Platinum Tax Defenders

I came to platinum tax defenders wanting them to resolve my tax issues! They ripped me off of almost 5K and my case not only didn't get solved, I have a government lien on everything I own!!!! I am very angry and disappointed of myself for trusting these thieves with my life since April and till this day I haven't even received a call from them to inform me with what they did with my case!!!!

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10015782, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meYou were most helpful in this delicate matterThis matter can be closed at this time Regards, [redacted] ***

To Whom It May Concern: Please find below a detailed account of everything we have done with MrHorn since he became a client The bottom line is that we can not control the states or the IRS time frames All we can do is what we did here and present the information and diligent follow up He hired us to modify his garnishment and that is what we have done Case Client contacted us on August 29th regarding resolution, i.e Garnishment modification of outstanding state levies The levies were issued by the state prior to the client retaining us due to the client owing unpaid back taxes and not addressing the liabilities with the state in a timely manner causing the state to issue the attachments The FTB dos not issue garnishments on wages and bank accounts as the first action they take on a case but as a last result only when all other avenues of resolution have been exhausted or ignored by the taxpayerAs background it should also be noted that the state is under no obligation to release or modify garnishments but only do so at their own discretionWe sent the client our initial documentation to be signed which included our agreement and the power of attorney’s forms to contact the tax agencies on his behalf on August 29th at 4:51pmClient sent the documents back to us signed and completed August 30th at 12:55pmThe client called us at 1:25pm pm August 30, to confirm we got his documents and we confirmedWe sent the client a Financial Organizer to be filled out on August 31st at 4:31pmWe received the Financial Organizer and supporting documents September 1st at 12:50pmFor the FTB they require the form to be filled out and sent backSo we sent that to client September 2nd at 12:23pmWe called the client to explain we sent over the documents the FTB will need filled out to release or modify the levy at 12:31pmThey were received at 1:37pm that same dayThe power of attorney forms were sent to the FTB September 6th at 8:17amThese forms can take up to days to process with the FTBUnless they are processed we cannot speak to an agent on a case The financial form was mailed and faxed to the FTB September 15th 10:46amThe client called us at 11:46am for an update, we informed him we sent the information to the FTB for urgent reviewWe also asked for the fax number to his employer, which he gave usThe client called again on September 20th for another update, which we told him Maurice will be making the call todayMaurice called the FTB September 20th at 11:08am and the agent stated the form was under review to call back Thursday September 22nd The client called us September 21st at 11:51am for an update and we let him know the FTB is reviewing his documentsThe client stated he needed to know by tomorrow because that’s when he payroll process the payMaurice called the FTB September 22nd at 9:20am and they transferred him to a collections agent who stated it has an assigned agent, so he, Maurice, was transferred again to the appropriate agentThat said agent did not answer so Maurice left a detailed message for an urgent call backWe sent the client an email l at 9:21am giving an updateThe client wrote back thanking us for the update and the pay roll department is holding off for as long as they canDuring this wait time we had established his disposable income is $X,XXXX.XX a monthThis is why the FTB was taking time to review and make a final determination as with that amount of disposable income, they need more substantiation to consider modificationThe client called us on September 26th at 3:04pm to insist he also had an IRS levy to which we made a call to the IRS and was informed by the IRS agent that the client only owes $to the IRS and confirmed no levies had been issued We placed a collection hold until November 26th Maurice called the FTB on September 27th at 10:47am at which time the agent stated to Maurice he will make a determination with the documents in hand and will call back when he has reached the decision on a modification of the FTB levy The agent did not respond timelyThe client called on September 30th at 3:21pm asking for the owner of the company, she was not available at the timeMaurice called the state agent back twice on October 3rd at 8:20am and 12:33pmBoth of which times the agent did not answer so Maurice left more detailed messages with urgent call backMaurice called the client on October 3rd at 1:00pm to update him on the progressMaurice called the FTB agent once more October 4th and left a detailed message for urgent call backMaurice then proceeded to request the FTB Taxpayer Advocate Service to intervene due to the agent failing to contact us with a update on October 4th at 12:00pm We received a voicemail from the FTB agent on October 5th at 9:53am asking for the employer’s fax numberMaurice then proceeded to call the agent back, which again he did not answer and Maurice left a detailed message with the employer’s fax number We then emailed the client October 7th giving an updateThe state as confirmed by the client through our efforts modified the wage garnishment from 25% to 15%To affect release or modification of the bank attachment Maurice requested the client’s mortgage statement on October 11th and received the document that day from the clientMaurice faxed the mortgage documents to the agent at 12:59pm with a notation the attached bank funds were needed for the mortgage and for the agent to take into account the hardship the garnishment was causing and consider release or modification of the bank attachmentThe client emailed us on October 11th at 12:09pm stating that concerning the bank levy he would be able to be okay with $2,out of the $3,levied if it were to help negotiations This has no bearing on the case as the FTB does not take into account the taxpayer’s wishes in consideration of modification or release of funds attachedWe received notice of the client’s complaint on October 13th We have been in full contact with client and the state the entire days we’ve been contractedAs we stated the client has large disposable income at the end of the month leaving the FTB to have to closely review this case to determine the course of actionWe never promise any timeframe for resolution Our website clearly states “A bank levy is much more difficult to release than a wage garnishment, and can only be done by showing imminent financial hardship due to that levy being in place.” This client has both a bank levy and a wage garnishmentWe were able through our negotiations to have the FTB modify the wage garnishment, a practice they do not usually take We were never given the chance to complete the levy lift or modification due to the complaint being filed

