ComplaintsforR&G Brenner Income Tax

• Initial Complaint

  10/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I gave my Taxes to RG Brenner on Feb ******* and it was a nightmare from there. My preparers name was ***** he kept telling me and ensuring me it will be done before the deadline of 4/15/24. I called him 4/11/24 being that I didn't hear from him not to mention I had to call him several times as he often never called back when he said he will. On 4/11/24 he told me my taxes will be prepared, and I didn't owe so I had nothing to worry about. That call never happened. I called him several times to request my paperwork back and note as of today 10/15/24 I still don't have my paperwork, or my taxes filed. I contacted corporate office in June, again in July again in August and again in Sept. in Sept is when I started to get help, I didn't get a login created to view the actual taxes until 10/3/24. I stressed I need to know the amount and review what is being filed before I give the okay or my taxes back because they are leaving me with NO option to have someone view and file before 10/15/24 This was brought to the owner / executives because I was told it cost $580 to file. I was not in agreement due to the horrible customer service and my taxes not being filed and me having to still chase them up until today 10/15/24. The owners reduced it to $450 which is a JOKE. I logged into the system every day and have left several messages and as of 3:30 today my balance still shows $0 and my taxes are still not filed and am waiting on a call back. I gave a short story but bottom line I have been chasing these people sin Feb of ****************************************************************** so I can take my services elsewhere. They stalled until the very last day and I am still calling them.

  Business response

  10/16/2024

  Dear *** ************** have reviewed the complaint from *** ******** and have been kept informed of her situation by our *************************** for some time now.
  *** ******** was referred to *** ******** a new tax preparer at our firm. Unfortunately, he did not fully adhere to our Policies and Procedures, and we are taking steps to address that. The correct process should have been for *** ******** to upload her documents through our mobile application or via our in-office systems. This way, she would have been able to leave the office with her paperwork, avoiding the issue she encountered.
  During tax season, we offered several times to reassign her to a different preparer, which is our procedure when a clients assigned tax preparer is unresponsive. However, she chose to remain with *** *******.
  Our *************************** took her concerns seriously and consistently tried to assist her. I personally requested that another tax preparer take over her case, but *** ******** repeatedly expressed her desire to continue working with *** ************* am unsure of the exact timing of *** ********'s complaint, but her tax return was electronically filed yesterday and has already been accepted by the ****
  I regret that she feels the $115 discount was insufficient, but this issue could have been resolved before April 15th had she allowed us to reassign her to another tax preparer. That said, I am grateful that *** ******** brought this complaint to our attention, as it highlights areas we need to improve. No client should have to wait this long for their return to be filed, nor should they be ignored by their tax preparer. As a result, I am issuing *** ******** a $125 Credit Certificate for future tax services, and I strongly recommend that she work with a different tax preparer moving forward.
  I sincerely apologize to *** ******** on behalf of our company for how her taxes were handled. She is rightno client should be treated this way. I hope she will give us another chance and make use of our technology to ensure this does not happen again in the future.
  

  Sincerely,

  ***** *****

  ******* *******

  Customer response

  10/17/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  Let's be clear I was not offered a different tax preparer over and over again. It was mentioned once and of course that was at the end of September not to mention y'all didn't even have my paperwork for a different preparer. I was continuously told that ***** had to bring it in the office so starting over with less than a month waiting on paperwork was unrealistic. No thank you to the $125 credit. I don't want anything from RG Brenner your company failed me as a customer. I had to stay in constant contact with YOU. I will Never use RG Brenner again it is not worth it and the discount was an insult however I was left with no choice AT ALL. I will never be caught in this situation again. The purpose of the complaint was to solely RAISE Awareness so that this does not happen to another CLIENT. 

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ********
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business response

  10/18/2024

  I am sorry that *** ******** did not like my response.  I can only report what has been told to me during the tax season.  Every time her issue with contacting her tax preparer came to my attention, I informed customer service to have a different person assist her. I was told they offered, and it was turned down.
  
  Regarding her paperwork, should she have agreed to use a different tax preparer, I would have sent someone to ******************* to retrieve the documents.
  
