Shaw & Associates

In response to complaint #[redacted] the following facts are provided
" margin: 0px">
The client called and made an appointment to meet with one of our Enrolled Agents [redacted] which she did on February 13, at 9:AM. She was presented with our standard client engagement letter as all clients are required to sign prior to the appointment. Likewise, we will clarify any questions clients may have in regards to the engagement letter at any time during the appointment. The client met with Ms [redacted] for her appointment which included far more than just form W-2s. It included items associated with schedule A itemized deductions such as home mortgage interest and property taxes. The only additional information we were waiting upon was a copy of her tax return to be provided in order to reduce her underpayment penalties to both the IRS and State of California. As for the fee, our engagement letter clearly outlines that we use an industry standard of charging by the forms and schedules required to be filed and our minimum fee starts at $and goes up from there. We have verified with our assistant and no such estimate claimed was given to Ms [redacted]. This issue is one of a personal nature. When she contacted our officeon Monday morning February 23, 2015, she stated that her family had an issue with the [redacted] family and that her family had caused her so much grief over the weekend that she had to take her taxes elsewhere. As of this date, we are completely unaware of who her family is or any issues, but that fact is immaterial. I have enclosed a copy of the signed engagement letter by Ms [redacted] which clearly identifies in the first paragraph that should you decide to not have your taxes filed by our firm the complete fee for the return is due and payable immediately. Her return included Forms 1040, 1040-ES, 1040-V, Schedule A, 2210, 8879, 540, 540-ES, Schedule CA, 3582, 5805, and (CA) and the total fee was $305. When she came to pick up her original documents several of our staff members were in the office at that time. The facts are simple. Services were rendered and the return was completed with all of the information provided, the clients original paperwork was returned to her, and the fee became due and payable immediately per our engagement letter. The client has contacted our office multiple times during the day on February 23, 2015, and each time her reasoning changed as to what the issue was. Likewise, she has informed our firm that she has placed a stop payment on the check she wrote to our firm and we have asked her to replace that check with cash. Should the check not be replaced and it is dishonored by the bank it will be turned over to the Sutter County DA for writing a bad check
We have provided professional services in a very timely manner and have followed our standard procedures to make sure the client's needs are met. The facts are very clear and this is an issue totally created by the client themselves. Thank you for your prompt attention to resolving this issue

I am rejecting this response because:

Review: I went to Shaw & Associates for tax prep assistance, met with [redacted] for 1 hour on 2/13, took in my 3 W2's for myself and my husband. During this appointment I was informed that I would need to collect more documents and to return to see where we were at with our taxes and go from there. During this time my husband and I decided to go elsewhere with our taxes. When I went in to retrieve my documents I took in I was charged the FULL tax filing charges of $305.00. When I got a quote originally I was informed the charges were $100-$250 no more. I wrote a check as the secretary was the only person in the building, left a message with [redacted] regarding the payment and received the call that they can charge full price regardless of actually filing or not. When asked about the difference in the price I wasn't given an answer.Desired Settlement: I do not mind paying for services rendered in which I will pay $100-$150 however I refuse to pay full amount to the business when no such services were preformed.

Business

Response:

In response to complaint #[redacted] the following facts are provided. The client called and made an appointment to meet with one of our Enrolled Agents [redacted] which she did on February 13, 2015 at 9:00 AM. She was presented with our standard client engagement letter as all clients are required to sign prior to the appointment. Likewise, we will clarify any questions clients may have in regards to the engagement letter at any time during the appointment. The client met with Ms [redacted] for her appointment which included far more than just 3 form W-2s. It included items associated with schedule A itemized deductions such as home mortgage interest and property taxes. The only additional information we were waiting upon was a copy of her 2013 tax return to be provided in order to reduce her underpayment penalties to both the IRS and State of California. As for the fee, our engagement letter clearly outlines that we use an industry standard of charging by the forms and schedules required to be filed and our minimum fee starts at $100 and goes up from there. We have verified with our assistant and no such estimate claimed was given to Ms [redacted]. This issue is one of a personal nature. When she contacted our officeon Monday morning February 23, 2015, she stated that her family had an issue with the [redacted] family and that her family had caused her so much grief over the weekend that she had to take her taxes elsewhere. As of this date, we are completely unaware of who her family is or any issues, but that fact is immaterial. I have enclosed a copy of the signed engagement letter by Ms [redacted] which clearly identifies in the first paragraph that should you decide to not have your taxes filed by our firm the complete fee for the return is due and payable immediately. Her return included Forms 1040, 1040-ES, 1040-V, Schedule A, 2210, 8879, 540, 540-ES, Schedule CA, 3582, 5805, and 8879 (CA) and the total fee was $305. When she came to pick up her original documents several of our staff members were in the office at that time. The facts are simple. Services were rendered and the return was completed with all of the information provided, the clients original paperwork was returned to her, and the fee became due and payable immediately per our engagement letter. The client has contacted our office multiple times during the day on February 23, 2015, and each time her reasoning changed as to what the issue was. Likewise, she has informed our firm that she has placed a stop payment on the check she wrote to our firm and we have asked her to replace that check with cash. Should the check not be replaced and it is dishonored by the bank it will be turned over to the Sutter County DA for writing a bad check. We have provided professional services in a very timely manner and have followed our standard procedures to make sure the client’s needs are met. The facts are very clear and this is an issue totally created by the client themselves. Thank you for your prompt attention to resolving this issue.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: