Tax Shack Inc, The

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because: They are confusing the issueThe simple fact is, I terminated service with themThey agree to that factThey continued to act on my behalf without my consentThey inadequately prepared my return so I filed and got a better return with another company. Sincerely,*** ***, LPN

Ms. [redacted] emailed her tax information to us on February 5th. She then emailed additional information on February 9th. We completed the return by February 11th and told her that she was going to owe money to the IRS instead of getting the refund she was used to, due to a change in her...

circumstances.
She did not like this answer and notified us that she was going to claim her daughter on the return.  We told her that the father was the custodial parent and sent her a form for him to sign to release the child’sexemption. She took time off work to pick up the form because she couldn’t open the email. Shedid not, at this time, express that she was going somewhere else.
[redacted] did threaten us several times that she was going to go to [redacted] because she didn’t understand why she had to pay. We informed her that she was welcome to go somewhere else but that she had engaged our services, which were provided, and she would still need to pay our fee.
She did not pick up her taxes by April 15th. We left messages for her and filed an extension. We left additional messages in September and October that she needed to pick up her taxes by October 15th. She did not pick them. She also did not ever notify us that she would not be picking them up or that she was disputing our charges.
As far as we are concerned, we provided the services. It is our policy that we receive payment for services provided to date even if services are terminated by the client. She has received notice of this policy before. I am including it for you as well. As far as we are concerned, [redacted] owes us the money.  We provided our services timely - twice.  We prepared the taxes correctly - twice.  We attempted to remain in contact with her and she never once called us back or sent us an email that notified us she had indeed gone somewhere else or that she was disputing our charges until after we finally sent her to collections.
Here is our engagement policy:
THE TAX SHACK INC, AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM SERVICES:
Client Name(s):   
Preparer Responsibilities - The Tax Shack Inc. agrees to prepare your tax return and perform tax related services based on information provided by you (whether that information be in the form of documentation, electronic transmittal, or verbal communication) accurately and professionally in accordance with Federal and State law.  We will apply our knowledge and expertise in taxation to your situation and determine the best tax advantages allowed to you by law.  We agree to provide services in a reasonable amount of time and to charge a reasonable fee based on our current fee schedules.  We will provide you with copies of the tax return for your records and return to you any documentation that we are not required by law to keep.
Client Responsibilities - You, the client, agree that you will provide us with all requested documents, will answer all of our questions fully and truthfully so that we can properly prepare your tax documents, and you will disclose whether or not you have any foreign financial accounts for reporting.  It is not our responsibility to verify your deductions or exemptions or audit your tax return.  Should you be audited, the tax agency will require you to support your deductions.  You agree to review your completed tax return prior to signing the return and/or submitting it to the IRS to make sure there are no omissions or misstatements of material facts.  You agree that if you choose to file your taxes late or pay your taxes after the payment deadline (including estimated payment deadlines), The Tax Shack Inc is not responsible for penalties and interest accrued due to lateness.  You further agree to pay for all services rendered in full upon completion of the tax return or upon termination of services.
Fees - Our fee for these services will be based upon the forms used to complete the tax return and, in some cases, upon the amount of time required and the complexity of the issue addressed.  If you were given a price quote over the phone, by email, or in person, you understand that this price was only an estimate and could potentially increase or decrease based on what is actually prepared for filing.  Fees for services rendered are due upon completion of the tax return or upon termination of services.  You, the client, can choose to terminate the services of the Tax Shack Inc at any time and have your records released back to you, but you will be responsible for paying for any services up to the point of termination.  The Tax Shack Inc charges interest monthly on any balances due over 30 days at a rate of 1% per month and accounts past due more than 90 days may be turned over for collections or legal action.  You are furnished with one copy of your tax return for your records upon completion.  There will be a separate charge for any additional paper copies and/or electronic copies of your current or prior years’ tax returns.
Privacy and Confidentiality - We collect certain personal information about you, but only when it is provided by you or is obtained with your permission.  As a general rule, we do not disclose nonpublic information about our clients to anyone.  To the extent permitted by law, however, certain nonpublic information about you may be disclosed to comply with a validly issued and enforceable subpoena or summons, or to allow us to render appropriate service to you.  In accordance with the Internal Revenue Service, Circular 230 regulations, and federal and state law, we do not disclose any non-public personal information about our customers or former customers to anyone, except as instructed to do so by such customers in writing or as required by law.  We restrict access to non-public personal information to those professionals necessary to complete your tax return or accounting or resolve your accounting problems.  We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to guard your non-public personal information. 
We will under absolutely NO circumstances release your information to ANY third party (ie. Banks, lenders, your family, your friends, your dependents, etc.) without written permission either using one of our release forms or on your own release form accompanied by your photo identification or as directed by law. 
By signing below, you are signing that you understand and agree to the terms set forth above and you are engaging The Tax Shack Inc to perform services for you (and your spouse if filing jointly) or on behalf of another taxpayer.  If you are signing on behalf of another taxpayer or as the representative of a business, then you are personally guaranteeing payment of fees for any services rendered for that person or business.
YOU SIGNED THIS FORM (OR ARE CONSIDERED TO HAVE SIGNED THIS FORM) AT THE TIME YOU DROPPED OFF, MAILED, EMAILED, OR FAXED YOUR INFORMATION AND CONSENTED FOR US TO PREPARE YOUR TAX RETURN.
As far as we are concerned, we provided our services as stated in our engagement letter.  We were courteous and professional and made many attempts to get in contact with the client.  Ms. [redacted] was unhappy with the result because it was not what she had preconceived and we feel she is taking it out on our firm by slandering us.  We feel the complaint is unfounded and we are not withdrawing our fee from collections.
If you need anything further from us with regards to this complaint, please let me know.
Tara H[redacted], EA
President