  In any case, once again I apologize for this incident.  *** ********s purpose in her complaint to the BBB was to bring to our attention the communication issues she had during this tax season, and I can assure her, that I hear her loud and clear.  I am personally very upset about what happened to her, and I am going to address this not only to *** ******* but his entire staff.  Our policy is to upload copies of a clients documents and return them to the client.  This clearly was not followed.
  
  Sincerely,
  ***** *****
  General Manager

• Initial Complaint

  06/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  i used the account office for many years i have been tring to contact them via email and phone calls I need a copy of my 2018 and 2019 tax returns because SS office has not register them

  Business response

  06/10/2024

  I am confused about this complain.  Our customer service team received the first email on 6/7 at 6:09PM.  We are off on Fridays during the summer and our voicemail system informs clients of that. We are working on getting the copies of the returns.  ******************** will have to pay for his copies as he is not a current client.  He could also have gone directly to the *** to ask for copies.  There was no need to file a complaint because no one responded during no business hours.

  sincerely,

  ***** *****

• Initial Complaint

  07/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  R&G Brenner prepared taxes for me for 2020 tax period. In 2023 I got audited and ******** found an error, sending me a statement for $590. I did pay the balance immediately after notifying R&G Brenner and they confirmed that it was a mistake from their side. The only fee I disagree with is the interest fee that was included in the balance. I believe that I should not pay that amount of $89. R&G Brenner explained that there is nothing they can do regarding this fee, however they can give me $75 in credits for their services. I have moved to another state and my taxes are being prepared by a local accountant. I do not need this credit balance, since I will not be using R&G Brenner services in future, especially after they admitted they made a mistake.

  Business response

  08/01/2023

  Aug 1, 2023
  Dear ***********************************,
  I am in receipt of the complaint from ************** dated July 24, 2023. 
  ************** contracted with us on March 3, 2021 to prepare her 2020 taxes.  Unfortunately, there was an item that was left off *** ****** tax return resulted in a tax liability of $501.00 and $89.39 in interest.  There was no penalty assessed.
  We reviewed the letter ************** received and concurred with the *** ruling.  There was no need to amend the return, as the amendment would have resulted in the same tax liability.
  Whereas, we acknowledge that this is unsettling to any taxpayer to receive a letter like this, but if the tax return had the correct information on it at the time of filing, ************** would have owed the $501 dollars.  The issue is the $89.39 in interest.  Our company does not reimburse for interest because the client has use of the funds.  However, we do recognize that the client never asked for this loan and it is very inconvenient, we do offer some compensation for their trouble.  In this case we offered *** *********** a $75 Credit Certificate which she refused.
  Please see the attached Client Engagement Agreement which ************** signed.  Clause I) which states the following:
  l) Payment for service(s) will be due at the completion of the tax return. A retainer may be collected before any work begins. No tax return may leave or be transmitted from an RGB office until all previous and current RGB balances due are paid-in-full. Any potential refunds issued by RGB will be in the form of store credit & excludes any assessed interest charges as client had access to monies a taxing authority is/has contesting/contested unless corresponding tax return is covered by RGB Shield as per clause (g) above.
  It clearly states that any refunds will be in store credit and excludes interest.  However, as stated above we understand the inconvenience that ************** went through and instead of offering her nothing we offered her $75.
  ************** states that she has moved and does not wish to continue using our service as a result. She obviously has the right to have her taxes prepared anywhere, but our services are used by clients not only all over ***************** but also the world.  Because she chooses to not use our services does not mean we have to alter our agreement and cut her a check.
  Our offer for the $75 credit certificate will also be available to ***************
  Sincerely,
  ***** ***** ******* *******
  
  

  Customer response

  08/02/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  The credit the company is offering is below the extra amount I was charged in interest fees. That is the first problem. 

  The second problem: the company had correct information at that time to prepare the taxes, but still made a mistake.

  And the third problem : trust issues. After seeing how the company is resolving problems (stretching time, it took too long for them to answer my emails when I tried to explain the problem, unwilling to understand that their resolution doesn't satisfy the customer needs)- I will not prepare taxes with them again in future. I wish them all the best! I just hope their potential customers to be prepared for interest charges if IRS gets audited them.

