O’Connor & Associates

If I could give no stars I would. They are hopeless. Every time I called and spoke to them it appeared that they were working on my tax appeal. They assured me they had all the documentation they needed. When January rolled around, I called and asked about my appeal and was given a BS excuse that the hearings were running through January and mine would be soon. Basically, when I received my file as I requested, it showed no date for an informal or formal hearing and nothing — not one thing — was done on my behalf. I you want to appeal you tax assessment you’re better off doing it yourself that waste breath talking to these guys.

They did a very lousy job on my case. I have sent them all the required documents they needed well in advance. They kept coming back saying they had missing signatures and dates. When I called in to confirm they said she has all the documents needed from my end and I can disregard the emails.
At the end nothing was done on my case and they did not protest my taxes. This is the second year in a row that I did not get property tax reduced.
Everytime I call them I spend about 30 minutes and I have called them more than 20 times. I could use that time to protest taxes myself.
Good Job Oconnor you have let my property value increase by 10% each year over the last two years.
I am done with you.

Client since 2006, but will not renew my appointment of agent with them for 2016.
This year:
1. They have erractically sent invoices to different email addresses.
2. Not received my payment for several faxed in payments.
3. Not received faxed documentation that I have sent numerous times.
4. Not received photos submitted via email numerous times.
5. Called in requesting a ton of information for a Appraisal Appeal court hearing filed at Harris County District Court a few days before the hearing. It would have taken at least a month to gather the information.
6. Taking the informal appraisal results instead of fighting in the formal hearing.
7. General lack of commication in handling my properties.

One star truly reflects the level of service that the company provides. After agreeing to the $ 800K settlement back in 2011, the company still hasn’t learned its lesson. For 2015 I had submitted my protest with O’Connor and Associate and after communicating back and forth with the company through phone and email several times over a 2 month period, I was told that a court date was in the process of being set and that I had no action to take. Fast forward 2 months later, I was told that I missed the deadline because I had not submitted the proper paperwork.
I was dumb founded to hear this because I had checked-​in weekly to ensure that every thing was in progress and I had the email trail and documentation to prove it. At this time, I have not heard back from O’connor and I suspect I wont.
I suspect that the O’Connor failed to appear at the appraisal review board hearings. and therefore my protest never took place. and this one was of the items that caused the company to get fined for $ 800K. So sad they still havent learned.
You are better off using another small company that complies with the laws to handle your protest.

DON“T DO IT!!! These folks are crooks and should be investigated by the AG. I sold my property last year and notified them on TWO occasions. Fast forward to June 2015 and I get an email that I owe them $ 5.00 and failure to pay within 10 days would result in being sent to collections. The next day I received a call from collections over the $ 5.00. I called in and finally was able to speak to a representative who said they aren’t capable of pulling up past emails. They confirmed that we had, in fact sold the house, but still insisted I pay $ 5.00 for service I cancelled 10 months ago because I sold the house. They also confirmed the charge was for service they provided this year – 6 months after the house was sold. Of course, I paid the $ 5.00 to just make it go away, but I TOTALLY REGRET not listening to previous reviews. Lesson learned and I hope you choose to walk away from these clowns.

oconner ans associates had helped out a couple co workers so i called and signed on, hoping for the same positive result, they may have helped a few people with reductions, they are a customer service nightmare!!! my e Signed packages were promptly signed and sent, apparently to a computer generated email box, no one was sorting anything to each individual account, after 9 weeks of repeatedly sending these off, i called concerned as to why they were not being received, i was then for the first time told, i needed a manual signature, and in 9 weeks no one called, emailed, anything to inform me what was needed1 we haven’t even gotten to the hearing stage which is 7 days away, and they have dropped the ball on every pertinent issue, I am extremely nervous about if there going to show, if i will receive any notification of whats happening, their absolutely unprofessional at staying on top of whats occurring with the county and keeping the customer informed as to the process, i am brazoria county and its no joke here, there going after home owners for massive tax increases, i will not be using this company again, and i would suggest others find alternative assistance, i would rather have the stress caused by my own hand than pay someone who is supposed to assist and fails miserbly

I guess I am the kind of person that likes to ask for punishment. Giving bad reviews, but then keep coming back. Again O’Connor forgot to show up at my residential protest hearing in May 2015. Their people kept hounded me about sending in my Appointment of Agent form. I did and even reminded them of the appointment a few days before the protest hearing. Still no one showed up. When I inquired, they had someone called me with a very strong, unintelligible accent telling me that their representative had attended the protest and that the result will be forthcoming in the mail. Suspected something was amiss because the result was apparent at the end of the hearing, I decided to call the Appraisal District. Low and behold, O’Connor forgot to show up. If it’s in the computer, how can they forget? This is the second time that it happened to me, I am sure it must happen to many others.
My suggestions to O’Connor is to get their act together and get someone that speaks good English manning the phone.

