Optima Tax Relief LLC

I went to them for help. Before they would do anything, they need 900.00. I paid the money. This was phase one. Three month later, they told that to start phase two, they needed 8000.00, I told them did not have it. So the want to do a payment plan of 1440.00 down payment and 500.00 a month. I told them I did not have the money and to give me 30 days. Before the 30 days was up, I told them that I did not have the down payment and did not know what to do. On the 30th day, they drafted my bank account for the $1440.00.
And they will not return it. I ask them, if I told you I did not have the down payment, why did you draft my account., They have offer to give me back 1000.00. When they drafted my account, it was overdrawn for over ten day. The overdrawn late fees from my bank put me deeper in the hole. They are worst than the IRS, they take your money and do not care if they hurt your finances. The reason I went with them was to help. If I had that type of money, I could pay the IRS. Beware

I found Optima Tax to a very refreshing business. They do what they say with no hidden costs. They are up front with you every step of the way. They took a lot of stress out of my life dealing with the IRS. I would recommend them to anyone needed their help.
Kevin [redacted]

SUMMARY - Optima Tax's management is attempting to make contact with the client to address their concerns as outlined in the complaint.   RESPONSE - Optima Tax’s management will be in contact with the client so we may address his allegations outlined in the complaint. As the client stated,...

Optima Tax resolved his case about a year ago. When presenting the client with the end result of the resolution we successfully negotiated, we informed him that the agreement established will help pay off a portion of the balance while saving him money over time. The agreement in place did not require any documentation and it was explained to the client that as long as the client continued to pay the amount we negotiated without any future outstanding balances, he stood to save a considerable amount of money.   As we reviewed the closing call from August 2015, the client was extremely grateful for the resolution we achieved. He had a clear understanding to our strategy and after we closed his case he did not make any attempts to contact Optima Tax to address his concerns. It’s unfortunate that he did not take the time to contact us however; we are confident that we will come to a mutual resolve.

We have been diligently trying to work with the client to address their concerns and more importantly, resolve their case. However, there are a few issues that are preventing Optima Tax Relief from finalizing their case. Therefore, Optima Tax is awaiting the client’s response to the actions that we have presented in order to move forward with their case.     Unfortunately, the co-client and the client have separated which has created additional issues with resolving their case. Additionally, we were just informed that the client’s financial circumstances have significantly changed. Thus, if they have the ability to provide substantiation of this change in financial situation, we have other options we can attempt to pursue and resolve their IRS liability. Those options have been presented to the client and we are waiting to hear if they want to take advantage of those options.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[i attempted to call and emailed Mr [redacted] Friday Oct 16th around 3pm and am awaiting his return call and/or email. I had been corresponding with [redacted] about the matter when he last said he was going to his "board" and would get back to me, from which I didn't get a response from anyone until after my Revdex.com complaint. When we had come to an agreement to return 250$ of my 1000$ paid it was never mentioned to me that I must sign a contract prohibiting me from portraying my opinion of Optima in a negative light. I feel if I am going to have to pay for services that I didn't need and gave me no return value for my money, even when I was very explicit what I my main intent was in commisioning their services, then I want to inform other potential clients what may occur if they find themselves in a similar situation. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
We sought representation because we firmly believed Optima is honest,honorable and willing to help. It is impossible to totally resolve IRS audit but to somehow ease the suffering and pain how IRS deal with clients like us. Now Optima is firing back the disclosure requiring  a “yes” before moving forward. Yes, after the lastinstallment payment was collected, for clients like us this is just a point of no return and hoping for the best. Somehow in the process of reviewing  our case and after few documents submitted, they knew by then  they could not help us. Optima should have advised us of this, instead of continuing with our case, prolonging the process which took a year and therefore ended up adding to the penalties and interests.They set up a payment plan for us which we could have done ourselves with the form 433D. Just like our inquiry for our Franchise tax Board, Optima refused to take our case because they know there is no money for them with this one.We took their advise and save $1000 fee. I disagree with the statement that they negotiated  a favorable payment plan claiming it is lower than we declared on the complaint. Again, I remember my words in this matter. "Hey are you on my side of the case this is much higher than the IRS auditor request?" There was a desperate move in our case to avoid lien to our house and penalties as part of the resolutions.  We even forced ourselves to raise money as to renegotiate with IRS and hoped that they could help us. Optima refused and advised us to put the money to our down payment as part of our payment plan.  Optima’s statement indicated that they spent a lot of time and energy in this case, unfortunately  , the IRS unwilling to adjust audit determination.  This result comes out after 12months of waiting just to increase my debt and fees by 26% (Optima fees+interests+penalties) on top of the audit amount by the IRS. Instead  it added  to our frustrations.  We believed we were strongly represented through Optima's CPAs and Tax Lawyers but we never heard from any of them. The times Optima communicated with us was with a generic message left on our phone machine. Needless to say we did our part calling which most of the time unable to talk with the contact person. At this point we stand firm on our request for a refund.
Regards,
[redacted]

SUMMARY - Optima Tax's management has previously communicated with the client in an attempt to address her claims prior to receiving the complaint. However, upon receiving the complaint, Optima Tax has made multiple attempts to contact the client but she has been unresponsive.   RESPONSE -...