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************
  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 02/18 I had my income tax completed by R& G Brenner. I was asked to sign the return and never told what was done. I waited 30 + minutes the receptionist asked if my charge was $260.00. The preparer told her they were verifying me. After she got the total she could not explain why I was being charged more. I did not authorize the charge of $315.00. When I got to my car and got to look at the return I saw there was an error which explained the over charge. Upon finding the error I called requesting my taxes be redone correctly. I was told she would have someone look my return over and would call me the next day. When I did not receive a call I called them and found no one was in to call. On 02/20 I called to make sure the return would not be filed until it was corrected and not to charge my account until corrected, I was assured it would not be filed. I received a called back from someone telling they would redo the taxes correctly and my fee would be adjusted to $260.00 as well as owing an additional amount to the *** and I would receive a call back. When I call on 02/24 the location I went to I asked again to make sure the return was not filed. I was assured it was not. On 02/25 I called and spoke to someone and I was told nothing was done on my return and they claim there wasn't any notes on what was said on the 20th. I receive another call on the 25th from someone else who told me that the return was filed on the 20th he than attempted to assist. On the 28th I received a call telling me they completed the amended return and now I owed only $110.00 instead on $3900.00. They can not be trusted. As far as the $55.00 overage they will only give me a credit of $50.00 off next year's return, I will never be use them again and will never recommend them to anyone.

  Business response

  03/31/2023

  Dear ***********************************,
  
  Regarding the complaint from ********************* dated March 31,2023.
  
  Our company has spent a lot of time reviewing *** ***** tax return.  After she brought to our attention that she believed there was an error on her return we had 2 different tax preparers review the return we submitted.  Both tax preparers confirmed that the original return was prepared correctly.  She continued to argue with ** stating that it was wrong.  We offered to amend the tax return but she would have to pay for it because, as stated by 3 tax preparers, her original return was prepared correctly, based on all the information she provided.
  
  I do not understand why this client even uses a professional tax preparation business when she believes that the tax preparers who have degrees and registered with the *** are wrong.
  
  As a result of multiple preparers reviewing this return and confirming its accuracy no refund is due the client.
  

  Sincerely,

  ***** *****

  General Manager

• Initial Complaint

  11/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  *********************** of RG Brenner of valley steam, long island made the same mistake for my 2018 ,2019,2020 tax return on line 26 where it says DEFERRED COMP AND PENSION SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED ON THIS LINE BUT HE DID. I had to pay back pay off $2800 for 2018 and I got a notice for 2019 to pay back $20,000 If he is certified to do taxes why am I paying the price for his mistake .RG BRENNER is supposed to take care of their mistakes you don't say oh well .

  Business response

  11/30/2022

  Dear *********,

  
  I would like to apologize for the issue that ************** is having with his tax returns.  It is never pleasant getting any notices from taxing entities.  I understand the frustration that he is experiencing with having to pay taxes on his pension.  However, ****************** pension is taxable, and should it have been indicated properly on his tax returns he would have paid these taxes at the time of filing.  It is unreasonable for ************** to think that we or anyone else would be responsible for paying his taxes.  He did incur interest for use of this money.  That again is his responsibility, however we did agree to split the interest cost to make up for the issue and he refused.  We are responsible for any penalties; however, no penalties were charged.
  

  Because of issues like this, our company has setup an insurance policy on tax returns for tax years ********************* the amount of $2,000.  This will cover tax liability, interest and penalties.

   

  Sincerely,

  ***** *****

  Customer response

  11/30/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because my taxes were done incorrectly by *********************** and all they offered me was a free tax return . HE made the same mistake for 3 years straight now it's so convenient that they have a **** dollar policy in ******************************************** 2018,2019,2020 . The interest should be paid by RG BRENNER  because I would have never had to pay back if my taxes were done correctly I also want the fees that I paid for the years they were done incorrectly. 

