ComplaintsforInnovation Refunds

• Initial Complaint

  11/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Have tried contacting a manager multiple times and been told I will get a call back but I never have received a call back. My person of contact will never answer questions, provide help or anything. All I ever get is the monthly generic email from the company with my person of contacts name. Have been waiting a year now for services to be completed.

  Business response

  11/20/2023

  I reached out to the customer and talked to her on the phone and followed up with an email. I have her account assigned to a new account representative and will be handing it off to them once we are sure things are back on track. I also forwarded an email to her to sign so we can better stay on top of what is going on and make sure that her file gets finished and processed. Agreed to do weekly updates with her while we figure this out.

  Customer response

  11/20/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  10/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I used them to handle my ERC refund I provided all necessary documentation. It took a couple of months to get the refund and they got their %. The reason I choose this company even though they charged more than others is their guarantee that they would represent me in the event of an audit. One month ago on Sept 2023 I received a notification from the *** they were disallowing a refund and demanding I return it. I immediately contacted Innovation Refunds and sent them all correspondence from the ***. When I did not hear back I contacted the *** myself and they sent me a worksheet which I also forwarded to Innovations Refund. They assigned my case to an employee who is on vacation. 2 weeks later I have still not heard anything and assume at this point I am on my own. I assume they will refund me the 25% that they collected for their service. Feeling very dissatisfied. No one ever calls me back or answers any of my multiple emails and voicemails. I now have a demand from the *** and the guarantee they promised is to no avail. I am very dissatisfied with their service. I want someone to call me as after over 20 voicemails and emails I have not heard from them.

  Business response

  11/02/2023

  We have reached out to the customer and are working on getting resolution between him and the **** The customer did reach out on October 13th, and made us aware of the letter from the **** The *** letter was dated Oct 2 and gave a due date of Nov 2.  It was submitted to the appropriate team to find an answer. The representative that was already assigned to the customer's account was notified of the recommended action to move forward. They were on vacation and not able to get back to the customer. The customer called in and talked to two other representatives that were working on trying to find a resolution. Customer's account is now with the escalation team as we work on a resolution. The escalation team is in daily contact with the customer. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  As a business owner with one step at a time counseling services, I have filed for an ERC Tax Credit with Innovation since, December of 2022. Since, then I have been switched to talk with 7 individuals regarding my refund. They have lost my 941X s. They have switched two new tax preparers that they had hired out source that were handling my ERC claims. I have signed all of my paperwork with the first tax preparer and then innovation switched tax companies. I signed all of my paperwork with the new tax company ( ******) on August 4 , 2023 and between innovation and ****** no one can find my completed 941s that were signed. This is now going on November. They never sent me a copy of my paperwork in which they said they would. I was informed that after I signed my 941s that my claims would be sent to the *** for a refund. I received a higher tax amount quote with innovation first tax preparer company than with their second tax preparer ******. This is so confusing and very unprofessional. Innovation has no transparency with the tax companies they hire. This is not good for their customers!!

  Business response

  11/07/2023

  We have reached out to this customer and are staying in contact to make sure that her file gets to the *** as it is supposed to. We discussed why the file had been moved from one tax partner to another and how different tax attorneys will calculate different amounts. We do have all of her signed paperwork and she accepted a fee reduction due to the extra time it has taken to get her file to the ***. 

  Customer response

  11/08/2023

   
  Complaint: 20793960
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The answer that was given to me by innovation was not satisfaction.  Here is the copy of the response given by Innovation Refund:  On Tue, Nov 7, 2023 at 4:52 PM ********************************* <************************************> wrote:
  
  Hi *******,
  
  I apologize for not calling. I am home sick and not able to call out. Did you get my email on Friday? I tried to answer all your questions in it.
  You are correct, unfortunately, I cannot do anything about the lapse in time. The *** is accepting new claims but is not processing them until further guidance has come out. My understanding is that they are planning on processing new claims starting in January. They are working through the backlog they have now and making sure that fraudulent claims are not getting paid out. Normally the *** takes **** months to issue out the first check and the other checks trickle in behind that.
  
  The ********************** we use has not updated the tracking information on your file. As soon as I see that updated, I will let you know. From the time they receive in until we get the tracking information is usually about 5-7 business days unless they are backed up for some reason. Yours were marked received on 10/29 so today would have been day 7. I expect to have the tracking information soon.
  
