H & R Block Made mistakes on tax returns. Usurous interest on instant refunds. Ashland Ohio

I am a seasonal employee of H&R Block. This information is NOT authorized by the company. It is just

my opinion, based on my experience.



I am sorry you had a bad experience with HRB.



From what you say, it appears you were dealing with a franchised office. Company owned offices do not have Managers, only office leaders.



The Tax Preparation Software (TPS) used by Block is not new. It was written in the 1990's, converted to

Windows, and is updated and maintained constantly. If the office was using new software, it was not TPS.



While errors are possible, usually caused by a preparer who transposes digits, the safeguard of

double-entry verification usually catches them.



When errors are found, company offices are instructed to have another taxpreparer audit your entire return and, if errors are found, refund your fees. If the city return has an error, the state and federal returns will probably have the same problem. Unlike your city, state and federal overpayments have to be claimed within three years and are not automatically refunded.



That said, it is just as likely that your city tax office made the error. Statistics show that 50 to 75%

of the advice given by the IRS is wrong.



The $17 fee for a city return is standard, for cities which have an income tax. The standard fee for a

state return is $39. The $135 federal fee shows that your son had more than a simple return. He may have had educational expenses or Earned Income Credit (EIC). The latter is an expensive return because preparers are subject to a $100 fine if the IRS feels they failed to exercise Due Diligence.



Please call 1-800-HRBLOCK (1-800-472-5625) to report this case. HRB does not tolerate mistreatment of their customers.

I am deeply sadden that H&R Block has tried out new software that hasn;t been tested. Why can they tax preparer lower their rates down to 1 penny per return, and banks give checks for free. Plus on top of that, the tax preparers work for free. That will fix alot of the crooked problems we have as innocent civilians have to go through every day.

After over a month of trying to reach Mrs. Pat Martin at our local H&R Block office to discuss their "maximum refund guarantee", my son spoke to her. After stopping in the office several times and countless calls he told whomever answered the phone that he knew he was being put off and if he didn't hear from Mrs. Martin he would report them. He spoke to her very soon after and she said that she would have to get his refund approved by the main office. Also, since only the city tax return was filed incorrectly he would only be eligible for a refund of the prep fee for that return (fair enough). A week later he received a check in the amount of $17.00.

I doubt that out of a prep fee of over $200.00 this small amount is a true reflection of what they would have charged for just the city return, but he's letting it go. However, H&R Block has lost a couple of clients from this and if anyone asks about their service we will tell them about our experience. Next year, he's going to our REAL accountants who actually check the returns for errors after preparation. For less than the H&R Block fee, he'll have some peace of mind and no hassles if an error is discovered.

I finally got hold of the manager, Pat Martin two weeks after first trying. I explained what had happened with our son's returns and she looked at his records and admitted that they were using new software this year and it had missed certain information that caused the returns to be inaccurate. She stated that he may have even more coming back from the city and woud look into it and call us back. Guess what! We haven't heard from her yet, over a month later. My son has called several times and visited the office when she said she usually is in (since no one else there can handle the guarantee details), but hasn't been able to find her.

It is becoming pretty obvious that H&R Block has no intention of honoring its "maximum refund guarantee", even though their manager has admitted that they goofed up. Their guarantee sure draws the customers in, thinking that everything is great and if there is an error on their returns H&R Block will step up to the plate and make things right. However, if a customer has a problem, H&R Block does everything it can to avoid even talking to the customer about it and puts them off until, hopefully, they give up.

We've tried to be patient and give H&R Block the benefit of the doubt, but are beginning to get very disqusted with them and their unethical behavior. What else can we do? We don't believe in taking thing to court, but are wondering if this could be a benefit to not only us, but others who have had the same trouble.

Any ideas???

Maggie

Thank you, Robert for the advice. My son went down to the H&R Block office today with his returns, which showed the errors and his correspondence with our city tax office.

They said they couldn't help him until a manager was in (he/she wasn't). Then they asked if he's purchasd the "Peace of Mind" guarantee for $30. This additional guarantee doesn't have anything to do with the maximum refund guarantee he was attempting to invoke. The POM guarantee deals with audits and notices from the IRS.

We did notice that the fine print on the max. refund guarantee states that it is good at participating locations. I attempted to find out from the web site and by calling our local H&R Block office if it's a participating location, but to no avail.

I've printed out the guarantees from the H&R Block web site and we'll try to find out tomorrow if the Claremont Ave. location is participating in the max. refund guarantee. Hopefully, I'll have a good news update soon.

Directly from the first page of the H&R Block web site....

"We Stand Behind Our Work
At H&R Block, we believe that all of our clients are entitled to the highest level of service. Our tax associates undergo the most rigorous training program in the business, so they know how to maximize each and every one of the returns they prepare. In other words, we ensure that you will benefit from every deduction and credit available to you.

If you don't get the maximum refund you're entitled to on your taxes, then your tax preparation is FREE. This is our Maximum Refund Guarantee*.
....
....
* If, due to H&R Block's error on your return, you're entitled to a larger refund (or smaller tax liability) than what we calculated, we'll refund your tax preparation fee for that return. At participating locations. Refund claims must be made during calendar year in which tax return is prepared. "


If it was because of their error that they said he owed he is entitled to have the tax preparation refund for free....So this is something he needs to look into ASAP.