Keystone Collections Group

KCG are THIEVES! They did a wage garnishment Levy on my work check stating that I owe over $2200 for 2013, 2014, and 2015, I sent the W2's for 2013 and 2014 and for 2015 I send a payout records sheet from my job and they refused to accept it when it clearly stated that I paid $1649 in local taxes to Philadelphia. I had to file a complaint with the BBB in order for the paperwork to be accepted. The closed my account seeing that money is not owed, but they are still taking money from my wages. They never sent a letter to my job to stop the Levy. I called them everyday and was advised that the letter has to be requested for the Levy to stop. Why do a letter need to be requested if I do not owe any taxes. The letter should have been automatically generated They constantly tell me that they never received any money from my job when my job sent me a proof of the cashed checks that was mailed out. I will be suing KCG for them still taking my money and refusing to send a letter to have the payments stop when I do not owe them. I am not able to pay my bills because they keep taking my money and they keep saying whenever a payment comes in we will reimburse you. That can take months because if they never stopped the Levy, they can take the whole $2200.00 that they are stating that I owe. I need my money NOW! I will be contacting a lawyer today.

For two years, Keystone Collection Groups has stated that we owe 2017 earned income tax when we did not live the in Swatara township that year. Twice, we provided them documentation showing when we purchased our Swatara house (in 2018), and our prior address. They have no absolutely NO PROOF, because there is none, that we lived in Swatara township in 2017. Yet they persist in hounding us, saying we owe them 2017 EIT taxes, because our prior borough did not collect them and we paid PA state taxes. They should not have the authority to waste my time, and threaten to ruin my credit, based solely and exclusively on the absence of us paying an EIT tax to another township in 2017. Our prior address DID NOT HAVE EIT. They have no record, evidence, nothing that suggests we lived in Swatara township. It is ridiculous harassment. The burden should be theirs to show they have proof we lived in the township and owe them money. The burden should not fall on the taxpayer to prove a negative.

In my opinion, they are not trustworthy. They have sent tax invoices after the due dates so that they can charge late fees in hopes people will assume they forgot to pay or inadvertently threw out the mail. However, it has happened to me more than once and I know for a fact I did not receive an invoice until it was past due. When I inquired about it, they blame it on the post office. Very shady business practice in my opinion.

I finally received my $back and just today received my confirmation that I am fully cleared

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below The letter from the Keystone Group once again did not address the issue that we NEVER got a original invoice for the Per Capita and Occupational tax The letter states that they have record the invoice was mailed, however they no factual record besides the fact the information was mailed to our address Please see all attachments which have already been sent to the Keystone Group via mail We have also paid our per capita and occupational original tax invoices and have record of Keystone accepting and cashing checks for these payments Regards, [redacted] ***

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.? If you wish, you may update it before sending it.] Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meThe refund finally came through a few days ago Regards, [redacted] ***

[redacted] Revdex.com of Western PA [redacted] ***RE: Complaint ID# [redacted] Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your letter regarding the above-referenced complaint ID numberKeystone Collections Group appreciates the opportunity provided by the Revdex.com to resolve the concerns of taxpayers.In the instant case, the taxpayer contacted Keystone regarding their local earned income tax return and paymentThe taxpayer submitted their annual return and payment by certified mail in early AprilThe taxpayer then contacted Keystone to raise concerns about why their return and payment were not yet processed.A customer service representative exchanged phone calls with the taxpayer, explaining the delay and the large amount of refunds Keystone processes each AprilThe customer service representative also told the taxpayer that they would monitor their account and contact them when the payment was processed.My office then received the above-referenced complaintAfter receiving the complaint, I confirmed this information, with the customer service representative who continued to monitor the taxpayer’s accountWhen their return was processed, on May 29, 2015, the customer service representative notified the taxpayerAccordingly, my office considers this matter resolved.It is important to know that Keystone has expressed strong concern over the Revdex.com’s decision to publish these responses on the internetKeystone is concerned about the confidential nature of taxpayer information, and our obligation to maintain a strict standard of confidentiality with regard to taxpayer detailDue to the confidential nature of tax information, Keystone responds to the taxpayer directly, with detail information (generally confidential in status) and provides an overview of the response to the Revdex.com (with no confidential detail)We appreciate your offer to remove or redact confidential information from responses, but PA law binds a tax officer to safeguard taxpayer information, and Keystone must therefore take the prudent steps necessary to eliminate the possibility that the Revdex.com inadvertently releases confidential taxpayer information to the public on its internet publication.While tax collection can be quite a challenging responsibility due to the enforcement of its oftentimes unpopular monetary and regulatory impacts, Keystone takes great effort to satisfy consumer fairness while serving the needs of government.Historically, Keystone has responded to every issue raised by taxpayers in an attempt to resolve reasonable concerns put forward via the Revdex.comIn the future, despite not responding to the Revdex.com with taxpayer details (due to the publication concerns), Keystone will continue to address all taxpayer concerns in a timely and professional manner and keep the Revdex.com apprised of that progress.Thank you for your attention to this matter.Very truly yours,KEYSTONE COLLECTIONS GROUP [redacted] , Esquire

