H&R Block Reviews

He stated that "State Disability is never taxable" than adjusted the tax owed accordingly to the 2 weeks I collected State Unemployment. When he completed filling out all the pages and came to the part of asking me if I would like to get their "Peace of Mind" service, I hesitated for a minute and he said because I really wasn't getting much back, it probably wouldn't be worth the price. I agreed. He's the tax expert so I was sure my taxes were done correctly.

In 2009, I received another tax form from the CA EDD Office. This was for Jan. 2008 and 10 days in Feb. 2008, that I was still on State Disability. Once again, I went back to H&R Block to the same gentleman who did my taxes the year before and once again he assured me that State Disability was not taxable and my return was again very small and not worth paying for the "Peace of Mind" Service. I followed his advise once more.

One month later, I received a letter from the IRS stating I owed over $700 in taxes I didn't pay in 2007. It was for the CA EDD tax. I sent them a letter stating my case and how I wasn't on Unemployment for more then 2 weeks and that EDD had made an error. Another month or so went by and I received another letter from the IRS stating the taxes were due and I needed to pay them. I worked with someone who worked at H&R Block in the evenings and he called a gentleman (Paul) who was in upper management with H&R Block and had been with H&R for over 25 yrs. On speaker phone, he proceeded to tell me he knows all the tax laws and State Disability was never taxable!

He said whomever was sending me these forms had no idea what they were doing. I again contacted the IRS but this time by phone and it was explained to me that State Disability is never taxable by the state and was not usually taxable by the Federal Gov. Unless you happen to be on State Unemployment prior to going on State Disability which was exactly what I did. I decided to contact the District Manager for H&R Block Carlos **.

I explain the situation and asked if they could still help me even though I didn't pay for the "Peace of Mind." He at first was very helpful and told me not to worry he would look into the situation and contact the IRS for me and that they would pay all penalties and interest accumulated. Weeks went by and I never heard back from Carlos but I did receive another letter from the IRS demanding their money as well as listed additional interest charges. I contacted Carlos once again via email to see what had happened when he contacted the IRS on my behalf. It took Carlos several more days before he responded to my email and when he did, he proceeded to tell me that there was nothing he could do for me except to refund the money I paid to have my taxes done in 2008.

That I should have paid for the "Peace of Mind" service they offer and then he could help me further. I explained again that it was his tax professional who told me it wasn't worth it since I was going to receive less than $100 back on my returns. He was also the one who stated that State Disability was not taxable! Carlos again stated that other then the $47 refund check he was going to have sent to me, there was nothing further he could do to assist me. He also stated that I didn't have to worry about paying the IRS right away that they would work it out with me during this years tax season.

I now owe the IRS the $740.46 plus late fees & interest. I'm expecting to receive another letter for the taxes I didn't pay on my 2008 forms which is for about the same amount time as 2007. I'm receiving letters monthly with more penalties & interest added. I've also been sent a certified letter that I haven't had time to pick-up due to the hours I've been working. I am a single woman trying hard to survive economically & thanks to H&R Block I have even more financial problems than I can handle!

After spending more than two hours with the H&R Block rep, she tried to tell me paying $500 for her to file my taxes was going toward her 8+ weeks of specialized tax prep training and court appearance fees if necessary. I never paid this amount to a CPA. I've paid no more than $350 in the last 10 years and nothing dramatically changed in my tax status in order for this to be acceptable. So I asked for an itemized statement of the work performed in order to make a qualified decision as to whether I should have them proceed with my tax filing. This is what any intelligent consumer would ask. They refused. Why do you think? Luckily for me, my brother sits on the board of H&R Block. I cannot wait to hear his evaluation of this situation. Nonetheless, be forewarned. H&R Block is negligent.

My refund would be available in 2 days or less. I have horrible credit and was told by the preparer that it did not matter that my approval was based on my refund amount. Well, I checked the balance on day 2 and it is zero! I called the bank and was told that I was denied and that there was retention with the IRS, and if fund were available, it would be in 2 weeks! I have even tried to look at the info online with the IRS and of course their system is down! I should have known that a big refund was too good to be true and getting back in 2 days was also too good to be true! I will keep trying though. Do your own taxes and be patient with snail mail!

I noticed that the 2008 edition did not have a place for the carry forward to be printed in my file copy and perhaps it has no software variable to save the carry forward amount. Thus, the 2009 edition has no variable in which to put the amount. I do not have their software code, so I am unable to determine the problem on my own.

I reported my discovery to H&R Block last week but no response yet. I may have made a mistake somewhere but cannot see how. It appears to me that the software does not carry any excess losses forward into future years. I wonder how long this has been the case and how many taxpayers did not catch this mistake and thus paid taxes on up to $3000 in extra income. If their software does not have the ability to carry forward excess capital losses then the taxpayer will pay tax on a increased income.

