Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was approached in March of 2022 by this firm to do my personal and company taxes. Having concerns about the future of my existing firm, I agreed. They organized a conference call, and we discussed the size of the business, and the partner quoted me between $1200-$1400.. I was currently paying around $1200, so I thought this might be a good idea, and they may be able to offer me more services and be more attentive. Attached is the email in April from *** confirming.Then for some reason, I didn't hear anything from them for several weeks, and I received no reply to my emails or calls for over a month. Now my returns are late, and I was eventually contact by a 2nd sales person ***** who explains that the previous sales people were no longer there, and that they were going to get me started right away with someone else. After nearly two months, I get contacted by ****** who is abrasive towards me right from the start, and she made it very clear that she had no idea of what was going on. She also had no idea I was already quoted. Aside from that, communicating with her takes days between replies. She then insists they never quoted me, and after numerous more delays. July/August, she comes back and says the price would now be a Flat $1800, and she wanted me to sign a flat fee agreement. How unfair is it to grab customers at tax time and then fail to file an extension for them, and then put them in a hostage situation for and extra $600. When I complained and asked to speak to the original partner I spoke to, she ignored me for a weeks, and then evidently did a CYA and spoke badly about me to the partner. She copied me on an email where she wrote that she "spoke at great length to them about me". Again a few days go by, and then I receive an email saying that they don't think they will be a good fit. Of course this leaves me to start over, my confidential information sent to them for no reason, and also in a severe penalty situation.

  

  Business response

  09/15/2022

  9/15/22
  
  The initial email correspondence between ******************** and EWH Small Business Accounting was 4/22/22.   Mr. ******* is stating we did not file an extension and we are at fault for his late filing penalties.  Personal Tax Extensions are required to be filed with the *** no later than April 15, and our initial conversation with the Mr. ******* did not happen until after this deadline.
  
  We have no record of any estimated price quote from April.  Below are some key email chain dates, however, additional correspondence can be found throughout these documents.
  6/21/22 EWH (*****) from our office called to speak with Mr.******** he was not available
  7/5/22 Mr. ******* indicated we called his business and he had not yet uploaded documents to our portal, and he was looking for a final quote/pricing 
  7/5/22 EWH (******) talked with Mr. ******* to discuss his business and our firm
  7/19/22 Mr. ******* finally uploaded his previous tax returns for review
  7/25/22 Mr. ******* inquired if we received his documents
  7/29/22 EWH (******) responded she was unavailable for a couple days and did have the documents
  8/3/22 Mr. ******* wants a quote so he can decide
  8/4/22 After reviewing the documents we quoted a price of $1,800 to prepare his tax return
  8/10/22 EWH emailed Mr. ******* the client service agreement,which he was to sign and email back.  And he was again questioning our fees. 
  8/19/22 EWH never received a signed client service agreement or payment from Mr. ************** EWH determined the business relationship would not be a good fit for our firm and we declined the engagement
  
  EWH made extensive efforts to accommodate Mr. ******** which included emails, phone calls and efforts for an in-person meeting.  Unfortunately, we were unable to agree upon the terms of engagement.  
  We were unable to file an extension because our initial conversation with Mr. ******* was after that filing deadline of 4/15.
  We are unable to quote a fee until we see what all is necessary to prepare the tax return.Once we received that information, we were able to provide a quote, which Mr. ******* thought was too high.
  No fee arrangement, terms of engagement, client service agreement or payment was ever finalized or agreed upon.Therefore, we chose to decline the request.
  

  Customer response

  09/26/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  

  The whole point is that they pried me away from my current tax accountant, and offered and quoted me on filing my taxes. 

  After they dropped the ball, they sent me new people who did not acknowledge the prior commitment but they also did not terminate the agreement. 

   

  They delayed several months, apologizing, and then as I was starting to get upset, they declined

  
  Regards,
  
  ********************

*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. ↩