O’CONNOR AND ASSOCIATES IS DEAD TO ME.
Yes, they take the hassle of protesting your property value in order to lower your property tax. They are the Harris County power house, the major leagues. But, administratively, they are completely minor league.
There are 2 instances where they have created more hassle than anyone would want to deal with. All because they don’t check their inbox, even though they instruct you to submit documents that way.
Instance 1:
They charged me interest on a late payment when I had sent them my payment ON TIME many months prior. Why? BECAUSE THEY DIDNT CHECK THEIR INBOX. Sure enough, they found my email and backed out interest. Shake my head.
Instance 2:
I requested to suspend my account this year because I wanted to take a crack at protesting my property value myself. Long story short, O’Connor and Associates has me on their client list for an Informal Hearing ANYWAY because they do not check documents received. Their advice was to remove them as my agent and no-​show for my court date. are you serious???
I also don’t appreciate it when I call them and get routed to an off-​shore call center where I get canned answers to my questions. I need critical thinking, please.
Their services are also pricey. Their charge is 50% of whatever you save in property taxes, but there are competing law firms (just as good) that charge 40%.
I will NEVER use O’Connor ever again.

Terrible! They were only able to get me about a 1.5% reduction from the initial appraisal value of my home and when I called them to question it I got dufus CSR reading from a script saying that’s the average for my area, there’s nothing they can do, etc., so then I say why did I bother including all the comps (there were 3 units in my townhome complex listed for sale a prices more that 5% below my final market appraisal value) and specific information on the repairs needed to my property if all they were going to do was take an average for the area? Duh duh duh, back to the script, sorry nothing we can do. Really disappointed. That’s a 15% increase in value from last year to go along with the tax rate increases so I am really getting hosed. Definitely taking my business elsewhere. If they bother to attend the hearing at all, they will not represent your property individually but simply «negotiate» a few $ off the county’s apprasial for the 100+ files they have scheduled for a hearing that day. Nothing you can’t do yourself.

This poor review has nothing to do with O’Connor and Associates success on my tax protest.
What I have a HUGE problem with is the seedy nature of this organization’s business practices. I used O’Connor for my 2014 Tax Protest. I clearly marked on my form that I did NOT want an automatic renewal for 2015. Even though I selected this option I received a letter from them in the summer of 2014 asking me to renew. I returned that notice with my NO.
For the next few months I received at LEAST 20 solicitation phone calls from O’Connor & Associates. I told them no each time and asked them to stop calling me; which they FINALLY DID but only after about the 20^th call!!!
THEN, after all of this, I received TWO MORE LETTERS notifying me that they will automatically protest my taxes for 2015 if I DON’T respond to their notice.
WHAT? You know this is SLEAZY, UNETHICAL and probably illegal, not to mention harassment…

A complete scam. I wish I’d done my research before ever contacting these people. I secured O’Connor and Associates last summer for my Brazoria County property dispute. I had already initiated my online dispute prior to contacting them. The week prior to my court date, the county offered a settlement to me that I found accceptable. I accepted the offer online and called O’Connor that same day to cancel. I informed them that I no longer needed representation at the hearing date. I was told «ok, I will get this cancelled out for you «by the rep and thought nothing else of it. Fast forward a few weeks and O’Connor sends me a slightly lower total tax assessment bill than my settlement. I think: ‘ok well maybe they still attended the hearing and got my taxes down a bit lower.’ The very next day, I get another letter from O’Connor confirming my request for cancellation with the date that I called. The day after that, I received yet another letter stating the same amount that I settled on with the county… only now O’Connor is requesting half of the savings! Attempts to get clarification through O’Connor have been useless. I speak with someone who is supposed to «look into it» and never hear back. I just keep getting calls from their foreign call center.
The gist is this. I spoke with my Brazoria County appraiser who informed me that O’Connor cancelled my self-​initiated protest AFTER I called to cancel my representation with them. Despite verbal request to end representation, they still re-​entered my dispute with their name attached and accepted the exact same dollar settlement! Because my request for cancellation was not written and submitted 30 days in advance (impossible if the county only offers a settlement the week before hearing) O’Connor wants half of my savings for doing no work.
DO NOT HIRE THESE PEOPLE. Take it from a first-​timer, they will not do anything that you cannot do on your own. Do not pay them for nothing.

This company will say they will work for you. Then they will do the least work necessary, and refuse, REFUSE, to let you speak with anyone other than the lowest on the scale. For a very strong tax protest in my case, altho they promised to go to formal hearing for me, they didnt, and never intended to. They did not get my taxes reduced to a fair level for the supported and proven problems I have. Then they refused to give me any name of a supervisor or manager. I had to ask for the president of the company to get any response on any level. This company will steam roll you.

OMG! My experience with this company has been AWFUL! Nothing went smoothly. About the only «non-​negative» part of the whole process was the friendliness of the people who called me from India (many, many times). I heard nothing about the outcome of the protest and eventually had to look it up on the HCAD website. Then this morning I had another call from India asking me to pay a Past Due invoice for $ 52 which I never received. UGH!