We asked for someone of "equal" knowledge and skill level with experience, and we were assigned to "Kathryn **." It was quite obvious to my wife and I during the meeting that Ms. Kathryn had lots of questions she was asking us that should have been evident by reviewing our previous 2007 tax statements, which she had at her fingertips online in their database.

She kept reassuring us that there was no real way an error could be made, because that office had senior preparers who reviewed these returns before any of them were actually filed. She got up from her desk several times to verify procedures with co-workers which we thought was odd, if she in fact was experienced. But we also thought she was just being cautious?

We trusted her to do a correct job and paid for the service. One year later, we receive a letter from the Kansas Depatment of Revenue putting us on notice that we withheld tax from the report we filed due to an error on our part. I started attempting to contact H&R Block, but absolutely, no one would call me back or no email was responded to online.

I then went into the Mission office, and they told me they could just review this error when they completed my 2009 taxes. They reminded me that I had not purchased their $30 "peace of mind" guarantee, so there was really no guarantee that the taxes were filed correctly, but they would reimburse us for small penalties and interest eventually.

We demanded to have a more experienced preparer, and we're assigned to someone who was able to quickly determine what Kathryn ** did (did not do) in 2008. Both my wife and I work for government jobs and have the state KPERS retirement. Ms. Kathryn failed to report the correct income on our W-2's which was clearly stated and has always been reported the same way each year, as we have worked in our jobs for many years--same job, same filing, same W-2 format.

After threatening calls and emails, we did receive the penalty and interest back, and we were scared into paying the $30 "peace of mind" fee for our 2009, as we did not want to be hassled with this again!

I am just here to tell you that this company is not accountable for their mistakes, and they will not apologize for a blatant error!! They just throw a $30 fee in your face and let you know you cannot complain unless you paid the fee! I am not sure of how they would have treated me if I had paid the fee, but perhaps I will find out.

When I attempted to call the corporate office, they honestly made me talk to untrained folks who could barely speak English. And then when I asked for a manager or supervisor, they told me they did not have any supervisors and I would need to talk to them! They would open a complaint ticket and check into it. And "Oh by the way, had I purchased the $30 'peace of mind' thing?"

This company is not reputable and does not stand behind their product! We will shop around for more credible preparers next year.

I entered the federal and state information for my brother. He was due no state refund and at the end I was quoted $9.95. I entered my federal and state information (I earned less than $57,000 and younger than 51) and I was quoted $27.95 for filing my state taxes.

I entered my parents. As soon as I entered their age, the system told me that they do not qualify for free federal return and that I will be charged $14.95. I accepted. At the end of entering their information, I was quoted $14.95 for federal and $36.95 for filing state return. So I called their office to find out what is going on. Why have I gotten three different prices for filing state returns and why it keeps going up when the amount of state return increase. I was told that my parents no longer qualify for the $9.95 for filing State if they don’t qualify for free federal return. I said nowhere that is stated on their website. I asked them how was I been charged $27.95 though I qualify for free Federal. They said it was because I was on their "free file and not their free edition software," which makes absolutely no since to me.

I paid the $36.95 for my parents because it was going to take me too much time to do it all over again. I am wondering how many persons are being swindled like this.

After waiting 40 days, the IRS web site said my refund was deposited in my account, but when I checked my account, it wasn't there. I called the bank and they said no deposit was made or was even pending. I finally realized I needed to check my copy of my return to make sure the numbers for my account were right and of course, they were not! So I called H&R and let them know the mistake they had made. Their response was the deposit will get kicked back to the IRS and when they get it back (who knows how long that takes), the IRS will issue a paper check and you should get it in the mail in hopefully a month or so.

Because they are sorry they made this mistake, they will do my taxes for free next year, like I want them to do that after this happened! They did not offer me a refund of services, which I feel was the least they could do, nor did they care one bit that I needed that money very badly right now, to pay off expenses from buying my new house. They didn't even offer to contact the IRS to make sure my refund gets sent to me. I will be making sure everyone I know does not ever use H&R Block again and I will post on every site possible. If you need your return quickly, do not use them!

Well then explain to me why there is an account number and routing number on my tax return and why Block charged me almost $300 to do my taxes when it was only to W2s and baby sitting. I only sat there for less then 30 minutes. I know one thing Block, I better have my money today. I ain't never had a problem till now and if I don't have my money in my hand today, they will lose me and everyone else.

I know a lot of people and they know people. You don't tell someone the IRS will mail the check and then put an account number on there and never tell your customer about it. That's just messed up rude. I wonder if I had not been checking and keeping an eye on it, if they would have ever even opened their mouth and told me. I guess I'll find out today when I call because I'm very unhappy and disappointed.

I was not approved to receive my refund in two days. I called Betty and explained what happened. She said I would receive my refund on my card on February 26, 2010, and IRS confirmed the same. I was okay with that. On February 26, 2010, I waited until 2:00 PM, and had not received my refund. I called Betty at H&R Block. She was on her day off. I talked to another representative who said there was nothing they can do, and gave me the number to HSBC Bank, and talked with them. They said that they sent the refund back to IRS, and it will take 6 to 8 weeks to receive my refund on a paper check.

