IN ADDITION, IT IS PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO REACH A SUPERVISOR OR MANAGER THERE. WHEN I CALLED THE TELEPHONE NUMBER ON A LETTER MAILED TO ME FROM H&R BLOCK, NOT ONLY WAS THERE NO ANSWER BUT THERE WAS ALSO NO VOICE MAIL OR EVEN A RECORDED GREETING! WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO USE ONLINE CUSTOMER SUPPORT ON THEIR MAIN WEB PAGE, IT WAS NOT FUNCTIONAL. THIS PLACE IS A JOKE.

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Filed on : September 26 2008

Filed by :
MANSELL

Filed against :
H & R Block
1200 Cooper Point Rd SW Ste 312
Olympia WA 98502-7202

Complaint Description:
I completed my tax return on my own and attempted to file it electronically (this is FREE at my income level). When my return was rejected by the IRS based on a problem with one of the EIN numbers on my W2s, the IRS told me to file by mail. I was on my way into the post office to do so when I saw the H&R block office. I walked in with my already completed tax return and all of my W2s. I explained that I was about to file by mail but would rather file electronically and wondered if they could fix the problem. They said yes and put my income and demographic information into the computer. My tax return was straight forward. Later they called me and said electronic filing had been rejected and asked for my employer contact information to confirm the correct EIN. I gave them this information, and I never heard anything else. After a week or so I went into the office in person inquiring about my return. The lady behind the counter was unable to locate my physical file. She looked me up on a computer and told me the IRS HAD ACCEPTED my electronic return. She said to check back in 8 days. When I checked my postal box, there was a letter from H&R Block stating that my electronic refund had been rejected. I went back to H&R Block and the same lady told me to disregard the letter. I asked her to check into this and locate my file, as the filing deadline was approaching. There was a telephone number on the letter I received, but when I called it there was NO ANSWER, EVER!!! The letter instructed me to call a number at which there was no answer! In 8 days I did so and spoke to a gentleman, who looked me up on the computer and also said that my return had been accepted. By now I had contacted the IRS, who had no record of my tax return. The man at H&R block stalled for a day or two, then said he was resubmitting my return and to call back in 24-48 hours. He also COULD NOT locate my file, and the man who had filed my tax return was out for 8 weeks! In addition, the office was only open two days a week, and no one could resolve issues on other days. When I did call back, I reached a woman again. She again could not find my file but said she would “look for it” (why hadn’t they found it by now?) and told me to file my tax return by mail WITHOUT my W2s! I then started talking to a regional office. I got nowhere. They eventually routed me back to the same office I was having problems with. The “manager” there said she’d never heard of my problem, while the regional office left me a voicemail saying the local manager remembered my problem. All they could do is explain to me that my electronic return was rejected by the IRS due to a problem with an EIN. No duh, I knew this from day one! The problem is, why did it take them 3 weeks to get their crap together enough to agree to file a paper return (mail in)? And why hadn’t they notified me the moment my return was rejected? And why had they lost my file? And why had it taken this long to even get someone to talk to me? Had I mailed my return in that day I would have been set by now. I agreed to pay their fee to file ELECTRONICALLY, not to have them misinform me, stall, delay, and lose my tax file and W2s! Now, four weeks later, the tax filing deadline is coming up and they want $170 from me to give me my W2s back. I am not going to pay for a service I did not receive. I have never dealt with such incompetence in my life. No one takes responsibility there. No one offers to resolve anything. I want my W2s back immediately and I will file by mail like I was going to do the day I walked into their office. I already have my tax return prepared, I’d already prepared it before I walked into their office. Now they are holding my W2s hostage. I refuse to pay them a dime and I want my W2s back. I will NEVER use them and will never recommend that ANYONE use them.

Your Desired Resolution:
No charges. An apology. My W2s and entire file returned to me immediately. Some sort of compensation for my time, hassle, and expenses dealing with their incompetence.

This case will be reviewed by a complaint specialist at the Better Business Bureau, and then forwarded to the business for their response. It is our policy to allow the business 10 working days to respond to your complaint. You will be notified when the business has responded.

As an H&R Block client, you have the benefit of being protected by the H&R Block Guarantee, which includes free Audit Assistance. You are entitled to sit down with an H&R Block tax professional that can review the MA state notice, decipher the tax jargon, and explain why the DOR is questioning your return. They will also assist with crafting a response back to the taxing authority. The tax professional will also explain any next steps, or what you can expect.

If you have any questions regarding the difference in your actual refund from what you expected, please contact the H&R Block office where your 2006 tax return was completed to have your returns (federal and state) reviewed. While many of our offices shut down over the summer, the phone number to the office you used should still be active. It will either automatically route your call to a year-round office, or provide recorded instructions regarding how to reach one.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any follow-up questions.

Thanks,

Gary Lundberg
gary.lundberg@hrblock.com

Thank you for your feedback, and I sincerely apologize for the delay you’ve encountered when attempting to file your South Carolina state return with Tango. We make every effort possible to have all tax states covered initially, but sometimes it doesn’t happen on our anticipated timeline. Without boring you with too much detail, there’s a lengthy process involved in getting the forms and format of the data submitted through Tango approved by each individual state’s Department of Revenue. Read as “red tape.” As tough as it is dealing with just the IRS, multiply that times 43 (the actual number of states with income tax). While I’m not trying to make excuses, this is perhaps a tiny window into our challenge. We are grateful for your patience and willingness to stick it out, and I have been assured that support for filing your South Carolina state return will be effective in Tango by the end of next week. Again, I’m sorry you’ve been on the receiving end of this delay, but we are doing everything within our power to expedite Tango’s support of filing in all states with an income tax.

Thanks,

Gary Lundberg
gary.lundberg@hrblock.com

I jumped in & did Tango on February 25th and while I liked the interface my South Carolina state return is still not available and it is March 19th! They keep moving the available date out, now it is saying March 21st, but April 15th is fast approaching. If I had known this I probably would not have went w/Tango. I think all the state forms should be in place at the start of tax season.

Joel S.

Thanks for allowing me this opportunity to address your questions! I welcome any more questions or feedback.

Gary Lundberg
gary.lundberg@hrblock.com