  I understand the disappointment. I am disappointed too that I cant reset the clock for you. I will stay on top of it and do the best I can to make sure there are no other hang-*** getting your file to the ***.
  
  Have a great evening,
  ********
  
  
  
  *********************************
  Customer Care Supervisor
  **************
  ************************************
  
  Refer & Earn 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A SOC 2 compliant company
  InnovationRefunds.com 
  
  
  From: *********************** <************************>
  Date: Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 1:04 PM
  To: ********************************* <************************************>
  Subject: Re: contract amendment
  EXTERNAL SENDER
  
  
  Good afternoon ********. This is *********************** with One Step At A Time Counseling Services.  Did you find out when my claim was sent over to the ***? Also, because my 941s were resigned on October 29, 2023, this would be considered as anew claim with the ***. As a result, are the *** accepting new claims now?? Again, I am very disappointed and frustrated with this whole ordeal due to innovation had informed me that my claim was submitted on August 8, 2023. I understand that you had informed me that there were a clich in you guys system, but this does not help lapse in time.
  
  On Tue, Nov 7, 2023 at 12:40 AM *********************** <************************> wrote:
  Yes, I received it.
  
  On Mon, Nov 6, 2023 at 10:17 PM ********************************* <************************************> wrote:
  Hi *******,
  
  I just wanted to follow up today and see if you got the email to sign for the amended contract. It does include the fee reduction. Sometimes the emails do go to spam/junk folders so if you haven't received it, check there.
  
  *********************************
  Cusotmer Care Supervisor
  Direct: ************
  ************************************
  www.innovationrefunds.com
  
  --
  Prefer fewer emails from me? Click here
  
  
  
  *********************************
  Customer Care Supervisor
  **************
  ************************************
  
  Refer & Earn 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A SOC 2 compliant company
  InnovationRefunds.com 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  12/05/2023

  The 941x's have been submitted to the **** and we have tracking numbers that show it as being received. This information has been passed on to the customer. Using Tax Guardian, a 3rd party company, we will be able to see when the *** has received and processed the 941x's. Due to the backlog at the *** it may be several months until we have this information. The normal time frame after submission is **** months. As of September the *** has expressed that they will be slowing down and taking longer. We have no way of expediting any processing with the ***. The customer received a fee reduction and does not have to pay her fee to us until she receives checks from the *** after their processing time. 

  Customer response

  12/06/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  09/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Innovation Refunds claimed they were going to handle our ERC refund for my business. I was told it would take 6-8 months. Ten months passed by and we have still not received our ERC refund. While we understand the government may be going slow in the process, at this point in time Innovation Refunds is not even responding to calls or emails. Apparently our account is with the ************************ at ********************, but I have been specifically told that that department does not have a phone number. I've also been told that my **** ******************************** neither has a phone number or an email address for us to contact her.Our phone calls and emails to other departments and staff members at Innovation Refunds have gone unanswered for weeks. At this point in time there is concern that Innovation Refunds is a scam and simply taking the refund money for themselves.

  Business response

  10/09/2023

  We have been in contact with one of the owners of this business. The customer was given the contact information of their assigned representative and the email address was given to the contact the day the BBB complaint was filed. ******** Care Supervisor reached out to customer who is the contact listed on the account and was told that his partner had filed the complaint.  The file was assigned to a new contact to balance the workload and make sure the customer was getting the proper care and attention. We tried putting a more detailed time in place and agreed to get an appointment set up with the tax professional within 2 weeks or sooner if possible. ********'s new account representative has been in contact with the customer. Supervisor followed up again as well and scheduled an additional follow up at the end of the 2 weeks to see how the service is going. Supervisor discussed with leadership how to expedite the file.

• Initial Complaint

  09/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Last year they filed for ERC on behalf of my business. My tax accountant needs the paperwork that shows how we qualified for the credit; not the revised payroll returns. My taxes are due in 1 week on 9/15. My tax accountant, my bookkeeper, my wife and myself have been constantly trying to get in contact with them within the last 30days. We keep getting sent to voicemails with no names on their messages. We've been leaving voicemails and emails and not one person can call any of us back.

  Business response

  09/15/2023

  Hello, we have reached out to this customer and have made arrangements to talk next week with his tax preparer and work out a solution. The file does show a history of email conversations between our account representative, his tax preparer, and the customer (August 22, 23, and a follow up email from the account representative Sept 8). The email history does show a concern by the customer that the phone number they had was not connecting. I sent my contact information to him and his tax preparer for future communication.