Now, I was very upset. I could have gone online to the IRS website, did my tax refund, and received my refund in eight days on my debit card. The only thing H&R Block and HSBC Bank did was use me, and lied to me. As a professional company, I am really disappointed, and will never use any agency to do my tax refund. I am out of work. It caused economic an physical consequences. It put me in a situation, that I had to lie to my landlord about paying rent, and sleeping out on the street. I was emotionally stressed out for seven days, going back and forth with H&R Block, and HSBC Bank, and IRS, trying to get the correct information, to find out were is the refund that was sent back. Today is March 4, 2010, and I have not received the refund.

So I called H&R Block and spoke with Maggie (supervisor). I explained what happened and let her know I did qualify and H&R Block needed to amend my return. She agreed and said it would be no charge. So I had to make an appointment on January 28 with Monica *** again. I specifically asked for a manager to do my amendment and Maggie told me there would be a manager there while my amendment was being done because I felt a lack on knowledge on Monica's part.

So I went to my appointment. No manager was there. I sat at Monica's cubicle area and she proceeded to pull her out her "notebook" on how to file an amendment. I explained to her what she did, told her she said I didn't qualify for the credit but then didn't quite understand when she tried to charge me an additional $160 on top of the $260 I paid for my original return. She then recomputed the fees and said I would need to pay $60. I said I wanted a manager. This was not my error. This was hers for being uneducated on tax credits and laws.

She brought back someone who was not a manager but was helpful (Glen). I explained what happened and he zeroed out the fee. She then tried to file the amendment electronically and stated, "Oh, you have to send a paper amendment in by mail." So now, here I sit, waiting 8-12 weeks or longer for my return when I could have received it all at one time when I e-filed. I paid almost $300 for "expert" serviced by a "licensed" professional.

I needed that money to pay my bills. I am a single mother of three children and depend on my own income to support them. I could have had the money in three days and now I have to wait three months or longer, I have been told by the IRS. If I pay out of my hard earned money, $300, I expect accuracy and results. I will never again use H&R Block and I have spread the word to my friends and family to do the same.

My only difference in the previous years taxes compared to this years was the fact that I had a rental property to include. I was told by my representative that these prices were beyond his control and that if I had a problem with the charges I should fill out a H&R survey and let them know of my displeasure. I went to the H&R website and found no survey section, so I called there 1-800 line and asked the assistant on the line, he had no idea what I was talking about so he put me on hold. After returning, he said he knew of no such survey on line, so I asked for a manager and he informed me that the manager was unaware of any survey site either. So I said, this is why I will no longer use H&R block for any of my tax business and neither will the 35 members of my extended family now that they know my frustration. H&R Block post your prices like everyone else.

I tried to speak to a representative and couldn't get anywhere. Due to the fact of broken English and unable to understand what happened to the money, I gave up and decided to take the matter up when I filed my taxes. Needless to say, the payment did not get paid because I relied on H&R Block to have the money reserved for me to use for that purpose.

Now, upon filing my taxes with my W-2, I asked the preparer if they had a way to look up where the emerald money was spent and he told me no, it was my responsibility to keep receipts. I explained to him about reserving $100.00 for my payments and he said he didn't think they could do that. So, moving on to filing my taxes. After applying all the information needed from the W-2 and I.D., he started asking me personal questions that the computer is prompting him with, such as: how much I pay in rent, utilities, leisure, phone, child care, food, etc. I didn't think any of that was anyone's business but he said that he could not proceed without the information.

Anyhow, after my whole life history, he asked if I wanted the RAL loan or the Classic loan. I told him whichever is quicker and cost effective. Well, it turns out that I didn't qualify for either one due to a tax off-set. He acted like he didn't know why I wasn't approved but I saw a tax code pop up on the screen after denial. I still got charged the fees for not receiving the product. I also had to wait 14 days after filing, for the IRS to do the off-set, and H&R Block to send me the remaining balance. Talk about black-balling. People are in need of every penny they are expected to get back and H&R Block is a predatory company posing promises they can't deliver. Shame on you! You have lost my loyalty.

When she proceeded to put in our information for this year's taxes, we were excited when she showed us what our refund would be. Then she told us what we would be charged for today's services. Brace your self! $383! We had no idea that this was coming, and we have been struggling to pay our normal bills and are already behind on our mortgage. More now! This was a huge chunk of our refund! I paid on a credit card, so at least I'd have a few months to pay off this crazy number.

The only things we had were day-care receipts and a mortgage statement. When my hubby called back yesterday to ask about this insane charge, he was told that the day-care form cost over $100, the mortgage form was around $80, and then there was the normal form. They told him that they have to pay the government for the forms (which is crap for we can all get them free at the library or plenty of other locations, like online), and so we have to pay part of it.

