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Posted by Mark Bole on March 30, 2007, 10:46 pm
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Stuart A. Bronstein wrote:
>> H&R Block is not covered by the legal requirements imposed
>> on attornys and Certified Public Accountants. They are not
>> covered by the code of ethics of the professional
>> organizations of attornys, CPAs or Enrolled Agents. They
>> are not covered by federal circular 230 (which applies to
>> attornys, CPAs and EAs).
> Why not? At least in California tax preparers are required
> to be one of those three.
Well, not exactly, but they must be registered with CTEC
(www.ctec.org).
Excerpt from CTEC Tax Preparer code of conduct: "Must not
fail to return, upon the demand by or on behalf of a
customer, records or other data provided to the tax preparer
by the customer." Another requirement of CTEC is that
preparers must be bonded and must meet minimum annual
certified training requirements.
As has been made abundantly clear, the OP in this case
stated only that "[they] make it sound like" they are
holding documents hostage, what that means is open to debate
but surely there is another side to this story, such as
whether the OP even asked for the documents back. Knowing
they are such a big fat target, why would H&R Block
deliberately invite bad publicity over one client's $100 tax
return prep fee?
I wonder how many CPA's outside of California meet the same
quality requirements as ordinary H&R Block tax pros within
California (some of whom in fact are EA's or CPA's). I also
know from first-hand experience that in some cases, being an
EA means only that one was able to pass a test at one time,
and does not necessarily indicate any high degree of skill
whatsoever at preparing individual tax returns.
-Mark Bole
<< ======================================================= >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. >>
<< ======================================================= >>
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Posted by Harlan Lunsford on March 28, 2007, 5:34 pm
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composty@gmail.com wrote:
> I had recently been to HR Block for tax filing purposes, but
> I am absolutely dissatisfied with my experience - the tax
> prep professional lacked knowledge and I dont think I should
> have to pay for the service.
>
> I know they make you sign some service agreement clause etc,
> in the beginning, and right now, even though I have not
> filed the tax papers and not had to pay yet, they still
> retain my W-2 forms and make it sound like unless I pay, the
> papers are going to stay with them. Is this really the way
> it supposed to be or are they cheating the system?
>
> Has anyone else been in such a situation and gotten out of
> it easily?
Being on this side of the fence I can also understand how
you feel, but also how we feel.
When we sit down with you and take time to figure up your
tax returns, we do deserve a decent wage for our time. I
think, or hope, you would agree with that.
HOWEVER..... IRS rules say that all of a client's papers
(including your W2 forms, etc_ belong to you, and therefore
you are entitled to them at any rate.
So go back, talk with the manager, tell him this, offer to
pay maybe some percentage of the bill; say, 30% for
preparer's time and demand your papers.
And remember there is always the Better Business Bureau to
whom to make a case.
ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA
<< ======================================================= >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. >>
<< ======================================================= >>
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Posted by Benjamin Yazersky CPA on March 28, 2007, 5:34 pm
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> I had recently been to HR Block for tax filing purposes, but
> I am absolutely dissatisfied with my experience - the tax
> prep professional lacked knowledge and I dont think I should
> have to pay for the service.
>
> I know they make you sign some service agreement clause etc,
> in the beginning, and right now, even though I have not
> filed the tax papers and not had to pay yet, they still
> retain my W-2 forms and make it sound like unless I pay, the
> papers are going to stay with them. Is this really the way
> it supposed to be or are they cheating the system?
>
> Has anyone else been in such a situation and gotten out of
> it easily?
most states require the tax preparer to return original tax
documents regardless of payment
having said that, I know nothing of the particulars in the
H&R Block agreement form
___________________________________
<<< Benjamin Yazersky, CPA [NJ & NY] >>>
-----> real address on hobokeni or hobokenx <-----
<< ======================================================= >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. >>
<< ======================================================= >>
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Posted by John D. Goulden on March 30, 2007, 4:15 am
Please log in for more thread options > I had recently been to HR Block for tax filing purposes, but
> I am absolutely dissatisfied with my experience - the tax
> prep professional lacked knowledge and I dont think I should
> have to pay for the service.
>
> I know they make you sign some service agreement clause etc,
> in the beginning, and right now, even though I have not
> filed the tax papers and not had to pay yet, they still
> retain my W-2 forms and make it sound like unless I pay, the
> papers are going to stay with them.
H&R Block's policy is pretty clear: if the client isn't
satisfied, they get their paperwork back (but not the work
that HRB did for them) and pay nothing. I gather from your
post that your return was not completed and HRB has neither
efiled it or provided a paper copy to file yourself. If the
HRB office is holding your paperwork hostage and the office
manager won't return it, contact their district office; I
imagine the district manager will straighten them out PDQ.
I'm curious as to what was so unusual about your tax
situation that HRB couldn't satisfy you.
--
John D. Goulden
<< ======================================================= >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. >>
<< ======================================================= >>
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Posted by Bill Brown on March 30, 2007, 10:46 pm
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>> H&R Block is not covered by the legal requirements imposed
>> on attornys and Certified Public Accountants. They are not
>> covered by the code of ethics of the professional
>> organizations of attornys, CPAs or Enrolled Agents. They
>> are not covered by federal circular 230 (which applies to
>> attornys, CPAs and EAs).
> Why not? At least in California tax preparers are required
> to be one of those three.
California is an exception. Most states have no such
requirement.
Does that mean everyone working on tax prep for HRB in
California is an attorney, CPA or EA or just one of those
per storefront?
<< ======================================================= >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. >>
<< ======================================================= >>
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