Block Advisors

Our experience at this location has been less than stellar. I have used H&R block for the past 6 years and I will not be going back after using turbo tax this year. *** This may be a lengthy review but I suggest you keep reading if you are considering this location*** After I got done filling this years return, which was very similar to last years, I began to wonder why our we were getting so much back compared to last year. I pulled out the prior years tax return and realized that they counted my stock option cash out twice. This means that we paid much more in taxes than we should have. I consulted the branch and told them what I found and they immediately said that they had made a mistake and I needed to come in for them to file an amended taxes return. Keep in mind, with the IRS understaffing, amended returns are taking up to 4 months to be paid back. I went to the branch that filed my previous years return to have them file the amended taxes and this is where my adventure began…
I met with a «master tax advisor» Florence Wong” who prepared my amended taxes. She informed me that we overpaid by about 5k and that she would get everything taken care of. I informed her that I wasn’t mad at her but more upset that the money could have been put towards the closing of our house. This would have prevented us from paying PMI on our house. At this point, she informed me that I should be grateful that I make enough and take enough out in taxes, that it didn’t make a difference. I felt that this comment was rude and insulting. My wife and I don’t make a huge amount of money or live an extravagant lifestyle. Anyways… I asked to speak to a supervisor about the issue and how they would make it right. My understanding is that H&R has a guarantee and if they make a mistake, they will pay back your tax prep fees. She told me that she couldn’t make any decisions and that her supervisor Kimberly?, would contact me the next day.
I waited a week for her to contact me and never heard from her. I left a couple messages a the branch and never heard back from her.
At this point I decided to call the customer service line and they said they would contact the brach and someone would be contacting me within a couple days. I waited a week and decided I should contact their corporate office on ⁴⁄₃₀.
I described my frustrations with them about how I felt I was getting the run around and they said they would pass it on to their «investigations team». They told me that I would receive a call within 7 – 10 days with a resolution. After not hearing back from them, I decided to call back on ⁴⁄₁₈ and they said that it has been sent to their field leadership and to call back in a couple days. At this point I felt like I was getting jerked around even at the corporate level! I called back again today and they said there was no update and that they had a heavy load due to tax season (seems like a tax company should be prepared for!). When I spoke to the supervisor, they were absolutely no help. I believe my only option now is to take them to small claims court as they just keep telling me to call them back and have never received a call from them with an updated.
Long story short– if you have a simple return, I guess they would be ok. Even though I think anyone could do turbo tax if I could do it. It was also about $ 200 less than H&R. If they mess up on your taxes, get ready to be incredibly frustrated trying to resolve it.

I have been to many tax professionals in the past but was very impressed with Pauline Eiras who works at the Pleasanton branch. She is always available to answer any of my questions (no matter how ridiculous they may be) and has always given me the right advice. She advised me that it would benefit me to purchase a house so that I have a bigger write off at the end of the year… just so happens, she was right! I recommend Pauline to my family and friends if they are looking for a tax professional that will be truthful along with being knowledgeable at the same time. I will be coming back for years to come!

Deberah & Vince were great! We had a challenging tax return to complete due to a number of issues but they were very thorough and we ended up getting money back!