October 27th, To Whom It May Concern: MrJ [redacted] hired Platinum Tax Defenders on September 16th, At that time, MrJ [redacted] already had a levy in place We prepared all of his documents and sent him a financial organizer via email on 9/ We faxed over all the power of attorneys to the various agencies on 9/and 9/19/ He called us on 9/21/wanting an update We informed him that we needed his financial organizer and that we would be contacting the IRS the coming week after they recognize the power of attorney On 9/28, we called the IRS and they informed us that he did not have any balances or tax returns owed for him personally We communicated that information via email to MrJ [redacted] on that day and asked him to sign the Business Power of Attorney and obtain the EIN to his company so we could check his business for balances We received his signed Business POA’s back on 9/and called the IRS on the business They informed us of his business balances by year and indicated that he was in collections and had a revenue officer assigned We received that information and called the Revenue Officer We contacted the Revenue officer and left urgent messages times between 9/and 10/including the Group Manager regarding MrJ [redacted] ’s case and the fact that the Revenue Officer was not returning the calls On 10/we prepared the New Mexico Business Power of Attorney and spoke to the state on 10/ We prepared the financials and sent over to MrJ [redacted] the information that was still needed for the state On 10/16, MrJ [redacted] called in and said he spoke to the Revenue Officer about a payment plan and that he wanted a refund from us to pay for it At that time, we explained that we have done a lot of work and he was not getting a full refund In addition, it clearly states that there is a minimum $charge that is nonrefundable in the event of a cancellation We have contacted MrJ [redacted] through every step along the process via email or phone The statement that MrJ [redacted] made regarding he called numerous times with no communication is a flat out lie and I have the phone logs and emails to prove it On October 26th, MrJ [redacted] called in demanding his money and was told again that we needed to do a billing analysis to see what if any refund was owed to him and we would call him today, October 27th This morning, I received his complaint to the Revdex.com At this time, we have incurred hours dealing with his case on the state and federal side We have incurred more hours than he has paid at this point I am happy to release him from his contract but do not feel he is entitled to a refund Sincerely, S [redacted] m CEO Platinum Tax Defenders

Complaint: I am rejecting this response because although they are stating I'm requesting a refund "after" the work had been performed, this is not the caseI'm requesting a refund because they didn't do anything I couldn't have done myself and made promises on what they were actually doing on my behalfWhether they said it verbally and then tried to trick me by having me sign an agreement that stated otherwise, the verbiage used was unfairCaleb knew what I was asking and answered in a way to satisfy me but then protect the company knowing they were going to actually be able to resolve my debt It is comments like the one from Sherry "I do believe Ms [redacted] is entitled to a refund for work we already performed" that confuses me and I'm sure other clients as wellEven if she meant to say she "doesn't believe", what the company says verses what they mean seem to be very different and difficult to understand No, as a tax analyst, I wouldn't do work for a client and then refund them the fees if they didn't like the outcome, but I also wouldn't do the work without telling them of the fees involved first and have them acknowledge that they still wanted the work performedIn other words, I wouldn't amend a client's tax return and then tell them that they owe money for work that I did after the fact I'm sorry that I'm a trusting person and still believe that a person's word is worth somethingI would've never paid the $fee if Caleb would've answered my question honestly by telling me that there wasn't anyway for him to know if the taxes would be reduce and that he couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't be paying this $and not still owe the entire tax balance to the IRS I deserve a refund as, even though Platinum Tax Defenders says they did the work I paid for, this is not true Regards, [redacted]

