterday 10/12 I called and someone new called ********* said my file was MISSING after 2 years!!! Upon looking online, I found they have scammed people before. I need them to refund me all of the money I paid them.

  

  Business response

  11/08/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2022/10/20) */ To whom it may concern, Legal Tax Defense is actively working on Mr. ************************** case. Our Legal Team has been in contact ************ and we still have a power of attorney on file. We are currently trying to amend a mistake made by a previous employer in 2014. His Tax representative submitted paperwork to get the over-reported income removed; there are notes to confirm ******* received this form and fax confirmation the amended K-1 was sent to them. We've been waiting for ******* to respond and make the appropriate changes to the account. We are requesting this client call us to resolve any issues or concerns he may have. Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2022/10/24) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) They have been giving me the same response for months and everytime I call they tell me something different. Since 2021 they have not gotten anywhere with my case. I would like the refund because last time they said they couldn't find my case and I have lost too much time with this company. Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2022/11/03) */ The consumer is asking for a refund however we are in communication ******** on his account. We are asking the client to contact us directly for updated communication ********. Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2022/11/04) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This company has been saying the same response for over a year, that they got in contact with ******* but I haven't received notification of anything. They don't answer my e-mails or calls, and they always change lawyers around and last time they told me they had lost my information. They always give the same response to buy themselves time. I just want a refund, I do not trust them anymore to handle my affairs with *******. After a year they notified me that they had lost my case, and that is sensitive information. I just want a refund. Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2022/11/07) */ We received no dispute regarding our services prior to this complaint. We have kept the client protected during our correspondence ********, if the client is now deciding to fire us we request this in writing as we are not breaching our commitment of services to the client. Our power of attorney is still active & communication remains open ********. We will keep an eye out for cancellation documentation.

• Initial Complaint

  05/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Legal Tax defense advertises that they assist with helping to resolve tax issues. Upon the initial intake i was coerced into paying $500 in which i was not sure what the fee was for. After the payment, I had to contact the company several times before any assistance. I was connected with a different agent. This agent said that based on my case i needed to pay am additional $**** and the $500 remaining would be applied. When I inquired about a breakdown of costs none were provided to me. I was feeling this company is a scam and decided that I wanted a refund. They said someone would contact me regarding a refund however, O have not heard from the company. I called a week later and the agent said that the customer service agents were busy. No return calls. I strongly believe this company is not practicing good business ethics as they refuse to refund my $500 (and they agreed to) for services that were not rendered.

  

  Business response

  06/23/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/19) */ Our investigation that the client hired us for was rendered. If the client is not looking to hire us for additional services we understand. However we have been in direct contact with ******* we would like the opportunity to continue to represent the client. We will connect with the client directly and ask the client to contact the supervisor she has been working with here at Legal Tax.

• Initial Complaint

  02/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid them $500 to help get a resolution to tax debt. I was told in first conversation that there would be no more charges until there was a resolution. A week later I was asked for mor money and told it could take 6 to 9 months to get a resolution and then no gauruntee. The only thing that they had done was made a call to IRS and gotten my amount of what I owed and I could have sent transcripts stating that. I asked to cancel contract and to be refunded. They denied my refund. I would like to get refunded

  

  Business response

  03/03/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/02/11) */ ******** is absolutely correct, we 1) Contacted IRS to conduct a discovery of his tax history with IRS. that was service one that was rendered. **** is right we offer no guarantee of outcome with IRS as they have the final say with the resolution phase based on the information we provide on ********** behalf.Again we offer no guarantees we offer protection and best resolution contingent upon the circumstances.

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