• Initial Complaint

  07/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On November 9, 2022, we filed for the *** program with Innovation Refund we submitted all the paperwork, and we haven't received anything, maybe a couple of emails here and there and maybe a phone call, we are upset because a company that filed after us has already received their checks and we are still waiting, I have sent three emails, called and left messages on 6/30/2023 - 07/03/2023 and 07/05/2023. No one has called us back, we were told it would take 4 to 7months before we would get anything, and we were ok with it until we found out that other companies have received their checks. We just want to know why it is taking so long for us to get our payment

  Business response

  07/07/2023

  Since the complaint was filed, customer has been contacted and assigned a single point of contact, *************************, with the ************* team. ***** has connected with the client and reviewed where things are at with their file. Client has agreed to work with the ***** through the end of the process. Clients documents were filed with the *** on 12/5/2022. On average we advise that it can take 4-7 months to receive checks back from the ***. Sometimes it is more, sometimes less depending on the workflow the *** is dealing with at the time. 

  Customer response

  07/10/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  04/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We were solicited by Innovation Refunds (IR) for the Employee Retention Credit refunds by the government. The information and numbers IR shared did not disclose an very important component, the taxes we have to pay the government once we receive the refund. So if we would receive $100,000 and pay IR $25,000 out of the refund as their "fee", however the $100,000 received as ERC credit increases out tax liability as income. This really makes our cost much higher than we were made to believe. We have to pay federal, state, and local taxes on the $100,000, and also pay IR $25,000, and also pay our CPA to amend our tax returns. The additional cost, burden, and effort is something that was not disclosed to us in the calculation presented. We have been seeking the proper adjustment to all these additional cost to reflect what the initial disclosures reflected. We also understand that there was a similar case just like ours that the BBB was asked to have IR ensure that proper disclosures are made to all unsuspecting future clients. This obviously was not accomplished. We have been trying to work with IR to resolve the differences, but to not avail.

  Business response

  07/05/2023

  Attempted to contact ************** twice via phone and twice and were not able to connect with him since 6/26/23. Reviewed his contract, dated 8/1/2022, and there was verbiage advising him to contact his tax preparer - CLIENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR INFORMING ITS CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT AND/OR TAX PREPARER OF ANY AND ALL TAX REFUND DOLLARS RECEIVED BY CLIENT, AND FOR REPORTING ANY AND
  ALL TAX REFUND DOLLARS ON ANY REQUIRED TAX RETURN/FILING DOCUMENT.

  As of January 1, 2023, we have coached our sales team to instruct customers to discuss ERC tax implications with their tax preparer. So it's handled up front with our sales team and also within our customer contracts.

  Customer response

  07/12/2023

   
  Complaint: 19949515
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Customer response

  07/12/2023

  Each time Innovations Refund has contacted me I returned the call to get a voice mail and left my information each time. We have not made contact. I have received an email from their attorney which I have replied. They are attempting to settle and we'll see where that will go. I disagree that the coached their sales team since they never informed me of the additional taxes and accounting fees associated with having to file ammended returns for each year. 

  Business response

  07/19/2023

  We agree that we have not been able to connect with client (as stated in original reply). We did make one more attempt via phone and email and still did not connect with the customer. The legal department the client is referencing is our third-party collection partner. We have brought in the third-party collection company to assist in getting payment from **************. The client has not paid three of his invoices with us. They offered a settlement to him in Feb and we have had no response to that offer. As of January 1, 2023, we have coached our sales team to instruct customers to discuss ERC tax implications with their tax preparer. We agree this was after ************** had gone through this process with our company. We are not tax professionals and do not give tax advice to clients. We do state in the contract signed by ************** that: CLIENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR INFORMING ITS CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT AND/OR TAX PREPARER OF ANY AND ALL TAX REFUND DOLLARS RECEIVED BY CLIENT, AND FOR REPORTING ANY AND ALL TAX REFUND DOLLARS ON ANY REQUIRED TAX RETURN/FILING DOCUMENT. What their tax preparer advises them of is outside of our scope of work.

