Peter M. Habib & Associates Reviews (%countItem)
Peter M. Habib & Associates Rating
Address: 5 Hot Metal Street Suite 202, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15203
Phone: |
Show more...
|
Fax: |
+1 (412) 431-3593 |
Add contact information for Peter M. Habib & Associates
Add new contacts
The accountant, Mr. Joseph H, discussed discrepancies in payment from my employer at that time- 2013 to early 2014 - (currently self employed since later 2014). Mr. H and I discussed filing a suit for those funds. I contacted an attorney who decided to take the case and offered his accountant who quoted a 5k fee to prepare the accounting work necessary for the case. I mentioned this fee to Mr. H who stated he had never worked with said attorney and would be interested in the case and knowing my husband would be able to do the work and for a reduced fee. Mr. H and I met a several times to begin work on that accounting and I paid 400.00 in cash after that prep work. Important to note as Mr. H never credited me for that amount.
Over the course of preparing for the hearing Mr. H never mentioned fee's again. Not what he would be charging; not what the current bill was and I asked; not providing a weekly or monthly statement; not any information regarding fee's whatsoever for the preparing for the case. The only information we had was the discussed 5k quoted from recommended accountant and Mr. H said he would do the work for a reduced fee. Both myself and my husband did hear from Mr. H regarding difficulty with preparing the work as he stated he did not know what to do - to which I asked if he would be able to prepare and he stated yes. At no time was there communication about fee's. He stated to us both he would be offering a "reduced fee." So we thought it would be lower than 5k to have the work prepared.
So there was a hearing and the work was done. The unpaid payment from previous employer was 12k.
I was given a bill a few weeks after the hearing for about 10k. I paid initially 400.00 plus wrote a check to Mr. H for 4k. Both myself and my husband discussed with staff that there had been no information provided about the fee's and that the quoted amount from accountant who was recommended and knew what to do was 5k. That was in 2017. The staff never said anything further.
Fast forward to October 9 2019 and my husband and I showed for our taxes and literally before I sat on the chair to do our taxes which had been extended and the cut off to submitting taxes was October 15-- Mr. H stated that he needed payment in full that day for past work on the case. Mr. H showed me his bill from his attorneys for his case of being sued by a client and lectured me about how he had to pay his attorneys for work and there were "rolling bills" but he paid them and that I needed to pay "right now before we begin." Mr. H continued talking about his recently resolved case of being sued and how we owed and we needed to pay. That it was wrong that I had not paid. That I was affecting our relationship by not paying. My husband was speechless and I tried to negotiate but Mr. H talked over me and actually dismissed what I said with his hand. Knowing our taxes needed done and feeling like a bad person and afraid he would do something to my credit I wrote a check for 2700. Which would bring the total amount paid to 7100.00.
Having now had time to research how accountants are to bill I am uncomfortable with over paying and absolutely no documentation of billing, pricing other than the discussed 5k by someone recommended and Mr. H comment that he would offer a reduced rate. I am also uncomfortable with being attacked at the time of showing for tax prep with my husband with absolutely no discussion from Mr. H or his staff that this was to occur and with the case being resolved over two years prior.
Please find enclosed detailed copies of our two bills sent to *** totaling $9,361.25. These bills were followed up with statements mailed to *** each month since November 2016 thru September 2019. She correctly states that she paid Peter M Habib & Associates, Inc. $7,100.00 and that we accepted it as full payment.Ms. had spent multiple meetings in my office, where the fee schedule is on my desk and posted prominently at my receptionist office. Please find enclosed a copy of the 2016 fee schedule, *** and I discussed reducing her hourly rates from $265 and $220 per hour to $165 and $130 per hour. At no time did we agree to a fiat rate. She chose us as her expert witness in a court case and she won! Not only did I bill her at the reduced rates, but I also discounted my team's hours. Lastly, upon a final discussion with her before she made the final payment of $2,700 in October 2019. I let her decide what amount she thought would be fair. She said $2,700. Because of my over 20 years of providing services to her new husband, I accepted the additional cut in fees. I estimate that she received over $8,211 of discounts from our firm.Your prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. Please do not hesitate to contact us.
PETER M. HABIB & ASSOCIATES, INC.PresidentCertified Public Accountant Master-in-the-Science of Taxation
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.Hello, I appreciate the response made by the Habib Accounting firm. It is with anguish that I initiated the complaint. There was so much thought and discussion that went into this situation. The many times that both myself and my spouse tried to talk to Joseph about this issue and to talk with his staff who claimed they were relaying all discussions with Joseph went unheard and actually dismissed. The entitled, disrespectful language and actions from Joseph and the office were something that I just do not want other people to experience. Then to not hear/ see any discussion of the statement and to be forced - forced - to issue a check at the time of showing for our taxes crossed the line professionally. In the days following the experience on October 9 I thought of my parents and that they would always say about their profession: 'It is a humbling experience to have someone walk through your door and ask for assistance. Hold dear that trust.'As Joseph admitted in his response, the statements were mailed in November - after the arbitration had occurred. At that time no fee's had been discussed - and I asked - other than the original quote from an experienced trial accoutant who quoted 5k. Which I shared with Joseph and he stated he would "offer a break" due to a relationship with my spouse. There were no fee's posted in Joseph's office. As I was present on October 9, 2019 there were no fee's posted.There are no fee's posted on a board or on paperwork or in the reception area.As Joseph is well aware, at the end of each tax prep session we ask -- what do we owe -- he calculates and tells us an amount. We pay. No receipt is given. No time passes; we pay that day. So I have no history of any documentation or verbal discussion or statements being mailed to me as he was preparing the work for months.Then the bill came. I had already paid 400.00 in cash of which he would not credit me.I asked the staff for the credit. They listened to me but never applied the credit. When I asked Joseph why I was not receiving credit he waved me off with his hand.I wrote a check for 4k immediately. Then tried desperately to talk with Lindsey and Dana about the concerns I am expressing here and they listened. There was not feedback from those discussions.I have one statement for 11k. I have another for 10,550. I was presented with the 10k statement the day we went for our delayed tax prep. I never saw any statement for 9k.There have not been numerous bills sent. There were a couple and they were after the matter was resolved.During the months of prep for the hearing, Joseph stated a few times over the phone that he was not familiar with this type of accounting work but when given an opportunity to not prepare the work said that he was fine. It was just "something new and complicated." So knowing that I had access to an accountant who was familiar with the work and quoted a price, it would seem fair to allow me to switch to that professional. It is not fair to bill me for his lack of experience. I had another accountant option.Nothing about this experience was fair or handled professionally. And I am so sad that this occurred.
Regards