Hathaway & Ksenzulak Llp

This accounting firm did our taxes for eleven years. This year, I found an error on our taxes, and I brought it to our accountant’s attention. Our accountant told me that I had checked the wrong box on our tax planner and therefore she would be charging us $ 100 to fix the error. The error related to me mistakenly checking the box saying we had no childcare expenses– which we’ve had every year since our child was born.
After thinking about it for a day, I concluded that the accountant should have noticed that I had entered incorrect information on the planner and contacted me. Even assuming that the error was mine, I felt that the eleven year relationship warranted a favor under these circumstances. I emailed our accountant and politely requested that she not charge us the $ 100 fee to fix the mistake. In response to my request, our accountant emailed me and told me that she was terminating our professional relationship and would no longer do our taxes after this year. Up until this incident, we had had a perfectly cordial working relationship. In eleven years neither my husband nor I had never asked for our bill to be adjusted. I told the accountant by email that I was speechless.
I forwarded my email exchange with the accountant to the managers of the firm, and said that I was very disappointed in how the situation had been handled. A half an hour later, I received a phone call from one of the managers at the firm. I naively assumed he was contacting me to apologize. Instead, he proceeded to try to convince me why I was wrong to request that the $ 100 be waived. In hindsight, I should have ended the call as soon as I realized this, but unfortunately I didn’t. (A simple email from the accounting firm saying, «We won’t waive the $ 100» would have been sufficient.)
I politely explained why I thought a courtesy bill adjustment was warranted. Instead of simply saying, «No, we won’t waive the fee,» the manager began to personally insult me and then hung up on me. At no time during the call did I raise my voice or get personal. It was a surreal experience. I never heard back from anyone at the firm. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this accounting firm.