H & R Block Complaint - Do it Yourself - Tax Preparation

Posted by justthefaxx on 2009-09-19:

Now you know why H&R Block, and Liberty Tax Service become millionaires during tax times. It's because most people are too lazy to do it themselves.

Posted by laklisa on 2009-09-19:

I wouldn't say that people are lazy jtf-it's actually confusing. However I do it myself anyway because I am cheap and don't want to pay someone to do so!

Posted by LadyScot on 2009-09-19:

Yes, and they don't work for free. They charge by the form. Simple forms are cheap. Complicated forms are not. Doing it yourself is good if you know what you are doing. However, if you make a mistake, YOU are responsible. If THEY make a mistake, they are. How much did you pay for the software?

And, you let them do your taxes, didn't like the bill, so you refused to allow them to file and pay what you owe? How many hours do you think it took them to do it?

Posted by karleebarlee on 2009-09-19:

it wouldn't have cost so much if you hadn't done your taxes in THREE YEARS.

Posted by sherdy on 2009-09-19:

Three years? Three years of taxes to be filed? HR Block is a big rip off, however. I use an online tax datebase which takes about an hour to use for both state and federal. It costs me $16 to use the system, but then again, being the responsible person I am, I do them every year. How do people not file their taxes every year? I don't understand how that is possible.

Posted by LadyScot on 2009-09-19:

H&R Block is no more costly than a regular accountant. The fact is the OP did not want to pay for the work he/she had done.

Posted by madconsumer on 2009-09-19:

if you owe 3 years worth of returns. expect no dollars to be sent back to you. after pemaslties and fees, you will owe for the next couple years.

Posted by clutzycook on 2009-09-19:

Yeah, I've never understood what motivates people to not file their taxes for years and years. The IRS was only sending you threatening letters? Just be glad that they weren't sending you men in suits to haul you to jail.

Posted by sherdy on 2009-09-19:

Lady, I respectfully disagree. The ex and I had our taxes done one time at HRB, and the bill was $128. A private tax accountant did them the year after, and she charged us $60. The two years were very similar in regard to the numbers, deductions, etc. In my experience, I think we got ripped off.

Posted by nstigator39 on 2009-09-19:

I agree that H&R Block is pricey. However I can see why the preparer could not give this person a price for doing three years of taxes without actually seeing what they had to do. That would be stupid. Block had nothing to do with the fact that this person had not filed for three years. Unless they have a refund coming from those years then they are going to be paying interest and penalites up the wazoo. If they have a refund coming, then it is no big deal. Uncle Sam does not mind holding onto someone elses money, interest free, just because they are too lazy to file the forms to get the refund. I do agree that doing it yourself is the most cost efficient way to go and with the software available, its so easy, even a caveman could do it. No wait thats another company.

Posted by LadyScot on 2009-09-19:

Sherdy, don't forget that a private accountant has 1-2 employees to pay, where HR has thousands. :)

I don't mind paying the fees, since their guarantee saved me a couple hundred in penalties when they made a booboo. Had it been my error, I would have had to pay. I pay for piece of mind. :)

Posted by sherdy on 2009-09-20:

No, the private account was just her. The online program I use now, TaxAct.com, asks every question about every deduction possible. It takes into account, too, that I am a teacher and runs me through deductions for that. I pay $16 for state and federal and I get more back than I ever have. The accountant wasn't giving me all of my allowable deductions and neither did HRB. In regard to the OP, it probably should have been pricey. They had a mess to untangle, which is time consuming.

Posted by madconsumer on 2009-09-20:

i use taxact aswell. great program.

Posted by raven2002 on 2009-09-20:

I LOVE TaxAct. I have used it for years with no issues.

Posted by clutzycook on 2009-09-20:

I've used turbo tax for the last several years. I haven't had any problems with it other than the fact that It's only a little cheaper than H&R block. Maybe I'll use TaxAct next year...

Posted by LadyScot on 2009-09-20:

Sherdy, then your accountants costs are less than H&R Blocks. hence the lower price.