ComplaintsforDrake Software

• Initial Complaint

  06/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been using Drake Software for over 10 years. This year, the State of VA made a tax change that required a new form to be used by all business with profits - form VA502PTET.Drake's customers are small CPA firms and tax preparers that focus on small business returns. Today is June 13, 2023. Drake STILL HAS NOT YET COMPLETED programming for form 502PTET. All of Drake's VA clients have had to extend thousands of returns becuase fo Drake's failure to provide funtioning software-that has already long been paid for...We are losing clients, wasting time and opportunities because Drake doesn't seem to care about their VA customers.

  Business response

  06/13/2023

  While we don't have a guaranteed date of completion, the **** forms are close to being complete.

  I appreciate the customer's loyalty and longevity. 

  As this complaint refers to the desire for additional functionality, I would consider this closed.

• Initial Complaint

  05/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am a CPA and have been using Drake for a decade now. Every year I find issues in the software that affects the tax. This year has been significant issues that has caused harm to my clients. I have had to call the *********** for almost every return where there is a refund for them to release. They received something different compared to what I prepared and submitted to Drake for processing. The *********** has stated it was Drake Software causing the issues. In addition, those who owed taxes. Their payments for debit were all rejected and ALL received penalties for not paying. ** stated it was the software Drake. I have spent numerous hours and now unpaid to resolve these issues. Drake tax is increasing prices where they do not have the expertise to warrant such pricing.

  Business response

  06/01/2023

  This was a misunderstanding.  Our development team has reached out to this customer and resolved their questions.  I believe that this is resolved.

  Customer response

  06/01/2023

   
  I am rejecting this response because:
  No one has reached out to me. No one has communicated with me.

   

  In fact, I have reached out to them and they have not called me back.

  Business response

  06/01/2023

  Our records indicate that the following information was provided to the customer on 3/29/23.

  We spoke with CT DOR about this particular case.  Here is the information that we received back:

  "If it the first time that a taxpayer is making a direct payment with a particular routing and bank account number, *********** has to initiate a prenote to the bank to make sure that the information entered is valid.  The prenote process takes up to 5 business days.  If the prenote comes back as valid,then the payment will execute that night, and the taxpayer will be given credit for the date they initiated the payment to DRS.  If the prenote comes back as being bad, then the direct payment does not go through. In this particular case, the taxpayers prenote was returned by the bank for Unable to Locate Account, so the direct payment did not go through.  DRS sent out a letter to this taxpayer on March 20, 2023 (the date the prenote came back) letting them know that the payment did not go through and that they would need to remake the payment."

  As you can see, this is not an issue with the Drake Software transmission process.  It appears to not be an issue on the ** side either; but we can't state that with certainty.  

  ** also let ** know that this customer reached out to them directly through the "myconneCT" portal system and that they responded to the customer with instructions on how/why to submit the penalty waiver for this customer.

  There is no further action to take on the Drake Software side at this time.  We won't be able to offer compensation on this, as this was not a Drake Software issue.

• Initial Complaint

  05/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Drake is a professional level tax software company. My company is a long time customer in need of information regarding the status a critical update needed to the ******* portion of the Drake 2022 tax year software. I have placed multiple calls requesting information regarding this situation. Drake in every call says that "we do not provide that information". When I request to speak with someone in a management position I am told that there is no one else that I can speak with. I cannot accept that there is not a single person at Drake Software who can speak with me other than the first line support person.I am a long time customer being *********************** in an impossible position basically being forced to reduce the very high level of service I always provide to my clients. I need to speak with someone with authority to give me information instead of the support person simply telling me that no one at one of the largest tax software companies telling me that no one knows anything about my question.I am not even looking for a refund or fee reduction nothing monetary only to speak with someone who cares enough to answer my question. For Drake purposes my EFIN is ******

  Business response

  05/16/2023

  We sincerely apologize that the customer feels as though their voice isn't being heard.  We are having someone in management give them a call to discuss this issue with them.  While the IN forms they are looking for are part of a large IN project to implement these new PTET forms, and are not available in the software yet, we want to make sure that we have an open line of communication with the customer.

  Customer response

  05/16/2023

   
  I am rejecting this response because:

  no resolution has been provided the issue still exist 

   

   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  02/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have used Drake software for over 15 years. Now I'm finding drake software doesn't even recognize me as a customer. I can't log in and spend the 2,***. to renew for 2022. I called support and they are no help told me to wait 48 hours. I need the software today. WHAT KIND OF COMPANY PUTS ANY CUSTOMER THROUGH THIS LET ALONE AN OLD CUSTOMER? One who sold out to a foreign company that now wants to do US tax returns?Had an issue in January 2023 that required a call to customer support. I was treated rudely and unprofessionally. And my issue with drake accounting was not addressed or resolved.In other words buyer beware. What used to be a good US company is now a foreign company. You have to research that to find that out they won't tell you. Can,t not believe Drake sold its customers out to a foreign competitor.