Complaint: I am rejecting this response because I didn't know that what I was told verbally would be different than the paperwork sent to me to sign and I didn't know that I needed a lawyer to confirm that was I was signing was the same thing I was told verbally by a "law firm" They say they're there to "resolve" my tax issue without creating "a financial hardship" but I told Amy that I couldn't afford anything as, one, I don't have 401K asessts and the 401K Cory has already has a loan balanceI can't take another loan out on the 401K until the first loan is satisfied/paidThe only way to get money from his 401K is to close his 401K and pay a 10% penalty plus more taxes for and two, by mortgage is higher than the IRS system allows as I live in Orange CountyI asked her to find a way to contact the IRS to see if there was anything they could do to understand my cost of living was higher than they allow on their website due to living in a high cost area, the fact that we are taking care of my father in law who doesn't work, and we have two children to provide forI also explained that neither I or Cory could get a second job due to disabilities and asked if there was a disability act that could be considered Amy told me she could due an "offer in compromise" that would reduce the debt with the IRS, but when she sent me the paperwork, she indicated that I would have to pay almost $to the IRS for them to even consider reducing the debtI told her I couldn't afford the fees and she said there was nothing more she could do I had already set up a payment plan with the IRS prior to making a call to platinum and would've stuck with that payment plan if I wasn't told that they could help me and that I wouldn't be paying them $and then still owing the IRS the full amountThis company has done nothing for me that I couldn't do myself, especially for the $I paid I have had nothing but problems and lies since my initial phone call with Platinum Tax Defenders starting with putting my husband's incorrect social security number on the POA to not "resolving" anything for me They want to hide behind a contract I signed under pretenses because I trusted them based on that initial phone call question with Caleb instead of reading all the information that was sent I deserve a refund as they are not only causing me "financial hardship" but also undue stress and anxiety of having to fight to get a fee given back to me that should have never been charged if I didn't "qualify" for the fresh start program Regards, [redacted]

I listened to all the voice recordings as well as the all the emails and telephone records contradict Ms [redacted] 's claims that she was told something else We DO NOT promise anyone a specific resolution outcome because we can't We have no idea what they will qualify for until we pull transcripts and look at the financial evaluation form which we ask the client to fill out with their information We can still do an offer in compromise but no company is going to 1) pay the application fee to the Department of Treasury or 2) Pay the 20% good faith payment of the offer amount If you are not even willing to do that, we cannot submit an offer The IRS will not adjust their standards just because you live in an expensive part of California This is a HARDSHIP program defined by the IRS for people with little to no disposable income or assets Ms [redacted] , in her own verbiage, acknowledged that she did not fully read the PTD Agreement which we specifically instruct all clients to do before signing and returningThat is the security for both the client and our companyIt is unfortunate that her understanding of the conversation with Caleb appeared to contrast the verbiage of our PTD Agreement in her recollectionIn addition, there are multiple email conversations noted in her file where she was given options and appeared to fully understand her case She instructed us to move forward with the offer in compromise which we did Once that was completed and sent to her, she decided she wanted a refund.(after the work had been done) I am positive that Ms [redacted] , as a tax analyst herself, would not do work for her clients and agree to refund once the work was completed Again, in strict accordance of our binding agreement, we have completely fulfilled our obligations Again, I have offered to proceed with the offer in compromise as originally discussed with her, however, her potion would be the $application fee and her 20% down payment (both of which go to the Department of Treasury - not us) I do believe Ms [redacted] is entitled to a refund for work we have already performed If she does not wish to proceed with the Offer in Compromise that we have already prepared, I will close her case Sincerely, Sherri Gastelum

Hello to anyone having to owe the the IRSThe IRS is scary when you've crossed them foolishlyI want everyone to know there is helpYou are required to do your home work that's given youBe diligentIn all request asked of you, act promptly as possible because there are items that are time sensitiveStick with itIt truly worked for meI was receiving calls from anonymous company's sounding harsh on my voice mailLittle did they know, I already had my debt taken care of by Platnum Tax DefendersEveryone was friendly, and professionalI forget how I heard about them because I was so distraught at the timeThat's why I choose the Revdex.com to do my reviewTo get the word out! Thank you Bill Cherry, Christen, Cecilia and Ari From 14,plus, down to Yes!!!!!! This is to new beginings Thank you forever

Platinum Tax Defenders were very professional and result minded The experience was a pleasant and painless one Their estimates on what they could accomplish were spot on I would use them again in a heartbeat!

They knocked my $tax bill down to $They stuck with me even when I was being stupidAnyone with tax issues that they cant afford needs to give them a callThank you platinum tax defenders !!

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11762984, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Regards, [redacted] To whom it may concern; Platinum Tax Defenders owner Sherri Gastelum and I spoke over the phone yesterday (10/18/16) and discussed our varying views about how my case was handled It is now clear to both of us that there were some misunderstandings on the process that I was not aware of and that there were some miscommunication within the firm that were not made clear to her I believe after my discussion with MsGastelum, that there was indeed a desire to ensure that all of their customers (including myself) receive the highest level of service At times there is an unfortunate mistake that happens which I can understand Platinum Tax Defenders and I have come to an agreement to complete my service and I am extremely appreciative to MsGastelum for reaching out to me to address and resolve my concerns to my satisfaction