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business response

  12/01/2022

  Again, I understand ****************** frustration.  However, he will never be satisfied, as he is asking for something that we cannot provide.  *** has upheld that only the tax payer can pay their tax liability.  Additionally, the courts have stated that the party that had use of the monies is the person responsible for any interest.  Our firm would have been responsible and would have compensated ************** for any penalties, however he was not assessed any.  Even though we are not responsible for his tax liability or interest, we had made offers to ************** for free future services.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  ***** *****

  Customer response

  12/01/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:  I was given penalties for the year of 2018,2019,  I have the notices and they refused to pay for the penalties incurred by *********************** and his mistake on my taxes. I have ALL the notices I have no problem paying what I owe to the  IRS BUT THE INTEREST SHOULD BE PAID BY RG BRENNER BECAUSE IF THERE WAS NO MISTAKES MADE THERE WOULD BE NO INTEREST OR PENALTIES TO DISPUTE. THERE ARE INTEREST PENALTIES FOR 2018,2019, 2020 HAS NOT COME UP YET. 

  [Your Answer Here]

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contacted ***** Brenner to do my personal individual 2021 taxes. For the last 12 years I have paid between $400 - $450 for them to complete and file my taxes.This year, I was supposed to get a one hour Zoom consultation which was abruptly cut short to 15 minutes during the consulation. The accountant then got back to me to say that I owed over $9000 and my **** for doing the taxes was over $950. During the brief call I discovered the accountant made a mistake on my taxes of $1500 due to a misallocation and there is a charge on the **** for $100 for a $51 income from overseas. There has been very poor communication from the company with regards to me resolving this issue and I feel that I have been very overcharged combined with bad service and costly mistakes.My taxes were not filed by ***** Brenner and the accountant that did do my taxes was $400 and I only owed just over $3000 which shows that there were probably other errors on my taxes that I am not able to see due to the fact that they will not let me see my tax form they competed. The office assistant informed me that there have been other complaints this year due to high billing of customers.I hope we can get this resolved.

  Business response

  08/02/2022

  August 2, 2022
  
  Dear ********************,
  
  We prepared the personal income taxes for **************** since 2012.  Throughout these years he has been giving significant discounts over our pricing, which is based on price per form.  Based on the past few years, due to the pandemic, we are no longer in a position to continue to give large discounts.  This year *** ******* fee should have been $893, based on the forms needed to complete the return.  We understand that this would have more than doubled his fee from last year, and therefore we discounted the fee by $250 for a final fee of $643.  After being informed of the fee, **************** agreed to it and signed the e-file documents on 4/15/22, see attached.  If **************** did not agree to our fee, why did he sign the e-file documents?  By signing the e-file documents **************** is authorizing us to file his return on his behalf and is agreeing to our fees, as per our Client Engagement Agreement.
  
  Regarding **************** going elsewhere for his return, that is his right, however he contracted with us to prepare his return and we fulfilled our obligation.  We did not e-file his return because we do not file returns until they are paid in full.  ************* *** ******* tax preparer this year is a CPA, and I trust the return he prepared.  I cannot speak for a return prepared elsewhere,especially when we have not seen a copy of that return.
  
  In short order **************** owes us the money.  I am willing to knock another $50 off the fee.  If **************** pay us $593, I will stop all collection processing.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****
  General Manager

  Customer response

  08/15/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here}

  I received the attached document from the Better Business Bureau this morning with four digital signatures that is saying I signed on April 15th at 17:53:47. At that time, on that date, I was in a business meeting, with time records, and I did not sign these documents. All the four signatures have the same time stamp to the second and it is not possible to sign all four signatures at once. I am not sure what happened here but, besides the discrepancy of the common seconds number, I have no emails on this date from R & G Brenner's ***************************************, who prepared my taxes, with any forms to sign either. He never sent them. I did not sign these documents. This is very distressing to think something like this happened. 

  Also, I was not aware of the amount to be charged before signing any agreement with R & G Brenner. If I was aware that I was being charged double the amount after 10 years of service, I never would have agreed or signed any form. 
  
  This charging for each form they do is something new as it was explained to me by their office and seems like a genuine way to extort extra money from people after the pandemic. 
  
  One of my expenses was separated as $51 for overseas income and the form cost $100. There are other forms like this added to my ****, including an extra **** fee. 
  