  Business response

  02/14/2023

  This customer contacted us yesterday, 2/13, because they could not access their user account. As this requires identity verification for security purposes, their ticket was escalated to our security team. A member of our security team reached out yesterday, 2/13, to the phone number provided and left a voicemail, as the customer could not be reached. We continue to try and reach the customer today. If the customer would like to provide an alternative contact method, we would encourage him to reach back out to us and leave that information.

  I believe that our response to his initial inquiry was timely. If the customer will elaborate on his problem with the Drake Accounting software when he receives this follow-up phone call, we will be more than happy to escalate that to the team that can take care of that in a timely fashion as well.

  Customer response

  02/14/2023

   
  I am rejecting this response because:  I have been in contact with your support team no less than 5 times yesterday 2 13 23 and one time today 2 14 23. I have not been able to renew my software with you or access your website because of your new antiquated change in security.  You made the error not me.  You say it's because my e mail on file with you is wrong.  I beg to differ.  you email me daily on the e mail you say does not match my email on file with you.  i have had to cancel my appointments for this week and have lost one client.  Can you spell litigation? 
  
  

  Business response

  02/15/2023

  Our security team has made multiple attempts to get in touch with you.  You continue to offer no additional contact information.  

  We took steps this year to improve security for the sake of our customers (tax preparers) and their taxpayer data.  I do not agree with the assessment that it is antequated.

  We look forward to hearing from you by phone, or receiving alternate contact information from you in order to proceed.

  We do not take security lightly and will not change security procedures due to this matter.

• Initial Complaint

  02/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I cannot transmit tax returns because the system continuously tells me to print all bank documents, but the system is not uploading all bank documents. This has happened for 3 weeks in a row. I was told I had to delete the bank screen and add it back to get forms to populate, and that tactic worked for three clients. Last week I spoke with supervisor *******/*******. I requested that she request programmers to look into this and also wanted free returns since I did not know I would have to delete screens and add them back, and I used all my paper and ink, re-printing bank documents over again. I am now unable to transmit again due to the bank documents populating, so I am on the phone with Drake's csr and they stated the sup did not put in any request. Ironically, I am having the same issue. Clients are in my office, and I cannot provide them with professionalism and efficient tax services when issues like these occur, and my issues are being swept under the rug and not fixed or documented. I currently cannot use the software I purchased, and I am taking a significant loss. Nobody can help me, and they keep saying they are sending it up, but when I call back, they do not see anything has been sent. I would like to request a credit on my account. I have missed out on 4 clients costing me close to $1000

  Business response

  02/06/2023

  Immediately after this complaint was received, we had one of our top-tier agents contact the customer to work through any outstanding issues that they may be having.  The customer stated that there issue had been resolved by a member of our frontline call center management team.  The issue was that the customer was getting diagnostic pages inside the tax return that the customer didn't know how to resolve. 

  With the problem resolved, the customer then asked for compensation, which our agent denied based on the fact that we do not compensate based on customer service satisfaction.  The customer then hung up on our agent.

  The customer's problem is resolved, which was what the original request in this complaint was: "repair".  In terms of compensation, we will not provide additional compensation based upon communication with our technical support staff.

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  *Upgraded Software *Requested to downgrade due to Bank misinformation *was advised by all reps that I could down grade, was told in the beginning not to use the software *Software had not been used ****** declined to downgrade me after being advised over a week I could. I processed my clients under an alternate software when I could have been using my own to meet the banks requirements for next year.****** was rude and placed a note to only connect me to her ************* takes no accountability. Had a similar issue last year and they took no accountability *finally got someone who refunded me *attempted to get the downgraded version and ***** locked my account so I could not *after speaking with ****** for several days and being pushed back time after time with promised call backs and loss hundreds of dollars placing my business on hold while I fund someone else's

  Business response

  01/24/2023

  The customer purchased our unlimited package. We released this software December 1, 2022, giving the customer a serial number which would activate the full package installation.

  It was after this that the customer asked to be downgraded to a limited package (pay per return). As the customer had already been given a serial number to unlock the full version, it would be impossible to refund her a portion of her payment and downgrade her to a limited version. Once the customer has access to the full version, they will have that full version in perpetuity (as long as they are an active customer). 

