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JK Harris

JK Harris • Consumer Complaints • Company Response News • Texas Sues JK Harris For Misrepresentation • Missouri Sues JK Harris For Failing To Help Customers • JK Harris Settles Deceptive Ad Charges

Darla of Monroe, LA August 5, 2009

I have been strung along about my IRS case and being told do not talk to the IRS and now the IRS has Levied My checking account for 13,000. I am being EVICTED from my home and I have a 5 yrs. old living with me.I have been on the phone all day trying to get a refund of 866.00 which I have paid to them to STOP this levy..Guess I need to find a attorney to try and SUE TO get my money back.

Andy of Torrance, CA August 3, 2009

I should've read this website BEFORE I even bothered calling them, but the good thing is that I canceled my check before they processed it, and am in the process of requesting a refund and formally terminating our agreement. So far, I've not heard back from anyone from their organization.

A couple years ago, I originally paid TRS a ton of cash, and after I had the same experience as some of the customers here with JKH, decided to go with them. I figured I couldn't get scammed by two different companies, but I was obviously wrong. Anyway, I went in for my "free consultation", and met with a "consultant" (according to his business card) -- not even a CPA or former IRS, and am guessing he was just a sales guy. He more or less scared me to death after explaining horror stories to me, and convinced me to sign up because I couldn't do it alone. Of course this was after he told me about one of their success stories.

After reading the reviews here, and realizing I had made a mistake, I started reading their terms and conditions. Here is an excerpt about who will perform the work: "The vast majority of work on your case, including data gathering, form preparation and verification of supporting documents, is performed by trained employees called Case Specialists who are located at JKH's offices in Charleston, SC. Case Specialists receive appx 40 hours of classroom training, in addition to on the job training, using training materials similar to those used by the IRS. The CS works with our pro Licensed Taxpayer Rep (LTR) who handle the review of your file and the negotiations with the IRS or state taxing authority. LTRs are attorneys, CPAs, or Enrolled Agents and are also located in SC. All communications regarding your case will come through your CS unless one of our LTRs requires info directly from you. Consultants do not have access to your account info and will not be able to answer questions regarding case progressions."

So the [lies] my "consultant" gave me in that I will be interfacing through him is obviously not true, and he has no access to any of my info even though I would be submitting everything they needed to him. Also, I'm shocked that most all the work will be done by people who received 40 hours of classroom training -- basically a bunch of clerical admins, and not tax pros like I was expecting.

Anyway, unless they try and collect their money, I got off easy, and didn't have to pay them a dime. Finally, I called the IRS directly, and agreed to go on a 60 month payment plan after the guy from JKH told me that it would not be possible. Note: after having several conversations with various IRS folks over the last month or so, it all depends on who you end up talking to.

CHARLES of MISSOURI CITY, TX July 30, 2009

This is huge scam. They ripped us off for 4600. We owed 50000 and they said we would only have to pay 1200. In the initial interview, the guy plugs in numbers in his laptop and presto bingo!!! We can only afford to pay the IRS 1200. So we sign up with 1200 down payment and debit my account for 360 monthly for 11 months, and after 6 months, they say according to the documents I sent into their office they calculate that I can pay 35,000. Big difference between 1200 and 35,000.

Dorothy of Santa Monica, CA July 29, 2009

They're just completely incompetent and don't know what they're doing. They mailed back my returns stating that all I needed to do was sign and mail in to the IRS. One small problem - they forgot to attach my W2s which caused the IRS to kick them back and made me miss the filing deadline. It's their inattention to detail which is just one small reason why everyone should stay far away from this company.

To top things off, they debited my account twice for their fee, then no one would return my calls to fix their mistake. I finally had to get my bank involved to straighten out the mess they caused. Who knows how badly they actually screwed things up. I only pray that the fine from the IRS is not too bad.

Rebecca of Arlington, TX July 28, 2009

I signed on with J.K. Harris in April of 2007 after I had my wages garnished. They told me that they could help me and asked for 400 upfront then 333 a month for the next few years. I gathered all necessary information and sent it over to them. They prepared one set of tax returns which were incorrect, so they had to prepare another. One I discovered was still incorrect, two years later. I sent all of the financial information to them in May of 2008. I was asked for it again in July and August of 2008.

When I received a letter, that they didn't know about, in September of 2008 giving me a specific date to file my financial information with the IRS, I called J.K. Harris. No one returned my call. I emailed them three time and called a few more times. Finally, I got someone on the phone who told me that they couldn't get the paperwork done that fast as they were still missing some items. Items I had sent in May, July, and August. I said I will send the info to the IRS myself, which I did. I was able to prevent the IRS from freezing my bank accounts on my own.

When I spoke to the agent at the IRS he mentioned that they get a lot of people who are dealing with J.K. Harris that have to take back over their own cases. He told me that people are better off to work directly with the IRS as the same rules apply to both them and individuals. I can file my own offer in compromise and if I have questions about how to fill it out, I can sit down with an IRS agent in my local IRS office (yes a human) and they would assist me.

So I called J.K. Harris and demanded my money back. I was told that it had paid for all the hours of work they had done....what work? Wrong tax filings, and that's it? I called my bank and told them under no circumstances are they to process ANYTHING from J.K. Harris. I pulled my LPOA as well. I emailed J.K. Harris to let them know they were fired so that I would have back up of my contact with them. They sent me a notice informing me that I was still to pay out the remaining balance due. I told them they could sue me for it and I would counter sue them. They attempted to process one more payment and called when it was returned to try to get money.