February 12, [redacted] Revdex.com of Western PA [redacted] ***RE: Complaint ID# [redacted] Dear [redacted] Thank you for your letter regarding the above-referenced complaint ID numberKeystone Collections Group appreciates the opportunity provided by the Revdex.com to resolve the concerns of taxpayersAs you are awareKeystone expressed strong concern over the Revdex.com’s decision to publish Keystone responses on the internet despite the confidential nature of taxpayer information, and Keystone’s obligation to maintain strict standard of confidentiality with regard to taxpayer detailDue to the confidential nature of tax information, Keystone will both respond to the taxpayer directly, with detail information (generally confidential in status) and provide an overview of the response to the Revdex.com (with no confidential detail)We appreciate your offer to remove or redact confidential information from responses, but PA law binds tax officer to safeguard taxpayer information, and Keystone must therefore take the prudent steps necessary to eliminate the possibility that the Revdex.com inadvertently releases confidential taxpayer information to the public on its internet publicationOn July 1, 2014, [redacted] ***, president of the Revdex.com of Western Pennsylvania, informed Keystone that the Revdex.com will consider a response directly to the taxpayer “as unanswered which results in dropping your [Keystone’s] Revdex.com rating” Despite Keystone’s request that the Revdex.com not publish tax-related responses, the Revdex.com has placed Keystone in a position where it is to be punished for meeting its statutorily obligated duties of protecting confidential taxpayer informationKeystone must nonetheless focus its concern in protecting confidential taxpayer information rather than with the Revdex.com’s ratingSuch concern for the protection of confidential taxpayer information should be applauded, not punished by the Revdex.com by threatening to reduce Keystone’s “rating”.While tax collection can be quite a challenging responsibility due to the enforcement of its oftentimes unpopular monetary and regulatory impacts, Keystone takes great effort to satisfy consumer fairness while serving the needs of government.Historically, Keystone has responded to every issue raised by taxpayers in an attempt to resolve reasonable concerns put forward via the Revdex.comIn the future, despite not responding to the Revdex.com with taxpayer details (due to the publication concerns), Keystone will continue to address all taxpayer concerns in a timely and professional manner and keep the Revdex.com apprised of that progress.In the instant case, as of the date of this letterKeystone has contacted the taxpayer of the above-referenced ID number directly in an attempt to resolve this matter.I have thoroughly reviewed the taxpayer's account and discovered that the taxpayer incorrectly reported their gross compensation on their local earned income taxAccordingly, the taxpayer believed they were due a refund when in fact they did not report then-gross income as reflected on the W-submitted to my officeThe taxpayer incorrectly attempted to deduct payments made to a Health Savings AccountHowever, such deductions are not permitted at the local level and therefore their contribution was subject to local earned income tax.When processing the taxpayer’s local earned income tax return, my office identified this discrepancyThe taxpayer then contacted my office and was informed that they were not due a refund but actually underpaid their local earned income taxMy office has consistently relayed this information to the taxpayer.Accordingly, my office has again contacted the taxpayer and is working to resolve this matter and satisfy their local earned income tax account.Very truly yours,KEYSTONE COLLECTIONS GROUPBy: [redacted]