  We explained that while we couldn't downgrade her to the limited version, and that while she was past our agreed-upon terms of refund we would be willing to issue a full refund of the unlimited package (since it is a significantly higher cost) due to her circumstances. ************ exception for this customer.

  After processing the requested refund the customer contacted us again to purchase the limited (PPR) software. We stated that we would of course welcome her to purchase the unlimited software again, but since she had access to the unlimited software if we enabled her customer account that we could not sell her the limited software (PPR).

  We have made exceptions to our policies to try and help this customer as much as possible. What she's asking for here is not something that we can do. We would be more than happy to help her in any other way that we can, but we cannot allow her to use our limited software with an unlock key for unlimited software.

  Customer response

  01/25/2023

   
  I am rejecting this response because: I was advised for over a week by all representatives that I could downgrade. Thus company has a ticket where they offer downgrades to customers. They are not taking accountability for being advised by each person I spoke with on the accounting team that I could downgrade. I was also advised by ******* they could wipe out the serial number given but that no one wanted to take the time to do it. With my business on hold for over a week I processed returns under someone else software giving them a portion of all fees. Had I been advised differently (which Drake accounting reps stated it would not be a problem) I would have done things a lot differently.  
  
  

  Business response

  01/25/2023

  I understand that there was quite a lot of confusion about what the customer was trying to do here.  It is not an issue of someone not wanting to take the time to help.  As outlined in my prior response, the software cannot be sold and/or function.

  We have given the customer a refund, in full, of all license fees paid.  There are no other fees to refund.  I consider this case closed, as the customer has been refunded and moved on.  We will not compensate for miscommunication or the customer's lost time in trying to decide what software she needed to run her business.

• Initial Complaint

  01/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My business uses Drake Software for tax return preparation. Last March, my main computer crashed and I had to reinstall Drake Software on my machines. After the reformatting and reinstallation, Drake Software was not functioning properly. I received zero support from Drake Software during this time. A representative named ***** was entirely rude, condescending, and refused to assist me stating that "they don't help with these types of issues" among other things and demanded that I call an IT professional that has zero knowledge about Drake Software. My business was closed for weeks and I lost business as a result of this problem. I am a small woman owned business. I only had two employees; they both quit after these problems. I was forced to close my office due to lack of staffing. All of this can be sourced directly back to the software problems that drove my business into the dirt. It cost me way more than the cost of Drake Software to fix these issues that Drake refused to help me with. It is more than fair that I either receive a refund of the cost of the software or be given a free renewal for this coming year. To be clear, I would NOT be using Drake Software again if not for the fact that I have years and years of prior year data that would not import into new software. Drake Software knows they have me by the ***** and I am forced to continue using them and their crappy service.

  Business response

  01/11/2023

  Upon reviewing this account, the original call that prompted this was made to us on 3/9/22.  The caller stated that they were getting permissions errors when opening our software package.  It was installed on a network and they were getting errors when opening it from the network drive.  This of course is related to the setup of the network, not the software.  We explained in full detail what that error meant (the appropriate network permissions were not in place to be able to read/write to the network drive). However, we try when we can to go above and beyond with our service and offered to remote into the customer's computer(s) and assist. She declined our offer.  She called back in May for additional "network assistance".  We attempted to reach the customer 3 times about this specific ticket without a callback.  The customer was also reached out to in late May as well as July and our records indicate that voicemails were left and unanswered.  

  From the conversation that she had with our agent today, it appears that she got a third-party IT firm to assist her with her networking issues (as would be expected); however, she expects that Drake Software compensate her in some way for this, as if it were the responsibility of the software company to ensure that her internal office hardware and processes were setup in a manner that would allow her to install the software in the specific way that she wanted. In the same way that we would expect a functioning PC to be in place in order to assist with the software install, a functioning network must be in place in order for us to assist with a network install.

  We will deny the compensation request on the grounds that we continued to provide top-level customer service and her internal office troubles were not related, in any capacity, to our software product.

  Customer response

  01/11/2023

   
  I am rejecting this response because: my computer was set up properly and placing the blame on "internal" issues is absolutely ridiculous. I needed help from Drake for their software not functioning after a CORRECT installation of their software on a functional computer; after a crash, and after a totally different machine was put into operation. Drake failed to support their own software and their continued attempts to pass the buck onto another party just further proves my claim. 
  