I am rejecting his rejection due to the fact of all the detailed activity that is attached here This man is untruthful and we helped him by releasing two bank levies, put him in two payment plans Yes, we started the offer in compromise process before learning that his taxes had $400K in reported income and equity of $700K + in his house No OIC will be accepted under those circumstances We resolved MrS [redacted] 's IRS debt by putting him in a payment plan and we got back his money from the bank levy That is all anyone will be able to do with his circumstances I feel this is completely unfair to my company by MrS [redacted] to distort the facts in his situation As I said before, we can only act on the facts and TRUTH of the information that is given to us He did not pay for an outcome, he paid for resolution (See attached contract page 4, section VI) His matter is resolved and his case is closedSincerely, S [redacted] CEO Platinum Tax Defenders

Complaint: I am rejecting this response because: To whom it may concern, To start, I am under no illusion that the tax burden (i.e.: garnishment, and levy) are not a direct result of my own personal negligence in addressing them sooner and I do not think that this is pertinent to the lack of attention, detail, and overall sub-par service that has been provided by Platinum Tax Defenders I am also fully aware that Platinum Tax Defenders has no control over the state and IRS response times, nor have I ever made any comments as such I also reject that the firm was diligent in reaching out to the State of California, Franchise Tax Board, and I also reject that they were diligent in following up with me and I will provide email attachments when I repeatedly requested updates daily via email with no responseThe firm never informed me when the power of attorney was sent to the FTB and I was not informed that it could take up to days to be processed nor was I informed that they could not reach out to an agent until after the document were processed As indicated in their response to my complaint, form #is a requirement by the FTB to review my information I sent that back on September 2nd, but they did not send it to the FTB until September 15th That is a day delay and in my opinion a wast of almost two weeks of time to address my issue It is important to note that after I initially sent back all of the documentation, I waited about a week, and I phoned my case worker, Greg Meyer who informed me that they had not heard anything back and he would reach out to Maurice the attorney working on my case The response is accurate on my calls on the 20th, 21st, and 22nd of September to get a status update and I received an email on the 22nd with a small transcript of Maurice's call with the FTB which did not resolve anything(See attachment named "September 22nd, Eamil" I was never provided any information that my established income was under review and the reason that it was taking additional time The attached email was all that was provided In regards to the September 26th, call (after the initial garnishment went through without any additional information from the firm since the 22nd, I found out that my bank account had been levy'd When I called my bank Chase, they initially told me that it was the IRS that had placed the levy on my bank account I had called and spoke with my case worker (Greg Meyer) frantic (as my very first mortgage payment was due on October 1st) as all of the money I had to pay the mortgage was gone After going into my bank branch I found out that the initial information that I was provided by Chase was incorrect It was not the IRS, it was actually the State of California that placed the levy on my account I attempted to contact my case worker back but could not reach him by phone so I sent an email letting him know that I was incorrect In our brief email exchanged I agreed to go to the bank and get a copy of the levy document which I did and sent back within less than hours After I followed up again on the 29th, I received a response stating that my case worker would follow up with the attorney to get a status update I received a response stating that it was still under review and I responded again to remind them of the levy as that had not been addressed with the State of California yet (See attachment named "September 29th Email")On Friday September 30th, I became frustrated because at this point it had been over month The garnishment had not been modified or dropped, the levy had been placed and I was getting the run around After reviewing the Revdex.com website for information on that day, I saw that Sherri (Owner) had been responsive to people when submitting information I also found the same thing on Yelp, so I made the decision to call her directly and express my concerns with what was happening with my case It was a very lengthy voicemail but requested a call back to discuss my case I did not hear back from her, and after additional attempts to reach here (as she has stated in prior responses on Yelp to call her directly to resolve issues) she still has made no effort to reach out to me, a paid customer, however, I did received a call from the attorney working on my case on Monday (Oct 3rd) afternoon He expressed his apologies for not following up, let me know the steps he was going to take to work to get this resolved, and I expressed that I did not feel that the level of communication was satisfactory It was very reactionary I only received responses when I would call There was very minimal effort to keep me informed from their side on their ownMaurice assured me that he would be my main point of contact and would keep me informed daily as the release of the levy was quickly approaching, and the next garnishment was about to go through That was the only day that I heard from Maurice I have not heard from him sinceOn October 4th, I received an email stating that they would be reaching out to the Tax Advocate and then I heard nothing I requested an update on October 5th - No responseI requested an update on October 6th - No responseI requested an update on October 7th - Finally I received a response that the State of CA FTB asked for my employers fax number and that I should check with my payroll department to see if anything has been sent No details No nothing I did in fact know that there was a reduction fro 25% to 15% that I did find out from my payroll department on the 6th, but I didn't hear anything from the firm that I hired and paid $to help me resolve these issues This confirms that the communication level from this firm has been sub-par If they had an update on the 5th, why did it take additional days of me asking for an update to let me know that there was a modification? They only respond when you send them an email asking for an update and even then, sometimes they do not respond at all On this same day, I had asked about the status of the levy, and I was informed that they will talk with the State that afternoon but that they most likely would not get a response till Tuesday due to the holiday on Monday (Please see attachment "Updates" for email correspondence) Tuesday October 11th, was the final day before my bank Chase was going to release the $they were holding from the levy On Tuesday morning I received an email requesting a copy of my mortgage statement showing how much was due I sent that back promptly and then never heard anything back Wednesday the 12th, Chase sent the money to the State of California In regards to my "large disposable income", I am not sure where that information or how that had been determined Since working with Platinum Tax Defenders, I have had to take a cash advance of $to pay my mortgage, I have been living on credit cards for the last weeks, and I paid them $to perform a service that ended up costing me a net $ Had they reviewed my case properly and gave me advice that would have made more sense for me to simply pay the $that I owed to the state, then I would not be in a worse situation now than I was before I still paid the state the $through levy and garnishment and I am worse off financially than I was before I fully reject Platinum Tax Defenders response and am still requesting at least a 50% refund for the services that they were supposed to provide The response is not satisfactoryRegards, [redacted] ***