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.The response letter I received from Keystones Collection Group which is attached does not at all address the major issue throughout this process The major issue is that my wife and I NEVER RECEIVED a copy of the original tax bill Therefore, we had no information as to what was owed and what the time frame for payment was At this time we have sent a letter directly to Keystones Collection Group with payment for our original tax dues This should resolve our payment that the collections agency is attempting to collect at this time Regards, [redacted] ***

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.1) The contents of the letter written by KEYSTONE to Revdex.com is different than the contents of the letter written by KEYSTONE to me; 2) After consulting with two tax experts, I have determined that the contents of both letters are invalid; 3) I am currently working with a tax attorney to submit my own response to KEYSTONE Regards, [redacted]

[redacted] Revdex.com of Western PA [redacted] ***RE: Complaint ID# [redacted] Dear [redacted] :Thank you for your additional letter regarding the above-referenced complaint ID numberKeystone Collections Group appreciates the opportunity provided by the Revdex.com to resolve the concerns of taxpayers.Previously, Keystone received this complaint and contacted the taxpayerAfter ensuring that the taxpayer submitted all their required documents and an amended local tax return, my office was able to issue a refundThat refund was issued to the taxpayer on July 22, Accordingly, my office considers this matter resolved.Currently, Keystone is awaiting receipt of the taxpayer’s amended local earned income tax returnKeystone will continue to work with this taxpayer to ensure that their amended local earned income tax return is timely processed and any refund is issued promptly.It is important to know that Keystone has expressed strong concern over the Revdex.com’s decision to publish these responses on the internetKeystone is concerned about the confidential nature of taxpayer information, and our obligation to maintain a strict standard of confidentiality with regard to taxpayer detailDue to the confidential nature of tax information, Keystone responds to the taxpayer directly, with detail information (generally confidential in status) 'and provides an overview of the response to the Revdex.com (with no confidential detail)We appreciate your offer to remove or redact confidential information from responses, but PA law binds a tax officer to safeguard taxpayer information, and Keystone must therefore take the prudent steps necessary to eliminate the possibility that the Revdex.com inadvertently releases confidential taxpayer information to the public on its internet publication.While tax collection can be quite a challenging responsibility due to the enforcement of its oftentimes unpopular monetary and regulatory impacts, Keystone takes great effort to satisfy consumer fairness while serving the needs of government.Historically, Keystone has responded to every issue raised by taxpayers in an attempt to resolve reasonable concerns put forward via the Revdex.comIn the future, despite not responding to the Revdex.com with taxpayer details (due to the publication concerns), Keystone will continue to address all taxpayer concerns in a timely and professional manner and keep the Revdex.com apprised of that progress.Thank you for your attention to this matter.Very truly yours,KEYSTONE COLLECTIONS GROUPBy:Cody JH [redacted] , Esquire [redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered] ? Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I already, Filed and took serious Legal action with office? the disciplinary of the Supreme Court Pennsylvania , office? the Counsel Intake Complaint # [redacted] , Since office the attorney at law : [redacted] and by Michael M [redacted] All Of them on date January 20, Committed Fraud and Claim by Askingme for Amount US.$doesn’t belongs to me , their bill for a different man with different address, Their bill belongs amanLives At : [redacted] ***, west Palm Beach Fl ***This address doesn’t belongs to me and I never been there , that means KEYSTONE, careless and unprofessional either attorney’s or collection agency,I advise them to stay a way from? me, and I am not interested to receive any correspondence from their office, I am planning to file large Law suite against:Governor Pennsylvania and city ? and state officials? Mayor and city council and Chief Police City Of McKeesport PA***Pennsylvania Comunwalth office? Keystone Collection group? 5.office L [redacted] Michael M [redacted] ? 7.Allegheny County mayor and city Council and Employees Regards, [redacted] PsDocuments support will be send by email?