I also did a phone survey yesterday, in which I reported our problem and gave them the lowest scores you can give. We told them that no one we know will ever come here, as well as no one they know, and so on. I come across a lot of people in my job, as does my husband, and we are spreading the word vehemently. I only wish someone had told me.

When you call and they give you a price, so you decide to go there. Then they blow it up by 5x or so. I feel like I have been robbed and violated. No one in this economy can afford this. Donald Trump probably doesn't pay this much for his taxes! Now, no groceries for the month. We'll have to figure something out.

I hate H&R Block! I can't afford to pay for basic life supplies, because H&R Block jacked our charges up so high. Ridiculous and should be illegal. If there are ever charges filed against them, I am there!

In addition, this year, we paid extra to get the check in 8-15 days. However, the idiot who prepared our tax return switched my husband's to the primary social security number. And now 8 weeks later, IRS said that because they switched numbers, it held up our check. Aren't we paying these idiots to know this stuff? I want a refund for my express filing from H&R Block.

Before she sent it off, I even asked her why it was so low. She said because she couldn't apply the Hope Credit due to being a loan and he didn't get taxes taken out of the unemployment he was getting. Later that evening, my boyfriend looked it up and it states that as long as you're at least a half-time student, you get the Hope Credit. We were furious because not only did she not double check her work, but we even asked her before leaving the office about the return. She seemed to imply my boyfriend was trying to cheat the system that he was entitled to get.

The next morning, Edwin called her office and the lady who answered said Cathy was with a client but offered assistance. He told her what happened and she also questioned him about being at least a half-time student. He told her yes and she looked over his return and saw the box wasn't checked for him being a student. His return changed from $660 to $2900. He asked if he needed to bring the proof again and she said yes. Cathy called him back saying it was changed and he didn't need to come in. She never apologized to him and her whole tone from our appointment and when she called back, was pompous and very disconcerting.

I even tried to call District Managers Jennifer and Arnold and never got a call back. This situation is different from other complaints because if we hadn't double check, we would have been out of $2200 and a large corporation such as H&R Block to not just overlook mistake but was rude and implying that we were trying to cheat to get money that was owed to us. Thank you.

Therefore, I had to drag out my 60-year old Smith/Corona portable typewriter, buy new ink ribbon, and type in all Interest items on Schedule B by hand! I never encountered this problem with Turbo Tax, which I had used in prior years (and will continue to use in the future). I think that the HR Block software stinks, and that my purchase price should be refunded.

I hate being lied to, especially if I'm paying for a service that they supposedly stand by, but to no avail. They said they had direct deposited it by text message. Where's my money then? I'm about to deploy, and I have stuff to buy and bills to pay. I've been using these "tax professionals," paid some $300.00 to get something that I could get on post for free and faster.

I'm done with H&R blockheads. After 12 years of doing business with them and $3,600 later, they do this. OK, it's time to go somewhere else. I'm just warning you from my experience.

I told him the other guy said it was only $80. He said he didn't have proof of that (since they saved my file). So I was a sucker and paid it but made sure to comment on my girlfriend’s amount vs. my amount to pay. He didn't have a real good answer and by this point I just wanted to leave. It took him 15 minutes just to get staples and fill his stapler! I will never go back to H&R Block and neither will my family. They just lost a total of 5 people and counting!

I waited 12 weeks to receive 686 dollars. I called the IRS yet again and was told that my husband got credit for 1 child and I got credit for 1 child after I told Rose that both children were mine and I was claiming both children on injured spouse. The IRS told me that I should go back and file Married but separate which is what I asked to do in the first place. I went back to HR Block and then dealt with the manager, Lee. I sat there for 2 hours while she prepared my amendment yet again.

I then had to wait another 12 weeks only to receive a letter from the IRS stating I did not owe anything at this time. I called the IRS yet again to be told to write a letter explaining that I amended the return and the IRS needed to give me a refund. I waited another 12 weeks to be sent yet another letter saying that my amendment was denied because of the due date. I called the IRS again only to be told that I had to send them proof that I mailed my amendment by April 15th.

I did that and waited about 8 weeks only to receive a letter asking me to fill out a 1040 x but before I had a chance to do that I was sent yet another letter from the IRS saying I owed them 4391 dollars from filing an amended single return. This time after calling the IRS, they instructed me to go to the IRS building on Granby street with all of my paper work which I did.

The tax preparer told me that Lee never included my children or checked the box for my earned income credit so the IRS changed my filing status from married filing separate to single. In the mean time, I had already filed my 2009 return and the IRS took the $4391 from my refund. So the IRS preparer sent yet another amendment in and guess what? I have to wait another 12 weeks for the money they took from my 2009 return and any refund from 2008. It has been over a year and I am still waiting! I was moving to North Carolina and needed that money for the move. I had already given my real estate company the required 60 day notice to move and I now have to move in with my sister until I get the money from my return. I lost the house in North Carolina and when I do move, have to go through house hunting all over again.