  

  Business response

  01/13/2023

  When speaking with our agent, it was stated that an external IT firm was hired and were able to "fix the issue". The customer was upset about having to hire a third-party whom she was clear didn't have any Drake Software experience. If this was an error internal to our software, it would be very difficult for a third-party to resolve this issue. Given the information that I received, the data that was logged for the customer's inbound calls, and my 20+ years of experience with this, it is quite obvious that the customer had a network permission issue that needed to be resolved on the customer's end before our ********************** would function as expected.

  I stand behind our statement that we will not offer a prior year refund based on this information. It is clear where the responsibility lies on this and it is outlined in our end user license agreement.

• Initial Complaint

  09/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I've been using Drake software since the year 2012. Their customer support teams really need to improve their knowledge of their own tax software. They seem not to understand or know how to use their own software. They sound like telemarketing people following step by step on the computer screen. Recently, I contact Drake software regarding **** school district issues. I made three phone calls for the same issue. For almost two weeks I still did not get any solution from their support team. They all say they will get back to me asap, but still nobody call me back yet.A few months ago, I have an issue regarding how to print out the estimate vouchers and customer support just tell me that their ********************** doesn't support printing the estimate vouchers. Drake software is a professional tax preparation software how can your software not print out the estimate voucher? I told him, I did print out the estimate vouchers before. But due to a special situation, I need to generate the voucher. The person who answered my question told me Drake software doesnt support the feature to print out the estimate voucher. He doesn't do any research. He just tell me the drake software can not print estimate vouchers. If your software can not do some basic tax tasks and support teams did not understand their own software, they should refund me the money. So I can switch to other tax software.

  Business response

  09/13/2022

  ************************* from our ******************************** team reached out to ************************ on September 12th to address the aforementioned issues and her frustration with support.  ***** worked with our development team to confirm the accurate calculation of the OH School District form(s).  While ************************ will still decide on whether or not she will renew her software license in December and continue her partnership with Drake Software, the refund of prior year software is no longer being requested.  We will consider this matter closed.

• Initial Complaint

  02/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 1/12/2022, I purchased Drake Software, specifically the *** package for $345.00. Since this is my first time using Drake, it took me some time to review relevant Knowledge Base information, tutorials and set up my company information. On 2/8/2022, I kept getting warnings that my serial number was incorrect, but I couldn't update it so I contacted customer support. On this call, I was directed to System Preferences where it was discovered that my computer was operating on an ARM processor, which is incompatible with Drake Software. On 2/9/2022, I called to request a refund but was told that the 72-hour window had closed and it was my responsibility to determine if my computer was compatible with Drake Software. Firstly, the only incompatible systems that Drake has posted online are Macs and I am not using a Mac, which of course is why I proceeded to purchase Drake. If I needed to drill down into the processing systems of my computer to determine if Drake Software is compatible then Drake needs to make that clear on their website for all to see. Even *******************, the customer representative who helped me, had no idea that this ARM processor thing existed. I spent 49 minutes on the phone with him trying to figure out this issue. Secondly, Drake is the # 1 tax software among my network of Accountants and CPAs, I've heard nothing but good things. So it baffles me that I'm denied a refund for something I can't use now but may use in the future. I guess Drake doesn't care about burning bridges or maintaining customer relationships.

  Business response

  03/21/2022

  We spent a few weeks attempting to get in touch with the customer.  We finally were successful on 3/8/22 and sent the customer a refund request form.  We received the completed form on 3/15 and issued the full refund on 3/18/22.

  Customer response

  03/22/2022

   
  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

  01/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received an email from Drake Software Advising that if I did not update my credit card information that I would loose access to their Drake Portals application. I DID NOT update my credit card information because I did not want to use their product. On January 3rd I received a notification from my ******************* that Drake Software had charged me for this service. I have an expired credit card on file with them and not sure why they ran the card anyway. I immediately called and try to get this resolved with Drake. I was told that I had to login to the software and cancel the account. So I did when I received that message. I was then told that I would not get a full refund that they would withhold ***** for the month of January. I did not use their product and I did not have a need for their product and per their email, if I did not update my credit card I would not get the service. I did not see any reason to go in and cancel since they are told me they were going to cancel on my behalf. I have tired to get a resolution without success. They call me from a blocked number and my phone does not accept those calls. They leave a message telling me to call this number and ext. Then when I get someone on the phone they will not transfer me. They will send them a message and then they call from a blocked number and get keep going in circles. Today I have tried everything I know to do to get this resolved and have filed a dispute with the **************** at the ******************* They will not offer help or support there and I am not sure what else to do. They have not refunded any of my money.

  Business response

  03/21/2022

  $135 was refunded on 1/11/22.  I don't believe the refund was ever denied, it was just a timing issue.

*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. ↩