April 10, 2018Dear [redacted] ***:Thank you for your follletter regarding the above-referenced complaint ID number.In response to my of?ce’s correspondence addressing the concerns outlined in his complaint the? complainant rejected my of?ce’s response because he believes Keystone has not addressed the? basis of his complaintFurther, the complainant claimed that all supporting documentation has? been sent to my of?ce.As a preliminary matter, please be advised that my of?ce has received the complainant’s? documentationPlease know that I thoroughly reviewed the documentation supplied by the? complainant.By separate correspondence, sent today via U.Smail to the complainant, I explained in? detail the numerous discrepancies associated with his documentationI reiterated that the? complainant did not meet his statutory requirement of ?ling a local earned income tax return and outlined the reason for the outstanding tax liability, which the complainant acknowledges a portion? of.Please know that while the complainant provided my of?ce with a copy of his Amended? PA-personal income tax return, dated March 21, 2018, his other earnings information does not? support the taxable income ?gure he claimed in the amended returnI explained to the complainant? that the Department of Revenue may or may not accept his income adjustmentFurthermore, thecomplainant failed to complete the Schedule PA-40X or provide a Description or Explanation of? Changes evidencing his income adjustment.Accordingly, the previous balance remains due and owingI appreciate the opportunity? provided by the Revdex.com to resolve the concerns of taxpayers and improve our processes.Thank you for your attention to this matter.Very truly yours,KEYSTONE COLLECTIONS GROUPMichael MEsquire

Thank you for your follletter regarding the above-referenced complaint ID numberPreviously, my office responded to the complainant’s dispute of the delinquent real estate tax notice he received from Keystone Collections Group (“Keystone”) seeking outstanding real estate taxes due on his propertyIn rejecting my office’s response, the complainant averred that the property is condemned and/or boarded upThe complainant further provided pictures of the property and a tax receipt dated July 4, 2017, from [redacted] , Allegheny County Treasurer, purporting to evidence that the taxes were previously paidFurthermore, the complainant continues to allege the Keystone commits “fraud and discrimination”As stated previously, Keystone has been retained by the City of McKeesport and McKeesport Area School District to collect delinquent real estate taxesPlease know that Pennsylvania real estate taxes are separately assessed by county, municipality and school districtAccordingly, the tax receipt from [redacted] , who serves as the Treasurer of Allegheny County, evidences payment of Allegheny County real estate taxes on the complainant’s property, not City of McKeesport and McKeesport Area School District taxes, which remain outstandingThe fact that real estate taxes are separately assessed by county, municipality and school district has been communicated to the complainant several times by separate correspondencePlease be advised that the complainant has not remitted City of McKeesport or McKeesport Area School District real estate taxes in compliance with the law for any tax year since taking ownership of the subject property in In fact, Keystone has never received a real estate tax payment from the complainant Moreover, my office does not dispute the condition of the subject propertyAs stated previously, it does not matter if a property owner resides in the subject property, or even if the property is uninhabitableThe simple fact of ownership gives rise to a real estate tax obligationAs the complainant is the record title owner of the subject property, a fact which he does not dispute, the imposition of real estate taxes is in accordance with Pennsylvania law and is in no way discriminatory or unjustI appreciate the opportunity provided by the Revdex.com to resolve the concerns of taxpayers and improve our processesVery truly yours, KEYSTONE COLLECTIONS GROUP By: Michael M [redacted] , Esquire

Thank you for contacting Keystone Collections Group (“Keystone”) regarding this complaint ID numberIn their complaint the complainant advised that he attempted to submit a question on Keystone’s website and that “the form is not able to be submitted regardless of information provided”Please know that I have reviewed the taxpayer’s concerns and reviewed Keystone’s websiteTo better address taxpayer questions and concerns, Keystone offers taxpayers the ability to submit an online inquiry through our websiteWhen a taxpayer submits and inquiry, the inquiry is sent to and stored in a database, called Keystone Issue Tracker (“KIT”)The KIT system allows Keystone representatives to correspond with and address taxpayer questions via emailTaxpayers may submit online inquiries at www.keystonecollects.com/contactus/contactus Please know that per my review of the system, there are no issues preventing taxpayers from submitting inquiriesI personally submitted a test inquiry and had no issuesFurther, I have checked with Keystone’s IT Department and can confirm that no system outages have occurred recentlyMoreover, the “contact us” link works with all the major internet service providersPlease know, however, that individuals who wish to submit an inquiry must fill in all required fields in order to submit an inquiryFinally, taxpayers can also contact Keystone representatives by telephoneAccordingly, per my examination, there are no system issues on Keystone’s part that would prevent the complainant from submitting an online inquiryI would suggest the complainant attempt to submit another inquiry and be sure to fill in all required fieldsI appreciate the opportunity provided by the Revdex.com to resolve the concerns of taxpayers and improve our processesThank you for your attention to this matterVery truly yours, KEYSTONE COLLECTIONS GROUP By:Michael M [redacted] , Esquire