  ***************************************, who worked on my taxes, might be a CPA but he shortened my one hour consultation to 15 min and later admitted a $1500+ mistake on my taxes due to a miscalculation that he did not check on. Originally, he said I owed over $9000 in State and Federal taxes. After getting my taxes done elsewhere, costing $410, I owed just over $3000 so there is no telling what other mistakes he made as he will not show me the tax form. 
  
  After over 10 years with the company my fees should not increase over 100%.
  
  I really hope you can help me with this matter. Can you please take a look at my case again?
  
  I look forward to hearing from you.

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business response

  08/16/2022

  **************** does not want to pay his fee, that is the bottom line.  He contracted with us to prepare his taxes and we did.  He signed all the e-file documents.  In personal correspondences with **************** to resolve this issue he not once, but twice, accused my company of fraudulent behavior by claiming someone in my company signed the documents on his behalf and that it could "not" have been him.  I still have offered him an additional $50, and send him proof that the documents were sent to him and signed by him, see attached.  If **************** does not pay his balance due I am going to pursue this matter through the courts.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  ***** *****

   

• Initial Complaint

  07/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I submitted my income tax paperwork several weeks prior to the filing deadline. I received a penalty however from both State and Federal for approximately $900 combined. Also prior to the tax deadline I made numerous attempts to contact the tax preparer and office manager to no avail. I tried to escalate my concerns via their "corporate office" and was continually given the run around. I have text messages and emails that can prove i submitted all paperwork requested well within the dead line. Equally disturbing are the text messages I saved in which the tax preparer blames everyone within her office except for herself. I have exhausted all means to contact their office. There is zero customer service. I deserve to be compensated for my loss and someone within their organization, at an executive level should be aware of my nightmare dealing with their blatant incompetence.

  Business response

  08/01/2022

  ****** ** **** *** ********
  Dear ********************,
  
  I apologize for the late response, I was out of the office and I needed to research this.  Apparently, the issue is not with ********************** personal tax return but with a Trust return.
  
  The tax professional who prepared both tax returns acknowledged that Trust return was e-filed late and the responsibility of the late filing falls on our company.  As a result, the client was sent a check to cover the late filing fees.
  
  This matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  ***** *****
  General Manager

• Initial Complaint

  06/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I receive a **** from R&G brenner which stated that I owed $ 233 which is unusual because I didnt filed taxes with them this year. I never signed any documents with them to finalize any tax work.

  Business response

  06/15/2022

  To whom it may concern,
  
  ******************** has been a client of our since 2012 2015.  She then came back to us in 2020, 2021 and 2022.  This year we completed her tax return and are waiting for her to pay her outstanding balance so that we can e-file the tax return.  Our company has performed all the necessary work, paperwork and review to complete her return.  We sent ******************** her e-filing paperwork via email and on 2/17/22 she signed them.  We are only waiting on her to pay her **** so that we can e-file her return.
  
  Therefore, there is no question that ******************** owes us this money and we will continue to pursue this matter till she pays in full.  Please see a copy of her receipt below.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****

  Customer response

  06/15/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  First, as a client of 6 years they would know that I am a male and not a female, as they addressed me throughout their entire response. Secondly I never signed any paperwork to finalize my taxes with them. If they are saying I did I would like proof that I signed paperwork. I actually have emails of them trying to get in touch with me to set up an appointment to sign and finalize my paperwork, which I never responded to or went in the office to do so. They are billing me for a service that is incomplete. 

   

   

   

   

  
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Customer response

  06/21/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because from examining the attached paperwork I can say that is not my signature. I have never signed my name like that on any document, if compared to my last tax return documents I did sign , you can see the signatures are different. I never received any email with an attachment to be signed electronically. As stated before the only emails I received were emails trying to get me to come back into the office to sign other paperwork. As such I would like to see the original email with the attachment that was sent by R & G that signature is not mine. 

  Ent that 
  

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business response

  06/22/2022

  I am not going to entertain someone who claims it is not their signature.  We prepare ****** tax returns a year and there is absolutely no benefit to our company to sign a tax return for any clients.  This is a nonsensical response.  I have provided all the documentation we have to dispute the client's claim that they did not contract with us to prepare their taxes.

  Sincerely,

   

  ***** *****

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