They have been very snotty on the phone with a bunch of us as I have friends that have done their taxes there also. And if they haven't fixed the problem in one working day don't you think that they should maybe get a new machine because cheques is their business and it is improper to promise a product if they can't deliver it.

On Thursday at 3 pm, I called and asked where the money was. I was told since it was the second release date for E-File with the IRS that the excessive number of refunds being processed was the reason for the delay and that by Monday for sure the money would be on the card. Monday came and went along with my 5-day cancellation period. It wasn't until Tuesday that I wasn't approved. The first thing out of my mouth was, "Maria said and showed me that I was approved."

Now, I come to find out that somewhere around Feb. 23, I will finally get my money. The only reason I paid almost $400 was to get the money as soon as possible to get caught up on my rent. I can't believe I have to wait as long as I would have had just mailed it. Now when I finally do get my money, I will be out at least $300 for them to basically copy my returns and input into their computer. I hope that the preparer (data entry clerk) had no idea that this could happen because I made her aware of why and how desperately needed that money ASAP. I hope that she just didn't tell me what I wanted to hear just so she could make her quota and/or commission.

Now, not only have me and my family had to vacate our home to avoid an eviction but I paid a lot of money to be put off by various excuses long enough that I couldn't cancel their "Rapid Refund" process. My guess would be to ensure they got paid. But I end up waiting as long as I would have had I just mailed them in. I am being charged to have someone enter data off of pre-prepared tax forms. I am totally disgusted with misleading and diversionary tactics just for a few hundred dollars. I thought it was just my bad luck but come to find out I am one of many, many people that the exact same thing has had happen to them.

One would think this practice would eventually put them out business but unfortunately, there will always be lower level tax bracket people in a desperate situation such as myself, who will be suckered in by the misleading advertising, the preparers assuring the customer that it's that quick and simple and approved. The total disregard of full disclosure of exactly what you're getting into, I feel there was no attempt to inform but to deceive people into signing and then put off long enough with reasonable to almost lame excuses for the 5-day period to expire so that there would be no way out for the client.

The worst of it all is that they get their slice of my money before I get mine. The additional hardship this has caused is very difficult to deal with. They may have knocked me down thinking I am a "victim", but they are going to eventually find out that I am a fighter. They may not refund my money they extorted from me, but I'll do my best to ensure as few people as possible will fall into HR Blocks trap.

I lost my residence due to the fact my landlord did not believe what happened to me at H&R Block. We (my girlfriend and our son) have been hopping from friends' houses and to family members' houses not wanting to overstay our welcome. The stress of an already terrible economic time compounded by this major setback. I lost my job seven months ago and have been on unemployment. My girlfriend's hours were cut from 38 hours a week down to as few as 6 hours a week the first of the year.

When calling HSBC, they stated on the recording, (the only way you can get information, no people work there?) it had been released to my bank the 12th. It is not my bank at fault. These are lies within H&R Block and their HSBC bank. They should be made to refund anyone who paid that $30 and did not get their refund as promised!

I will not be going back to H&R Block again! They steal from people legally, and as I called my bank and others in regards to this, I found that I was not alone in the boat. Many are having this same problem calling our bank and H&R Block as well according to my bank and H&R Block. Of course, H&R Block takes no responsibility even though it's their bank, trying to point fingers at mine as the problem. Not! A little like having the vampire in charge of the blood bank, isn't it? How can you call them to task on this? There has to be some protection for people out there. I and my family had a financial hardship due to this.

H&R block charged me over $100 for each proof of tax document. This is my last year doing my tax return with them; they lost a valued customer. I am behind in bills because I was counting on my return to have come. My car cannot get fixed now and I'm late for school everyday because I have to get my son settled.

The final return however did not reflect that this information was used to show a taxable K-i from the contingent trust in 2008. Consequently, the amount was not included on my return nor was the proper tax paid. Being under stress from head trauma received earlier in the year, I was not too sharp in detecting I had a problem. I have not heard from the IRS as yet but I'm sure I will. This will cost my estate several hundred thousands. In reviewing online, I have found many sites describing the problems caused people in this country by this company. Being almost eighty and in poor health, I don't feel I'm going to see the end of this myself but I'm greatly concerned about my children and the impact that this will have on them. God help us.

She had the woman who originally greeted us at the door to help her out. By the time all information was in, my husband and I were only getting a refund of approximately $200. We were shocked, and were expecting so much more. Both women could tell we were distraught with that, and we advised them that we would go to Jackson Hewitt, get a print out of last year's taxes and then we could see what the difference was since we had not done anything different than the previous year.

We come back to H&R Block with the copy from JH. The older woman reviews it, and quickly decides that the reason our refund is lower is due to having higher incomes this year. Again, we are still not satisfied. There is approximately $400 taken out of our checks every two weeks. That is $400 that would be very useful to us, in paying bills. The older woman took us back again, to try and help us to get our refund to where we would be happy with the result. We knew it was wrong!