To Whom It May Concern:
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Platinum
Tax Defenders provides resolution services.
That may look like many different things dependent on the client’s
individual circumstances. Our clients
are paying for our services to resolve their matter, NOT a particular outcome. MrB*** became a client on Feb 5,
When we did his interview and reviewed his financials, it appeared he had a
great case for a hardship program. He
never disclosed anything about having a K accountWhen we received his
Financial Organizer there was no mention of the K account that he had there
either. We sent MrB*** his
Offer and Compromise documents to sign on July 22, We did not receive
those documents back until Dec 5, 2013, just about months later.
We mailed out his
Offer to the IRS on Dec 10, In Feb 21, 2014, the Offer Examiner was
assigned to MrB***’s case called us to let us know that MrB*** has not
filed his taxesOn March 15, the Offer Examiner called to confirm
that filing of the taxes also stated that taxes needed to be filed on
time, by April 15, 2014.
On May 6, 2014, the
Offer Examiner called asked to see a copy of MrB***’s taxes that were filed, they
wanted a copy for their records as they did not have them yetWe called and
spoke to MrB*** letting him know what the Offer Examiner neededWe never
received the taxes.
On June 17, 2014, the
Offer Examiner closed the Offer due to failure to provide the information that
was requested, which was the taxes. In June 27, 2014, we mailed out
the second Offer to the IRS, still no mention of the 401K account up to this
pointOn Feb 24, 2014, MrB***’s offer was rejected with appeal rights, the
IRS did not allow for car expenses or student loan as there was no proof of
payments provided by MrB***The 401K was also discovered by the Offer
Examiner
On Feb 27, 2015, the
Offer was appealed and mailed out. At
this point, MrB*** had provided copies of the car expenses and student loan
payments as a well as the K statementAfter two years of being our client
this is the first time MrB*** discloses anything about the 401k Account
which is ultimately why he did not get his offer. On March 24, 2015, the
Offer appeal was rejected. The reason
stated from the IRS was: 401k still shows equity even with two outstanding
loans. The other two items that were
appealed were accepted as valid expenses.
We went above and
beyond for this client. We submitted a
second offer without any additional charge when MrB*** failed to provide the
information that the Offer Examiner had requested on the first offer that was
done. Not to mention that he failed to
provide us anything re: his k asset which in turn made the second offer be
rejected as well. We are happy to put
MrB*** in an installment agreement and told him so in April. We were awaiting his decision when he called
and yelled about his offer getting denied.
We spoke to him on May 18th, and still have no answer on
proceeding with the installment agreement.
I will not be returning any money to MrB***. We provided our services in our contract and
then some. MrB*** has to take
responsibility for his part. As a resolution, I am happy to place MrB*** in an installment agreement for his tax debt if he provides us authorization to do so
Sincerely,
S*** ***

I would like to thank Platinum Tax Defenders ,for there help in settling my tax problem.I were treated me with respect,I found them very polite,honest,professional.they helped settle my tax dept from 22k to dollars .I will recommend them to every one with a tax problemJohn Ta.,tx

At this point, he has exhausted his contract We would have to start all over from scratch getting new financial information and new documents signed as they have all changed since we worked on MrHardy's case In addition, that doesn't change the fact that he will have to write a check in the amount of $to the Department of Treasury for the application fee in addition to a check for 20% of the offered amount (if everything is the same, that would be approximately $) also to the Department of Treasury That is the reason he was upset to begin with That has not changed and Platinum Tax Defenders will need an administration fee of $to redo all of this paperwork and start over from scratch If he is interested in that to try the Offer in Compromise, I will do that Otherwise, if he doesn't want to pay the money necessary, I am happy to put him in an installment agreement for no charge Please let me know how he wants to proceedThanks,
S***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10623248, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
I Earl Hardy agree to the terms listed in the last letter I was sent, however since I am not working I will need to have an installment agreement
Regards,
E*** ***