Optima Tax’s management has reached out to the client to formally address the claims outlined in their complaint. However, the client has failed to respond to our attempts at communication. In contrast to the client’s claims, Optima Tax Relief was not engaged to prepare her 2010 and 2012 tax returns. However, Optima Tax was preparing the client’s 2011 tax return, which it completed and instructed the client to sign the return and mail it back to us so that it could be sent to the IRS. However, the client never returned the signed tax return in order for Optima Tax to file. In addition, Optima Tax also electronically filed the client’s 2015 tax return and has provided her with confirmation. In regards to the client’s claim about filing her State of New York tax return, Optima also prepared that return and provided the client with the final return with instruction that she must mail it to the taxing authority. Therefore, despite the client’s claim that Optima Tax did not perform a service, it has diligently performed it obligations as specified in the Client Service Agreement.   Finally, as the client stated, she has failed to perform her payment obligations under the Client Service Agreement. As a result, the client has hindered Optima Tax’s ability to continue servicing her file because she went on payment hold. However, Optima Tax has attempted to address the client’s concerns, but the client has refused to return any of Optima’s attempts at communication.   At Optima Tax we strive to uphold the philosophy that "clients come first" and all of our representatives go through rigorous training to assure we abide by that philosophy. Optima Tax believes it has addressed the client's concerns appropriately and considers the matter closed. Please do not hesitate to contact Optima Tax with any questions. Thank you.

Please be advised that we are still in constant communication with the client until we come to a final resolve regarding her concerns. We are pleased that the client remains in communication as it only helps us come to a final conclusion.   Although Optima Tax explores every avenue it can to help reduce our client’s overall tax liability, the IRS has the right to approve or deny such requests. Given the client’s filing history, the IRS would not accept any type of request to remove any penalties the client accrued.   In order to address the client’s assertion that Optima’s actions prevented a tax refund, Optima will provide some important information. Thus, the IRS requires that any return, which requests a refund of money paid, be submitted to the IRS within three years of the original due date for the return. In this case, the client is claiming a refund for tax year 2008, but the client first requested this refund when they filed an amended return in 2012. Therefore, because the request for refund was made more than three years after the original return was required to be filed, the IRS will not issue a refund to the taxpayer.    To claim that Optima Tax did nothing for the fees associated with her case is an inaccurate statement. Not only did Optima Tax resolve her case as outlined in the Client Services and Resolution Addendum, the plan we successfully negotiated also protects the client from any enforcement action that can be taken by the IRS to satisfy the outstanding balance.

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Regards,[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I'm attaching 16 emails exchanged between myself and Optima Tax Relief regarding the fact that my 2014 Tax Return had not been filed yet.  The dates of these emails range from 8/1/15 thru 1/22/16. You will see from these emails that I had difficulty with the E-Signature process in signing the IRS Tax Return Document. The password Optima was giving me did not work.  I finally got it to work one day and completed the process, but did not receive any kind of confirmation.  I sent an email on 8/11 after the last attempt appeared to go through asking if they had received everything they need from me at that point.  The same date 8/11/15 I received an email saying "no I don't believe we need anything else from you at this time'.  At that point I felt that everything was fine with my 2014 Tax Return.  I found out in December 2015 that the return had not been filed yet.  The dead line for filing extensions was in October.  No on from Optima ever contacted me to say there was anything wrong with my signature.  I signed the return manually in December 2015, because that is first time I was aware there had been an issue. I'm going to run out of time on here, so I'm just going to attach all the relevant emails.  I should be very easy to see that Optima dropped the ball on me and twisting the facts around to try and blame me.  
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me, so long as I stop receiving sales and marketing emails from your firm.  As you have already had 12 days, I will wait an additional 5 days for your business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
 
Regards,[redacted]

I was extremely pleased with my experience with Optima Tax and I will recommend them to anyone. I could not have done it without them. IRS is scary.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. Please respond in this space ONLY]
Regards, optima tax recived payment and did nothing in return . Refuse to give refund, refuse to take responsiblity, for ther actions would advice anyone not to do busines, with them.

I was very pleased with the service provided by Optima Tax Relief. They were upfront about their fees. After paying their fees, Optima arranged an offer in compromise that saved me over $19,000. Staff members were friendly and helpful.

SUMMARY -
Optima...