The younger woman gets on the computer and is inputting information into our tax preparation, only because the older woman is barking at her, "Put this # in, put that # in." And I'm just sitting there the whole time, wondering what in the world she is doing. By the time she is done barking orders, she turns the computer to my husband and I and tells us to look. She points at the refund amount now, which shows approximately $2600. My husband asks, "How did you do that?" That is when she looked at me and said, "I put on there that you are doing online classes to further your education." She even put on there that my commute was 700 miles. I don't think anyone would travel 700 miles to take online classes!

She looked so proud of herself, so sure that my husband and I were frauds and would take her offer, her forgery. She counted on us wrong. I looked straight at her and said "But I don't take online classes. I don't care if we get $0 back, I will not lie on this." My husband backed me up and advised her to shred all documents that we might have signed before the preparation, that we were jumping ship and going back to Jackson Hewitt. She tried to get us to stay, even stating that JH would end up charging us too much.

As it turns out, if we had believed that all we were getting back was $200, then we would have had to end up paying back into the IRS because our charge for the tax preparation would have been more than our refund! I walked out of the business while my husband got a business card to the location, and after we left, he called the young woman who was originally helping us. He took a leap and advised her to try and find another job before this older woman ended up getting her fired.

My husband and I did go back to Jackson Hewitt and they input our information, honestly. We were going to get $1600, but they realized we made a mistake on our student loan section. We thought it asked how much a year we pay on student loans, so we stated over $2500, but the questions was 'percentage'. So our $1600 got knocked down to $1300, but I am happy with the result.

My husband and I put great emphasis on integrity and honesty, and this lady at H&R Block did not have an ounce of integrity. She told us she had a couple before who was in the same situation as us, and she ended up getting them back about $2600 as well. So, there is no telling how many tax forms she has filled out fraudulently! My husband and I are going to take what steps are necessary to see that this woman loses her job. She will only be contributing to citizens being audited by the IRS, and more than likely being fined for this forged information later on! I don't doubt there are many individuals who are great at this job, who are honest, but my complaint with H&R block is that they should monitor very closely the activities going on in each branch.

Then I was told that my prior year returns would be available on a certain day. I was told that my prior year returns would be available in 9 days. Then I was told that if I want my prior year returns that I need to contact the IRS. Then I was told they will try to have my prior year returns sent to a local branch within the next 48 hours.

This has been going on for over a week. In my first 4 attempts to contact someone from customer service, our conversation was disconnected. At no point did were any of those issues disconnected conversations followed up on. Therefore, I have then had to go through the entire scenario all over again each time. First of all, I paid H&R Block to have my taxes done. I should not have to pay the IRS a fee of $57 for something that I have already paid for. I am not asking for any service but simply a copy of the services that H&R Block provided to me already.

Secondly, the nature in which they have approached this issue seems to be bordering on blackmail like they will give me my prior year returns if I pay them to do my taxes this year. Also, I find it to be highly irresponsible for a tax services firm to be doing maintenance on their tax system in the middle of tax season.

Therefore, I didn't receive my two-day refund which made me receive my refund at a much later date. He said that I could get a two-day refund that he knew wasn't possible and then charging me for the rapid refund which I did not receive. I went back to the same location and found out that I was still being charged for the two-day refund. Since I did not get the rapid refund as promised I asked to get the H&R Block fees back so I could take my taxes elsewhere to get them filed.

Then in order to be able to keep me as a future customer they said that they talked to the Franchise Manager of that particular branch and she said that they would refund me all the fees except for $29 for filing them. I was supposed to get the money within two or three business days, and never did. It has now been almost two weeks now and no money yet.

They have been giving me the run around saying that they already mailed it and to just keep waiting. I know it doesn't take mail that long to get from Big Stone Gap, VA to Dryden, VA which is not hardly eleven miles away. I should have defiantly gotten it by now. I am still waiting. They are not the professionals that they claim to be!

I have used up a lot of gas money running back and forth trying to get this mess settled. I also wasted a lot of time on the phone with them as well. I thought that I was going to get my rapid refund back in time. So, I went and scheduled my truck driving classes that I have to pay for upfront for within time of the two-day refund, so I could pay for the classes with my rapid refund. Then I found out I wasn't receiving the rapid refund as promised and had to cancel my classes until the future for whenever I do actually get my refund back. They have delayed my career training because they aren't professionals.

I have contacted an attorney, Arizona Attorney Generals Office and filed a complaint, Pima County Sheriff's to file a report. This bank keeps giving me a run around. And I still have not gotten my money back. I have 8 pages of note of who I talked to and when. I have even gone back to the H&R Block office where I applied for my taxes at and Ed ** is getting the run around with no results. No one can give me a number directly to the Bank that has my account. I am unable to pay my bills or use any of my money to provide for my family. I am getting shut off notices for my utilities. I have spent over 30 hours on the phone with day after day phone calls to get this resolved, plus it is affecting my ability to do my job properly. I am distracted with this issue.