Complaint:
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
T*** ***
We have email proof as well- these emails prove this person S*** is a horrible business person who is terrible at her job and accuses her clients of lying- In I fired NKSFB and Guerilla Union and began to manage my own career with K*** *** as my business managerIt's been good, she has been up front and diligent about helping me get to the bottom of this tax debt situationAfter she finally got a handle on what was going on with Platinum Tax Defenders we discussed firing them and finding a new solution, because even though I paid them 5000, a year had gone by with no communication or progress on my caseWe decided to let them continue working precisely because I already paid the retainer and didn't want it to go to wasteHowever, we soon began to receive aggressive emails from S*** *** of PTD, a lady I have never met, spoken with on the phone or even heard ofEven though nothing had been accomplished, S*** was aggressively demanding that I pay her even more money, using thinly veiled threatening languageI was confused as to how I ended up in even more debt when they were supposed to be solving my debt problems not adding to themS*** emailed my booking agent looking for money and told them I owed PTD moneyThis was not only not true, but very unprofessional and terrible businessK*** suggested I pay S*** some of the money she was demanding because it seems to us that not paying would make the situation worseWhat we wanted to do didn't matter thoughSomehow S*** figured out how to gain access to my bank account and paid herself the remainder of what she claimed she was owed out of my money without my permissionThis is theftAt this point this woman has taken 10,dollars from me, and my tax debt has only gotten worse, not betterThat makes absolutely now sense If stealing wasn't enough, S*** has apparently made a habit of misrepresenting my financial state to you, as well as blaming you for her lack of communication. Here are just some samples of her emails to myself and K***, check out how she describes Mr Batista as 'difficult"- From: S*** *** [mailto:***@platinumtaxdefenders.com] Sent: Monday, October 26, 3:PMTo: K*** ***Cc: Subject: Re: Platinum Tax Defenders Payment Reminder Dear T*** and K***: At this time, until we come to an arrangement to get paid or a schedule to pay the past due balances, I cannot justify incurring more hours with no payment. I am happy to get involved and "work our magic". This is the issue I have at this time. K***, you gave me your word the last time that I requested payment and you assured me that you would pay our fees. We moved forward and incurred more work on T***'s behalf. Now, after we incurred more hours you want us to continue working on this case with no payment or payment arrangement. As far as the case goes, this is nothing new. MrB*** has been like this since the very beginning and it's never enough. It's the RO's word against ours and I can assure you we would never put our client at risk. We have numerous documentation to support all the work we have done with MrB*** and how difficult he was being. If you remember, (as you were copied on every email), we complained about T***'s RO, MrB*** to his supervisor and Taxpayer Advocate Services for not approving the IA and not giving us a rejection letter. There is a protocol that the IRS follows when going through resolution. MrB*** refused to follow that protocol and send a rejection letter so that we could appeal his decision. The plan was to get an installment agreement accepted so that we can keep T*** out of collections and move the case out of the RO hands so that we can try and do some kind of offer. T***, I am respectfully asking for payment for the work that has already been done on your case. Or, at least a plan on paying us before we move forward with anymore work. Please advise.K*** response-***, We sent you a check in the amount of $just a few weeks ago and I have another payment slated to go out very soon. We have had numerous conversations that if T*** had the money to pay you in full and that was what was agreed we would do that but with the payments due to the IRS we are doing the best we can. I have always told you that I would send you payments as I could. We are not trying to not pay you but we have to do the work for T***. If the IRS levy’s T***’s money nobody wins. T*** will be without any money and you will not be able to get paid at all. I have asked you to please go through this process with us. Stay the course instead of pointing fingers and lashing out. Let’s call MrB*** back and see if we can get a payment plan done so that T*** will have a fighting chance to get on top of this debt and you can get paid for your work. I have prepared the so you wouldn’t incur any more cost - I have been calling the IRS to be sure he received what he asked for - I have been doing all I can do but you guys are the POA on file so I am limited as to what I can do. Your firm is who MrB*** is relying on and you are the decision makers so please don’t make this case any worse. You are the experts and T*** has put his faith in you and your firm to fight for him to the end and get a positive result. If you keep threatening nobody wins - if you want to be right let’s hash that out later and you can win I really don’t care. What we need to do today is to call the IRS - stay the course and fight like mad to stop the IRS from Levying and Seizing. There is no secret here - we aren’t holding back payment to prove a point - we don’t have the money to pay your bill in full…We are doing our best to pay you what we can and to pay the IRS what was agreed to. If more money becomes available and I can pay you more than what I have slated for you then I will do that. If you would like to agree to some sort of payment plan we can talk about that but again today we need to call the IRS - can you agree to make that call and to reach out to T*** and myself with an update? Thank you K***Business ManagerFrom: S*** *** [mailto:***@platinumtaxdefenders.com] Sent: Friday, November 20, 5:PMTo: K*** ***Subject: Re: T*** I put it in the system when we decided on the pay schedule. The system will run payments automatically based on the dates entered into the system. I'm sorry if I misunderstood how the payments would be ran. The next payment is due for 12/16, please let me know before that date if you are going to make changes. Thanks,*** On Fri, Nov 20, at 5:PM, K*** *** wrote:Great The other thing is how did you pay yourself with out me signing anything - you overdrew his account and it cost him money - I had you on tap to pay but I was waiting for a wire...On Fri, Nov 