Barbara A. Serridge CPA

Great prices, with a honest very fair lady, she definitely knows what she is doing Very home feeling office

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: After speaking to several other accountants who charge three times as much as this woman, It is evident to me that she has no idea how toprocess a small business returnThe info I gave her is correct and I did not overestimate anythingEvery business expense is legitimate and I did not use her return because the rate she processed the return at is absurdMy small business is solvent and she suggested I get a full time job and do my business on the sideMy business has been active since I don't have any idea where she got from but this is indicative of the fact she has no idea what she is talking about with regards to my small businessI'm appalled that this woman is accusing me of scamming her which is so far from the truth and I feel the reason no one has reported her in the past is because no small business goes to herI'm sure she's wonderful with individuals but so is Turbo Tax.
Regards,
*** ***

Business Response to a ComplaintComplaint ID#:[redacted]Company Name:[redacted] CPACompany Contact:[redacted]Company Phone:[redacted]Company Email:[redacted]Person Who Sent the Complaint:[redacted]Staff Member:[redacted]Response:All of the accusations that the client...

is saying are untrue. I first met the client last summer when she was in the market in finding a new accountant. We discussed her needs and I did not hear from her again until the beginning of March 2015. This complaint is the first time I have heard of any problems with my service. Client claims that she was dissatisfied with the preparation of her tax return. Client attempted to have me take expenses which were not related to her business. All allowable expenses were deducted. IRS guidelines say that only expenses directly related to a business and that are ordinary and necessary can be deducted on a return. Even though the taxpayer is ultimately responsible for the information on the return, the preparer can be subject to a preparer penalty if they knowingly put erroneous information on a tax return. She also wanted me to deduct property taxes which were billed to her but she told me that she did not pay. Client called me and told me that she wanted to pick up a copy of the return and her updated Quickbooks file. Said that she wanted to pay me for my services, but would either file the return herself or go to another accountant who wasn’t so honest. My office is in basement of home, but office is finished and looks and feels professional. I have the office in my home so as to keep my rates reasonable. The condition of my office also has nothing to do with the quality of services rendered. I am registered with the State of NJ. I hold a valid license both as an individual and as a firm. I am listed with the NJ Department of Community Affairs. CPA license [redacted] and Firm License [redacted]. I am also registered with the IRS and have PTIN [redacted]. Client was unaware that she would owe so much on her taxes since 2013 was her initial year of business. Her previous accountant did not inform her of the 15.3% of Social Security taxes that would be due on top of the Federal incomes taxes. She also owes a penalty for underreporting her income to the Health Insurance Marketplace and having to repay the health care credit. She was filing as Married Filing Separately – the highest tax rate filing status. The fee of $260 charged is more than a fair price. She paid her last accountant $350. Part of the engagement was to update her Quickbooks chart of accounts, of which I spent around 2 hours, but only charged $50 for that service. I believe that she is pulling a scam for free services since she had me give her a copy of the un-filed prepared return. Client recently lost her job so I am thinking this is her way of getting out of paying for services performed. The client signed a paper that stated that she wanted to pick up the return without my filing it. Upon her request she was given an updated Quickbooks file and a copy of the return. She never signed my rep letter which would have spelled out the scope of the engagement. I pride myself in giving quality & professional service. I have never had a complaint against me before. I prepare around 400 individual and business returns a year. Client is requesting that I refund her $260 paid to me for the services that I performed. I would have been happy to refund the fee to her had she not asked for a copy of the finished return. There is no proof that she did not take the information that I gave her and prepared her own return with it. If you find in her favor only then will I issue the refund.

Business Response to a Complaint
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Complaint ID#:
[redacted]
Company Name:
[redacted] CPA
Company Contact:
[redacted]
Company Phone:
[redacted]
Company Email:
[redacted]
Person Who Sent the Complaint:
[redacted]
Staff Member:
[redacted]
Response:
All of the accusations that the client is saying are untrue. I first met the client last summer when she was in the market in finding a new accountant. We discussed her needs and I did not hear from her again until the beginning of March 2015. This complaint is the first time I have heard of any problems with my service. Client claims that she was dissatisfied with the preparation of her tax return. Client attempted to have me take expenses which were not related to her business. All allowable expenses were deducted. IRS guidelines say that only expenses directly related to a business and that are ordinary and necessary can be deducted on a return. Even though the taxpayer is ultimately responsible for the information on the return, the preparer can be subject to a preparer penalty if they knowingly put erroneous information on a tax return. She also wanted me to deduct property taxes which were billed to her but she told me that she did not pay. Client called me and told me that she wanted to pick up a copy of the return and her updated Quickbooks file. Said that she wanted to pay me for my services, but would either file the return herself or go to another accountant who wasn’t so honest. My office is in basement of home, but office is finished and looks and feels professional. I have the office in my home so as to keep my rates reasonable. The condition of my office also has nothing to do with the quality of services rendered. I am registered with the State of NJ. I hold a valid license both as an individual and as a firm. I am listed with the NJ Department of Community Affairs. CPA license [redacted] and Firm License [redacted]. I am also registered with the IRS and have PTIN [redacted]. Client was unaware that she would owe so much on her taxes since 2013 was her initial year of business. Her previous accountant did not inform her of the 15.3% of Social Security taxes that would be due on top of the Federal incomes taxes. She also owes a penalty for underreporting her income to the Health Insurance Marketplace and having to repay the health care credit. She was filing as Married Filing Separately – the highest tax rate filing status. The fee of $260 charged is more than a fair price. She paid her last accountant $350. Part of the engagement was to update her Quickbooks chart of accounts, of which I spent around 2 hours, but only charged $50 for that service. I believe that she is pulling a scam for free services since she had me give her a copy of the un-filed prepared return. Client recently lost her job so I am thinking this is her way of getting out of paying for services performed. The client signed a paper that stated that she wanted to pick up the return without my filing it. Upon her request she was given an updated Quickbooks file and a copy of the return. She never signed my rep letter which would have spelled out the scope of the engagement. I pride myself in giving quality & professional service. I have never had a complaint against me before. I prepare around 400 individual and business returns a year. Client is requesting that I refund her $260 paid to me for the services that I performed. I would have been happy to refund the fee to her had she not asked for a copy of the finished return. There is no proof that she did not take the information that I gave her and prepared her own return with it. If you find in her favor only then will I issue the refund.

Great prices, with a honest very fair lady, she definitely knows what she is doing. Very home feeling office.