Then they left me alone for 6 months. After which point I got a call telling me my account was past due. I told them I had fired them in October of 2008 and there was nothing past due about that. She had no record of me firing them. So I asked what paperwork they had sent to the IRS in the last 6 months on my behalf, her anser was nothing. So, if they weren't "fired" what were they doing for 6 months that I should be paying for? She said they were waiting for me to contact them to let them know what I wanted them to do about the potential bank account freeze from September 2008.

I have been working with the IRS on my own for two years now. They are slightly easier to deal with. It took them 2 years to set me up on a payment plan. They also don't believe in calling you back or sending you information unless it's a letter stating their intent to do something. It is up to you to call them back after they have stated they would do something, hold for an hour and start all over.

I now have a levy against me from the IRS because of the IRS not following up with me, despite me being placed on a payment plan. All of this because I hired a company who isn't worth the papers they have you sign. I am out over 1500 dollars to J.K. Harris. I am still accruing interest and penalties on my taxes that J.K. Harris swore to me we would have settle in 6 months. So, they have ultimately cost me thousands of dollars.

Linda of Hernando, MS July 27, 2009

Our complaint is just exactly like the other complaints on this site. I'm sorry we didn't read this site before we signed on with these crooks. They took our money, insisted on bank draft and we have spent countless hours compiling and sending them paperwork which they requested. We never get calls returned. They even block our emails. They went past the deadline to prevent bank levy, then could not get it reversed. The IRS completely drained our bank account. We paid 2000.00 on the front end for this not to happen. The representative (salesman) guaranteed we would owe very little. If you ever can get in touch with anyone, they will immediately say we haven't sent them something they need even though it should be in their hands. We end up searching for it and sending it again. Of course, we have sent letters demanding the return of our money by registered, return receipt. They never accepted it.

We finally decided to go to IRS on our own. The IRS agent said that they had nothing in their files requesting a stay of levies. They were threatening to levy our SS benefits. The IRS is now working with us directly and we can actually talk to someone. They might not save us any money, but at least we know where we stand and they are not promising things that cannot be done. We are resigned to the fact that our Government will stay on our backs until we die. We are past retirement age and cannot make enough money in the rest of our lifetime to pay them off. They at least doubled the amount we should have been charged and will continue to add to it. Aside from JK Harris, we believe legislation should be able to help taxpayers with unscrupulous revenue agents. They have no controls on them and can do whatever they want.

Ronnie of houston , TX July 26, 2009

I have had the same experance as the other people. Jk harris compltly ignored my case, and i was in direct contact with the irs. I ask my first case worker if she wanted the information that i was sending to the irs , and she said no...Just send them what they want..JK harris case workers never paid attntion to deadline dates. they first said that i could pay 5400. then the irs said for me to pay 1700. My case worker ignored this and said we have to wait until they decline the 5400. So by completly ingnoring the irs. she gave them a deadline to come up with a plan... And that plan was for me to pay the entire amount of 45,000. They completly screwd me

Rhonda of Moultrie, GA July 24, 2009

I contracted with JK Harris on 2-29-08 based on tv and radio ads promising to settle past due taxes with the IRS and state. I have paid them over 3300 over this time period. Everytime I requested an update, they would tell me my caseworker had been promoted and turn me over to someone new who would requests that I submit the previous 3 months of income, bills, bank statements, ect. i have sunbitted these documents multiple times.

I was threatened with a lien on my home and once again called them as their ads state they can prevent this. I was told again to submit 3 more onths of the above, which I did. the lien was filed anyway, and my caseworker responded by stating "that doesn't mean a thing; just that if you try to sell the house, the IRS can take the money." How comforting!

Time has gone on and last week i was threatened with a wage levy. My caseworker told me to send her the info, along with my employer's payroll person's name, phone and fax numbers. I did. She then told me that I could go ahead and fill out the papers for my employer as she "would have this stopped before the employer even sent the info in." I received my check today with 90% of my pay levied out. The amount I took home won't pay my light bill, much less my car, house, ect.

I have called them 5-6 times today, left messages each time for my caseworker and also sent 3-4 emails to her and her supposed supervisor--no response. The people who answer the phone say the power of attorney is working on it. Meanwhile I have no money. I don't know if I should contact the IRS directly and try to arrange something. I do know it is criminal what these people have done.

How can a business such as this continue to run after the state lawsuis and all the complaints? The complaints are virtually identical. That many random people couldn't possibly be that on the mark and be wrong. They have a refund policy if you act within 18 months and release them from all liability--how convenient.

Michele of East Meadow, NY July 21, 2009

Paid the company 3000. A year later no acction has been taken and they told me they could not help me.

John of Fort Smith, AR July 17, 2009

Contracted with J.K. Harris in January of 2008 about my back taxes. After seeing their adds on TV, I thought maybe we could get what is owed, reduced. No attempt was ever made by them to negotiate with the IRS, even after the amount was bumped up, almost double, because of penalties and interest. They also told me that I shouldn't be in communication with the IRS, that they would handle all that. However, I have had to contact the IRS several times about different things and also tell the IRS that they should contact J.K. Harris about my case. It seems the different IRS offices, around the country, don't communicate with each other.

Just when I thought things were coming to a resolution, the IRS notified us that they would levy part of my wife's Social Security payments. Now, the IRS has levied my checking account, freezing all the money in there. I'm hoping J.K. Harris can rectify this problem within the 21 days, allowed because I have NO money.

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