20, at 5:PM, S*** *** wrote:No, we left several messages for Alex today but never connected. Will try again on Monday. Have a great weekend.From: S*** *** Date: Wed, Dec 9, at 2:PMSubject: Re: Platinum Tax DefendersTo: K*** *** Cc: "S*** ***" K***:You were on the phone when we made this agreement!There is nothing about this that is fraud! I will not pull the payment as you requested, however, please honor it by mailing the check to arrive in my office by 16th of this month to avoid late fees. Please use the most recent invoice that was sent.Thanks,***On Wed, Dec 9, at 2:PM, K*** *** wrote:image001.jpgS*** - Reminder - You are hereby notified - DO NOT USE YOUR CURRENT SYSTEM OR ANY OTHER TO AUTOMATICALLY PAY YOURSELF. I have included our City National Bank representative. Should you take money out of T***’s bank account without authorization again this will be considered FRAUD. D***, Do not honor any electronic system to pay Platinum Tax Defenders. The payment made to them on 11/17/2015 PREAUTHORIZED DEBIT PLATINUM TAX DEF ACH PPD T*** GREENE @@800-991-6247 $2,was not authorized by myself or T***. We did not authorize this payment - some type of system was used on their end to take the funds out…please make sure this CANNOT happen again. ***, dec 1- Dear K*** and T***:We had an extremely long call with MrBatista today. He feels, and after reviewing the documents, I tend to agree, that the number do not add up. He was going to Levy because he is convinced you are hiding money and not giving him the information that he is asking for. We begged him NOT to levy and he gave us until Friday this week to get him the information he wants below. K***, when you met with him at the summons, he claims to us that he told you EXACTLY what he wanted to see and how he wanted to see them. I wasn't there so I have to rely on you for that. Some of the inconsistencies are as follows:1) The P & L's provided do not match up with the bank statements or the taxes2) T***'s personal P & L shows an annual salary of 15K (jan - Aug) and $14,cash draw and yet his annual child expenses are $34K +. That makes no sense.3) The P & L shows payroll taxes withheld but there are no records of any paid.Example: $16,Federal taxes $5,state, where is the proof?4) Current property taxes do not add up. 5) T***ra Inc has a list of payments made to various people. Are they indep contractors or employees? Where is the proof of those payments? 6) We need the work papers from the taxes that were filed in 2014. I don't see how they correlate. Perhaps we need to get on the phone with Peter to understand how those taxes were prepared based on your P & L. 7) He wants you to continue paying the $8K a month but you are paying it incorrectly. It needs to be tied to T***'s SSN NOT the company. More on that later but we need to write a letter to have those funds moved to the proper place.8) The P & L seems to be co mingled with personal. We need a clean copy of each entity P & L as well as T***'s personal P & L with the proof on each line item. 9) There are varied income listed for T*** throughout all of the documents. On the tax return it reflects approx $459K income on his K-1. You cannot write off child support or support for family members. 10) If MrBatista obtains what he believes T***'s true income is then he will put him in an installment agreement. Right now, he doesn't believe anything that is listed on the P & L which is why he is asking for the proof of expenses. When looking at the inconsistencies, I don't care if you were hiding money for him or not, I do need you to be completely honest with us on the true picture so we can accurately protect T***. Let's discuss tomorrow on any questions you may have so we can get the proper documentation in our office by FridayThanks!K*** response-***,We have some HUGE problems here. Number one you guys do not know what you are talking about. I don't understand why you wouldn't get myself and the tax accountant on the phone. You guys are just wrong on each point.1) P&L don't match bank statements - balance sheets match tax returns2) All wrong - you guys would need to look at the balance sheet to see money transfers from his corp to him individually 3) All taxes were paid - I have sent reports for all taxes paid twice4) The P&L is a DRAFT - the property tax amount was taken directly off of the 10985) I don't know what you are talking about - I would have to have something in front of me // are these deductions listed on the tax return?6) Why are you questioning how the tax return was prepared? The minute you had a question you should have brought myself or Peter into the conversation. 7) I will set T*** up personally on EFTPS8) What P&L are you talking about comingled ? Are you looking at the 433? B*** asked for a combined Financial - the books are not comingled9) I don't know what you are talking about and how does the K-have anything to do with Child Support?10) What expenes does he need proof of?I showed up at his office with two years of copies of ALL INCOME AND ALL EXPENSEI still have everything but I am just sickened that we are going backwards again.When you say he wants expense proof - I must know what he is talking about specifically. I still have my giant box full of all expenses and income copies - I can bring that to him.LASTLY - I AM ABOUT TO LOSE MY MIND - T*** IS NOT HIDING MONEY - I AM NOT HIDING MONEY - I TAKE GREAT OFFENSE As you can clearly see, the person I was paid of money that could've simply gone to the IRS was not only grossly misrepresenting me, but stealing from me, accusing the IRS agent of being difficult while at the same time accusing me of hiding moneyI am not understanding how a person with this level of incompetence was allowed to get this involved in my businessI am not hiding money and I want nothing more than to just get on a plan so I can pay what I owe and be done with this messThats all I've ever wantedI do not tell this story to excuse myself from debt or place the blame on others, I only seek to give you a complete understanding of a nuanced situationS*** was never concerned about helping me love this debt, she was clearly only concerned about her own pocketSo it was not surprising to me when Peter sent us this ripoffreport link about Platinum Tax Defenders, S*** in particularThey are scam artistsI have a right to be judged on my own merit, not thru the lens of scam artists who steal from and misrepresent meThank you for your timePlatinum Tax Defenders S*** *** Is A Scam Artist, accused of stealing 10K form someones bank account, just like she did with mine http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Platinum-Tax-Defenders/Simi-Valley-California-/Pla...⇄