I filed on the 20th of January. It's now the 7th of February, what happened to the supposed 8-15 days and my taxes will be in. And to top it off, I got a text saying my money was deposited and there was nothing in my account. I called H & R Block. They said they don't do emails. 2 hrs later, my best friend who also filed there, got the same email from them. It's now 4 days after they said they deposited the money into my account. Where did my money go?

HSBC sent me to some dumb automated site that was no help. My bank says the money isn't there and the people working at the tax place "well the ones we worked with" seemed very incompetent. Where did my money go, and why did I pay $200 to have it done quickly when it really wasn't done that quickly? Late on the tax return, bills due, no money. no confidence in this company whatsoever. Next time, I'm getting this done on post "for free". It's faster and the money gets there in "5" days.

Then the year the government started the stimulus payments. I only received a partial payment. I also only received a partial payment for my federal tax refund for 2008. I finally got to the bottom of what was going on with my school taxes. Debbie was entering in on her computer when she was preparing my taxes, that I lived in the Licking Valley School District instead of the Heath school district (which does not have school taxes).

There is only a difference by one number, the last digit. The school district they claimed I lived within actually started about 1/8th of a mile, approx 4 houses up the road from my house. My kids even attended Heath city schools. Where the Valley district started is where the road I lived on went from being just rural to more country. As of the 2008 tax season, the IRS had offset and kept approximately $1400 of my money that should have came to me, with the stimulus payment and federal returns.

I attempted to get H & R Block to correct the problem and retrieve my money since I always paid the extra $30 piece of mind guarantee. They wouldn't do it, claiming that my address automatically kicks up the Valley district instead of Heath. But the thing is, everyone in that area knows where the districts stop and start. I have informed Debbie from the get go that my kids went to Heath City Schools, not Valley. She never gave me a school income tax return or form to sign and mail in myself for Valley and when their computers automatically kick in something like that, they most generally have the option to change it if need be.

The really bad thing was, I lived in a set of country town-homes on t he outskirts of town within Heath city limits. My mailing address was in Heath and Debbie was my neighbor in the same town- home complex! Which is how I knew her and why I began going to her in the first place. So the IRS tells me I have to gather several pieces of documentation, including statements from the property manager stating that I lived there and the dates, letters from the Heath schools my kids had attended and the dates and letters from all the utility companies I used while I lived there. I was told by the IRS that if I could provide all that information, even just fax it directly to the person I spoke to, that within 6-8 weeks I would receive all the money that they had kept from me over those few years, with interest, totaling around $3000.

So I spent several days, a few weeks gathering and getting all this. I faxed it all as asked, and guess what, 10 weeks later, no response. Spoke to the same person that had told me to do this, and they had no record of ever receiving any of it. Well, I had been smart enough to keep copies of all of it, so this time I faxed and mailed it all in. Another 3 months go by, no response. This time they are saying I did not send in all of it and it went to the wrong department. When I went crazy and threatened with a lawyer, they claimed that they could not use any of the information because it was dated more than 30 days prior, so I needed to retrace and do it all over again! Then this year I move to Bellaire. Went back to H & R Block, different office. The preparer, Elizabeth screwed up two of my kids' SS #'s, flipping them around. So when the IRS received my return, they rejected it claiming the numbers were not matching up to prior years.

Elizabeth called me the next morning to tell me it had been rejected and acted as if I had handed her false social security cards the day I had my taxes done with my husband. When I point out her error, she stumbles on her words and says she will correct it right away and resubmit it. We had applied for the RAL 1-2 day loan. The day we prepared our taxes, we received almost $900 or of $8000 refund and was supposed to get the rest within 1-2 days. After she corrected the problem, the IRS accepted the return, but then the bank denied the rest of the RAL because of the "offset" from all them previous years' error from Heath with the school district thing. So I paid $406 in all the H & R Block filing fees and RAL fees and interest to the H & R Block bank, but still have to wait (so they say) 8-15 days until I get my return (Feb 12th).

But the website for the IRS says that I will get it around Feb 16th if there are no mistakes and if we don't owe any other taxes. So since the RAL was denied due to the offset, taxes owed, will I really get it between the 12th & 16th or after they take what they say I owe again (another $1200 with interest and penalties) will I have to wait several weeks, and be the last to receive my refund? I am done with H & R Block. I plan on getting back all that money this year that they have kept, come hell or high water and from now on I am doing my own taxes with Turbo Tax.

Now, our return will first go to HSBC to sit around in their account for 3 days so they can make some interest and then they will deposit the money into our account. I just checked with the IRS and the 8-15 days are now turning into 21 days (maybe even more). So, next year we will file electronically ourselves and eliminate any costs to third parties. We thought the RAC would be faster than the regular electronic filing of taxes but this is turning out not to be true and will actually take longer! Everyone should do their taxes themselves next year. Do not do RALs or RACs or the Emerald Card. It is a rip-off.

