H&R Block "Peace of Mind" is another bait and switch for this troubled Company

I am a hardworking father and husband.

I usually do my taxes myself and am pretty knowledgeable about the

process. By doing a worksheet, which is part of the software I normally

use, I calculated I owed almost 2 thousand dollars to the IRS. Yikes!

While pondering this I heard the TV ad for a nationally well known tax

preparation services company. They guaranteed they could do better than

what an individual could because they were "tax experts".

I spent some time with the tax expert at the local H&R Block office. He

was less than impressive and I had to remind him several times that he

had errors which were obvious to me. He kept assuring me that it passed

the "tax scrutiny software provided by his company."

The preparer came back with a figure of $700 owed to the IRS. I was

pleased and I paid them $450 for them to prepare all forms and, since it

was offered, I paid for their "Peace of Mind" guarantee. Total cost to

me with payment to the company and the IRS was $1150 or just over half

of what I had calculated. Maybe these guys really are tax experts!

Their guarantee was explained to me that if I ended up owing taxes that

they had not for-seen or calculated for they would happily cover them,

meaning that they would pay the taxes owed.

They filed the taxes with my payment of $700 and, you guessed it, the

IRS comes back a few days later and says there are multiple errors on

this return and you owe $900 more! (Which is exactly what I had

estimated myself and would have owed anyway!)

I went to H&R Block and filed a claim under "Peace of Mind" with the

office manager stating: "This is so obviously our fault." Two weeks go

by and I get a letter from their Home Office: "You claim is denied!"

I called all over trying to reach someone about this matter. Everyone

within the company I talked to stated: "This is so simple, we did not

file your taxes correctly, we should pay any taxes that the IRS says you

owe." By this time it is now 4 weeks after the claim was denied.

Of course that is what was said. However, you would not believe the

phone chase, endless e-mails and call backs during my work time that I

endured trying to get this company to honor their advertised commitment

to accurate tax preparation.

Finally, I went to discuss with District Manager and was told by a

claims manager: "We are not responsible. These were taxes you your-self

calculated that you owed. But I can offer you a voucher for next year's

tax prep." Yea right! I was pretty peeved. "What do I have to do I

asked. File a BBB complaint, protest in front of the store, and go

online to blog about this awful experience to anyone who will listen?"

To which she said: "Don't forget, we have your personal information like

you and your wife's SSN!"

I have made numerous attempts to contact higher ups. Again I always get

from the customer service department: "We will honor our guarantee."

When I went online and started to blog about this experience I met

hundreds of people who have had this same experience.

I finally found the executive offices and spoke to Anthony who stated

that he would do everything he could. He sent the claim back for a

second look and, right again, it was denied this time with the person

calling me at work. "Mr. Y, your claim is denied and this is final!"

I am planning to sue.

I e-mailed the local BBB and was told I would have to file the complaint

with BBB where the National Headquarters are in Kansas City. When I

tried to do this I was told that I could not file a complaint from out

of state. So what good is the BBB?

One blogger stated that this company "is very bad about denying claims

and feels that they are too big to be touched by an individual. "

This is just another symptom of the cancer that is poor customer

service. It can and does destroy companies. I plan to ensure that this

company shuts their doors in Pensacola by whatever legal and peaceful

means available to me as a consumer.

On Monday at 5:00 P.M. I am planning to shoot a You-tube video of the

store front and tell my story. I plan to have a large group there. I

will show them a "piece of my mind!"

Respectfully,

Daniel