To Whom It May Concern:
"margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Mr
***r put his name down on a contract for tax resolution. It was on
that document that he agreed to work with us under certain conditions among
them being the duty to work with us in good faith. Mr***r is, in
fact, in breach of his written agreement with us and at this point our company
could in fact pursue him for the balance of his agreed upon fee, including attorney’s
fees See Contract Section 5.6. We
have found Mr***r to be unreasonable in his approach and
expectations. He has repeatedly failed to follow our expert advice,
failed to maintain deadlines and has been unavailable for extended periods of
time with respect to responding to our attempts to contact him and get
documents that the IRS requires in which to render a decision on his tax
matters
Mr***r was
fortunate in his dealings with our company because we took his case as a flat
rate. Flat rates are our company's way of making our top notch IRS and
State Tax Resolution fees affordable to customers who literally have been
priced out of the market in terms of the ability and affordability to retain
professional representation usually at triple our most basic costs. A
flat rate fee tries to estimate in advance the complexity of a tax case and
allocate company resources with respect to man hours worked on a case and the
amount of resources to devote to this cause.
According to our
records, had Mr***r had to go out and purchase similar services elsewhere,
we are confident that his price would most certainly double That
is if any professional were to tolerate Mr***r’s abusive, sarcastic and
downright abusive treatment toward their staff We cannot speak for
others, but the staff are all in general agreement that working with the
expectations of Mr***r were predominately negative and that all attempts
to satisfy him were met with unnecessary condescension and rudeness
Furthermore, the
insinuation that Mr***r makes that we submitted documents that made him
look stupid is absurd. The paperwork he refers to, IRS Form 433A, clearly
states specifically that "the taxpayer has examined the form and that all
statements on it are true correct and complete"
Our company policy
bars submission of any document to the IRS without first getting the okay and signed by the client. This is yet another in a long line of facts that Mr***r
falsely accuses our company of to suit his own agenda At this point, Mr.***r has told so many falsehoods, we would be skeptical of anything he says
at this point. The contract does not
reflect an “outcome”, it clearly states that we are providing a service for
resolution. We have submitted an offer in compromise to the Government which is the extent of the services rendered in this contract. Mr***r is requesting a refund of $5,
even though he states and our records show he has only paid us $2,
It is our firm
contention that Mr***r is in a better position today, than when he first
came to our company. He has exhausted all good will by his repeated
attempts to hide the truth of his actual financial ability to repay the IRS and
the State. He has repeatedly misstated the facts. He has repeatedly
broken his promise to keep up his part of the bargain. This company had
to revise his contract payment terms eight times. Platinum Tax Defenders
is confident that Tax Resolutions Consumers will objectively review this matter
and in particular the language and demands made by Mr***r in his letters
and complaint to the Revdex.com and come away with the correct impression that he has
abused this system for his own pecuniary gain. The average guy in the
street will be more than able to see through this charade for what it really is
an unfair shakedown to coerce and otherwise un deserved refund of his contract
price. Even though Mr***r has not
paid us for our services, we have submitted an offer on Mr***r’s case and
it was denied by the Government. To
continue submitting future offers with the same circumstances is pointless.
As a resolution, I am
happy to prepare another OIC package with the data he claims so that he can
submit it on his own. I will not allow
my staff to sign it because we know the facts are not accurate

I will happily recommend Platinum Tax Defenders efficient, prompt, and dedicated service to anyone who is in need of competent tax resolution with the IRS Your company help me to eliminate over $18,in back taxes I am forever greatfull for your assistance