DO NOT USE O’Connor for your tax protest services!!! At one point or another you will find out that this is a company that wants your money for no services done. There are companies with much better rates and services for tax protests.

I have a property here in cedar park texas. I requested their service to reduce my property tax or at least evaluate it. it turns out they were unable to negotiate with travis county to lower my appraised value from 120 per sq foot to the neighborhood average value of 97 with no reason given other than a dear john letter stating no change. I suspect they made no effort, in return I received a letter too late were I couldn’t protest my appraisal myself. proof was faxed to them which clearly shows my rate was too high. thanks so much for not making an effort. after the dear john letter I called them and they never returned my call. they wont be in business much longer. homeowners stay away …

Not sure what all the complaints are about here. I have rental props in TX and live in CA. I just paid them about $ 200 between a couple of props (2 props didn’t get a reduction). This means they saved me about $ 200 on my property taxes as a whole after their fee. Free money, other than the time to fill out some paperwork. I could not handle doing the protests remotely. Great work O’Connor & Associates!

ZERO STARS!!!
SCAM!!!
DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY WITH YOUR TAX DISPUTE!!!
We contacted O’Connor and Associates to represent us in a Property Tax dispute. After contacting them, we filed all of the necessary paperwork they requested. After approximately 2 weeks passed, we had yet to hear anything from them confirming receipt of contract. I called to confirm they had everything they had requested and that we were in fact scheduled to be represented. They finally called a few days before our scheduled hearing and asked one question regarding our property, «have there been any recent changes». That was it. The lady calling hung up the phone shortly after.
I should have taken all of this as a sign. I should have known better than to trust someone else with this. At the very least I should have maneuvered my schedule to be present at the hearing.
The dispute was over a $ 69,000 year over year price increase on a home purchase less than 2 years prior. Our hearing, scheduled for July 16^th at 3:00pm, came and passed. Shortly after I received an email from the county that our final value had been determined. After logging in, I see «PFNS (Protest Filed No Show At Hearing)» in the status section.
THEY DIDN’T EVEN SHOW UP!
Never received a phone call, email, text message, postcard… nothing. Now, instead of having even a small chance of paying lower property taxes for the coming years, we are stuck paying an outrageous price increase.
DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY!!!
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My 2005 home tax rate:
$ 72,000 (2013)
$ 107,336 (2014 initial)
My home didn’t INCREASE in value of 49% in one year
O’Connor & Associates agreed for $ 97,600 (2014 Final)
I’m paying more taxes and more fees to O’Connor & Associates
I asked O’Connor & Associates, «where is my saving?»
I’m paying over $ 1,000 more than last year
I guessed the lowest you can go is ONE star; so, 1 star
BTW, I did request cancellation of my one year trial; they didn’t do it.

I truly love the service that O’Connor & Associates provides. I live in Austin where you have to be very vigilant about your tax assessment lest you be taxed out of your home before you’ve finished paying your MIP.
O’Connor has successfully protested my tax assessment for the past two years for which I am utterly grateful. This is definitely a service worth paying for since I could very easily forget to do this every year.
I love that you only pay half of what they save you in what your tax increase would have been. If they fail to win your protest, you pay nothing. Wouldn’t it be great if there were more services like this? I wish my accountant and financial planner worked on the same system since sometimes I’m not sure they have earned their fees. With O’Connor, I am happy to pay them this portion of my «savings». That small fee is worth thousands of dollars in savings in the long and short run. You immediately reap the benefits of not having to pay the inflated bill you would have had to pay.
Moreover, it was really easy to get set up with them. I think I filled out one form granting them authority to act on my behalf and it is an evergreen agreement that I can cancel at anytime, but why would I? Once a year, I get a notice that they are about to protest my taxes, then a couple month later, they email me statement showing the proposed assessment, and their successful protest showing my bill is half the difference of what the tax increase would have been. Easy money, really.

There is something wrong lately with O’Connor & Associates. They have provided me with excellent service for many years. However, something definitely has gone wrong with this organization. Simply put, they no longer answer their phones in any of their offices. I have made many attempts for several months with no success.
I have a substantial invoice amount due to them for this year’s property tax reduction. I’ve always paid by phone. However, this year they don’t answer the phone and eventually one is disconnected in the HOLD queue for bill paying. What is going on?
I am very suspicious as to whether O’Connor & Associates is a going concern at this point. What I had to do was mail my payment only after I confirmed the appraised value per their invoice to the county tax assessors office.
O’Connor & Associates have wasted much of my precious time.
My advice to all prospective clients is to find another property tax reduction representative. Stay away from O’Connor & Associates. They have no customer service at all. If they can’t answer a simply phone inquiry then I have a difficult time being assured of a property tax reduction being recognized by the county assessor. At a minimum this assurance is important because O’Connor expects full payment for their services before the county assessor finalizes the adjusted appraised value.
By the way this adverse Unilocal review will have no negative impact on their business in any way because they don’t even answer the new customer line. They are digging their own grave.