Tax's management has been in contact with the client and
we are working towards a mutual resolve.
RESPONSE
-
Optima Tax’s management has been in communication with the
client to address their concerns as outlined in the complaint. Optima Tax makes
it a point to educate our clients of the process of dealing with their tax
liability and we take every step to ensure that our clients fully understand
that ultimately the IRS makes the final decision regarding their outstanding
tax liability owed.  For this reason, we
do not make any specific guarantees to any specific outcome. In regards to
possibly obtaining a reduction for the client, at this point the client has yet
to allow us to explore all potential options available for them, which includes
a potential reduction.
Considering
the fact that the client’s case was at the highest level of collections with
the IRS prior to the client contacting Optima Tax, there was a very high
likelihood the client would endure penalties from the IRS.. This does not mean the
impending penalties cannot be removed or reduced once a resolution is in place.
Although the client could not provide certain necessary financial documents in
the two years they have been with Optima Tax we were still able to work with
the assigned IRS agent and present the client with three options to resolve
their case. Additionally, the communication issue had been addressed and
resolved as of last year.
At Optima Tax we strive to uphold the philosophy that
"clients come first" and all of our representatives go through rigorous training to assure we abide by that
philosophy. We take all complaints very seriously, and we do our best to turn
them around when possible. Optima Tax
believes it has addressed the client's concerns appropriately and will continue
to reach out to the client until we come to a final mutual resolve. Please do
not hesitate to contact Optima Tax with any questions. Thank you.

Optima Tax Relief from the first call answered all my questions accurately and professionally. I am grateful to have utilized their services, and they have successfully fulfilled my needs.

Contrary to the client’s statement, Optima Tax has made multiple attempts to resolve his concerns dating back to July 12, 2016. Once we proposed what we felt is more than a fair resolution, the client became unresponsive until we received the complaint.   As stated in our initial response, the client was presented with our strategy to help resolve his case. That information was conveyed to the client verbally on or around December 10, 2015. Immediately thereafter, the client was given our formulated strategy in writing to which the client signed and dated our Client Services Addendum that clearly outlines the services Optima Tax will provide during our Resolution Phase. Moreover, the client went through a voice recorded verification call which specifically outlines all the services we will provide in our Resolution Phase and includes all legal disclosures about the program. Throughout this call the client was asked whether he understood each disclosure and the offered services, which requires an affirmative “Yes” before moving on to the next item. In this case, the client acknowledged each disclosure affirmatively and had no questions before entering into our Resolution Phase.   In the client’s second statement he pointed out the timeline to resolve his case. In that timeline it does not specify that we promise that all collection activity will cease. Yes, we do initiate a stay of enforcement but as stated in our initial response, the decision to stop the collection activity is approved by the IRS only.   The letters the client received prior to contacting IRS falls in line with the collection activity the IRS implements when there is an outstanding liability. The IRS will give the taxpayer an opportunity to rectify the liability before the initial enforcement action. Considering the client’s tax problems prior to contacting Optima Tax Relief, the IRS had the right to enforce its collection activity against them. Although Optima Tax has had success in negotiating the removal of certain penalties that are assessed to a client’s overall balance, in this case the client did not give us an opportunity to look into this option before they cancelled the services.   Unfortunately the client stated some of the facts incorrectly. At no point did we say we cannot contact the IRS when a lien was issued. We thoroughly informed the client that he must be fully compliant with all tax years in order to establish a final resolution of the case. However, our initial Phase, Investigation Phase, allows us to establish communication with the IRS, gather all the pertinent information from both the client and IRS so we may strategize accordingly, and if possible, obtain a stay of enforcement on collection activity.   As the client stated, they agreed to have Optima Tax filed their 2014 and 2015 tax returns. Before submitting any tax returns to the IRS we ask every client to review for accuracy before signing and returning to Optima Tax to submit. If there are errors they are corrected before submission. Shortly after all tax returns were submitted, the client cancelled our services preventing Optima Tax from negotiating a final resolve with the IRS. Now that the tax returns have been filed it makes sense that the 3rd party company was able to negotiate a payment arrangement on behalf of the client. Moreover, Optima Tax would have been able to achieve the same result if the client had not cancelled prematurely. As for the penalties associated with the tax liability, once a resolution was established Optima Tax would have drafted and sent in the appropriate paperwork in an effort to remove certain penalties.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. Dear Ms. [redacted]:This e-mail is to request that you rescind my complaint against Optima Tax Relief  LLC dated 8/7/2015. We have successfully resolved the issue and are mutually satisfied. Please forward this notice to Optima Tax Relief in order that they understand our position. Thank you in advance for your assistance.   
Regards,
[redacted]

They worked very hard and took almost 2 yrs to finalize But they did a very good
Job and saved us almost $20,000 in taxes. The time and money was well
Worth it I would recommend to anyone.

It took over two years for Optima to reach a resolution I could afford, but they were steadfast in the pursuit. The quoted price did not change at all. I could not be more pleased with the end result. They were always just a phone call or email away.