  Business response

  07/24/2023

  We agree that we have not been able to connect with client (as stated in original reply). We did make one more attempt via phone and email and still did not connect with the customer. The legal department the client is referencing is our third-party collection partner. We have brought in the third-party collection company to assist in getting payment from **************. The client has not paid three of his invoices with us. They offered a settlement to him in Feb and we have had no response to that offer. As of January 1, 2023, we have coached our sales team to instruct customers to discuss ERC tax implications with their tax preparer. We agree this was after ************** had gone through this process with our company. We are not tax professionals and do not give tax advice to clients. We do state in the contract signed by ************** that: CLIENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR INFORMING ITS CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT AND/OR TAX PREPARER OF ANY AND ALL TAX REFUND DOLLARS RECEIVED BY CLIENT, AND FOR REPORTING ANY AND ALL TAX REFUND DOLLARS ON ANY REQUIRED TAX RETURN/FILING DOCUMENT. What their tax preparer advises them of is outside of our scope of work.

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  02/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In August of 2022, we started our discussions with Innovation Refunds upon a referral from our accountant to review the options. We provided all documentation to Innovation Refunds through their portal and were provided an estimated amount of return. We signed the agreement on October 27, 2022 and since then, have been told we're in a waiting pattern and have had five different contacts 'move onto other positions' within the company. This leaves a very bad taste in my mouth as there is no warning except a script email. Attached are the emails in which were sent. I have requested for one contact for the remaining process and a call from a supervisor in which no response has been received.

  Business response

  06/28/2023

  ******** on the ************* Team spoke with ****************** on 6/23. ****************** explained that ******, one of our managers, took over her file and she was pleased with the service ****** provided through completion.

  Customer response

  06/28/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  10/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On our around June 22, 2022, we signed an agreement to have Innovation Refunds assist our company in applying for Employee Retention Credit Tax refunds that were due back to our business as part of the pandemic economic relief provided by the federal government. Innovation Refunds prepared amended returns for our company for the applicable period. However, when we provided the amended 941 forms to our CPA, she indicated that the amounts for the refunds looked too large and wanted to see how Innovation Refunds calculated the amounts for the amended returns. The problem is, that if they requested too large a refund, at some point in the future, the *** could come back and require that we pay any over-refunded amount to them. While we have received some assurances from Innovation Refunds and ********* (the firm that has made the calculations) we have no way to ensure that those companies would be around 3-5 years down the line in the event of an *** audit. Therefore, it's important that our CPA can make certain that the refund requested are correct, so that she can defend them if needed. These calculations should be pretty straight forward, and there is no reason that we should not be allowed to see OUR data. We have repeatedly requested a response from Innovation Refunds and *********, and have received general information, but no calculations and now they are not responding to (my or my CPA's) requests for information at all. Currently, we do not intend to release payments for services to Innovation Refunds until such time that they release our data to us so that we can check it for accuracy. Otherwise we need to cancel our agreement and hire a different firm to complete the calculations so that we can submit another set of amended 941 forms. Note that ********* did provide a "Govt Memo" but it does not clarify how the calculations were applied.

  Business response

  11/28/2022

  ******, we apologize for the confusion on your account and have been actively working with ***** and her legal team to provide necessary/requested documentation.  Please reach out to me directly at ********************************.  Thank you
  **********

  Customer response

  12/05/2022

   
  Complaint: 18194778
  
  I am rejecting this response because: We need more time. We are awaiting more information from the business.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********************************************

• Initial Complaint

  08/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Greeting Gentlemen, (July 25 through July 30 2022. Innovation Refunds (www.innovationrefunds.com) has been soliciting our company for some time via email and media advertising asking us to fill out a questionnaire to determine if our company was eligible for a tax rebate under the *** tax rebate program. We filled out the questionnaire and got a response within a minute that based on our answers that they had good news for us and that we were eligible for a tax rebate of $237,000.00 and all they needed was for us to send them specific documents. Over the course of the next few days, we received numerous emails from them asking to get our documents sent to them so they could get us in line for the rebates. Our Company (********* LLC) spent all morning scanning and preparing over 100 documents that they requested and emailed them to ********************************* After submitting these documents all communication ended on their end. Numerous attempts to at least get a response via email with a few questions went unanswered. We placed a call directly to ******** personal cell phone and left a message in addition to other calls without leaving a message. We still have not gotten any response to our inquiries and feel like we are simply being ignored now. We are not looking for any compensation other than an official communication that maybe after reviewing our documents we may not be eligible for the program. It seems only fair after being spammed with communication from them and after preparing over 100 documents for them that we deserve some sort of communication.

  Business response

  09/29/2022

  See attached doc

*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. ↩