Thank you for contacting Keystone Collections Group (“Keystone”) regarding this complaint ID numberIn their complaint the complainant advised that he electronically filed his local earned income tax return utilizing Keystone’s e-file system on December 24, seeking a refundSince he did not receive his refund in the timeframe he anticipated, the complainant filed the above-referenced complaint Please know that I have thoroughly reviewed the complainant’s accountPlease be advised that due to the high volume of local earned income tax return filings Keystone receives, it can take up to sixty (60) days for refunds to be processedNevertheless, per my review of the complainant’s account, his refund was issued and sent to him on or about February 2, Accordingly, my office considers this matter resolvedI appreciate the opportunity provided by the Revdex.com to resolve the concerns of taxpayers and improve our processesThank you for your attention to this matter.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Very truly yours, KEYSTONE COLLECTIONS GROUP? By: [redacted] , Esquire? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered] ? Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: Keystone collection group representatives needs to learn how to correctly scan and upload a professional document for all parties involved Regards, [redacted]

Thank you for your letter regarding the above-referenced complaint ID numberIn their complaint the taxpayer stated that she received letters from Keystone Collections Group (“Keystone”) seeking delinquent taxes at family members’ addresses a?er previously working with Keystone to
reconcile these issuesPlease know that in response I thoroughly reviewed the taxpayer’s account.As a preliminary matter, by separate correspondence in October of 2017, I advised the taxpayer of several issues related to her local earned income taxes and per capita taxesIn response, the taxpayer properly remitted payment.However, while my office was in the process of discussing these matters with the taxpayer, a delinquent per capita tax notice was returned from her prior address as “unable to forward” (“UTF"‘)I advised the taxpayer that when mail is returned from the post office UTF, Keystone utilities a people ?nding database to locate potential addresses for taxpayersThis database accordingly supplied Keystone with additional addresses to which the taxpayer was associatedIn the interim, however, the taxpayer had satis?ed her per capita tax liability.Moreover, I advised the taxpayer that Keystone’s automated computer system updates taxpayer addresses based on information included with employer earned income tax payments. Accordingly, one of the taxpayer’s employers regularly submits payments on her behalf including her prior address as her resident addressI advised the taxpayer to‘notify her employers and/or third-party payroll provider to update her address to ensure they remit earned income tax payments on her behalf with the correct address in the futureI provided the taxpayer with a “Certificate of Residency” Form to file with her employer to ensure correct withholding and remittance based on her updated address.Nevertheless, as the taxpayer satisfied her per capita tax obligation previously, my office considers this matter resolvedI appreciate the opportunity provided by the Revdex.com to resolve the concerns of taxpayers and improve our processes. Thank you for attention to this matter. Very truly yours,KEYSTONE COLLECTIONS GROUPBy: Michael M***, Esquire

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and after speaking to a woman named *** (phone ext #***) with Keystone she informed me that a refund will be issuedAs of today's date, April 13, I have yet to receive the refund, but I also understand that there has not been enough time elapsed since my phone call with *** on April 7, @10:40AM and the amount of time it would take to receive this refund by mailI do, however, accept their response and expect to receive my refund in a timely manner according to their promises mentioned in their response on this complaint
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I recieved a call on Tuesday 7-14-advising that an amended tax return is needed -- even though I mailed one originally in April 2015, I faxed a copy over on 7-14-I have called twice since then to see if this return has been received by the office and I have not heard anything back yet -- I called on 7-16-and 7-21-and left messages and have not heard anything back yet at all.
Regards,
*** ***