So the next day came around, and nothing. Still to this day, I have nothing. I used H&R Block, because on their ads they state they're the fastest in getting you your return. But by far, they are the slowest. My roommate filed hers on the 22nd and got it 5 days later. I have been waiting for 16 days now. I need the money, because my rent is due and my car broke down and I need to get it fixed. I work in retail, so I don't make much money at all.

Previously, I have been able to see my previous year's tax returns that I have completed; this year, I can't. I did not print a copy of my cover sheet when I did my taxes last year, as I thought it would be easily accessible as in years past. The H&R website states the following:

To print a previous year return, please follow the directions below: Log in to H&R Block At Home Online. On the Main Menu under My Account, locate the Download/Print Previous Returns section. Click the link for the return you need. For example, to print your 2008 return, click Filing Year 2008.

When I do this, I only have the option to Download/Print my 2009 return. Another disclaimer: If you don't see View Prior Year Returns or any tax year links on the Main Menu, either you didn't use the correct username and password to access your prior year return or you didn't complete and pay for that tax return using one of H&R Block's online programs.

I have the e-mailed receipt showing payment for my 2008 tax return with H&R Block Online. This is very frustrating to me. I was thinking of giving in and just refiling with the basic and paying the fee, so the previous AGI and PIN would be imported. But when I log in, it just automatically reverts me back to my saved information. Free filers, beware...or just make sure you have all your information from 2008.

This leads me to believe that free only works if you don't actually plan on filing with them. Again, all I did was hit the start button to start my taxes. She then proceeded to tell me that there was no way to switch my account down to the free version once I've signed up for an upgraded package. I was able to maintain my composure, but I am shocked at how ludicrous this claim is! I would be able to use the free again if I created a new account. I have used my account for a while now and it has my previous years tax returns on it.

At this point I lost all interest in working with H&R Block. I asked the lady how I could access my previous years returns and her reply was that the system that has all of our previous information is "down". I asked for more information and she could not give me any. I found this ironic as I went to the site and was able to import my taxes. The lady herself was very kind but H&R Block will never have my business again.

But the point behind the matter is this: The tax preparer I dealt with should have at least notified of the "system" rejecting my submission. I mean, after all, I paid them almost $300 to file my taxes, and all I get is empty promises. And now, I am not even sure I will get my refund in two days. No matter how much I try to think positive, there are a lot of negative stuff about H&R Block that I wish i would have read about. At least then, I would have went to Jackson Hewitt.

She stated that he would have had to live with us the entire year, as he is not on their list as qualifying relatives for only part of the year. My husband and I took her at her word and were prepared to let it lie, until my mom called me and said she was looking on the IRS's own site and it states in publication 501 page 17 that a qualifying relative is a brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and so on. So, he is a qualifying relative of my husband and did not have to be with us the entire year. Now, we are having trouble telling them this, and they are fighting it, saying he cannot be claimed.

However, I spoke to the IRS, and the man I spoke to stated that I was right in my assumption and that in the drop-down menu, they should have claimed him as a brother because publication 501 page 17 states that he can be a brother-in-law as a relative and only be with us a little more than 6 months (He was here for 7.). And just because I didn't work doesn't mean that I can't claim him, as we are MFJ on the return.

Now she is arguing with me, saying that we can't claim him, because he wasn't here the whole year, and this office has said they will do an amended return but cannot give us our $193 back because it's "already in the system." My husband and I just want them to do the amended return and pay back the $193 when we get our return. (We did the "pay with taxes option," and we just want that money put on with the taxes we were already going to get.)

We have come on some very hard times, and this just makes it that much worse. They have a "no-mistake guarantee" for crying out loud, and this is a huge mistake that nearly cost us $500! Needless to say, my husband and I will not be using them again. This H&R office nearly cost us an extra $500 plus the fact that they won't pay us back for mistakes they have made(!) or will cost us, as we haven't fixed it with them yet. I just wanted to warn people.

I thought to my self I can wait for 2 days. Well, it's been 4 days! Nothing.... They lied! They took my money. I'm reading over people's similar situation, and I'm sure I can kiss that money goodbye. I could have done it myself and waited the 8-15 day process for the check to come. Don't go to H&R BLOCK.

It is a hassle if you accidentally direct yourself to a service you have to pay for, but overall it works out. If any charges come up, I just start over using a different link. The best way to start is to get the link directly from the IRS.gov page that lists free services. State taxes are never free and other services are offered for an additional fee.

I was upset, but Amy and the store manager both explained over and over again that they could not do this. I should have walked out with my paperwork, but I didn't want to be rude, so I allowed her to e-file my return that same day. When I got home, I called another H&R Block in the area and asked about my childcare expenses.

The woman at the other Schaumburg location told me that indeed, the expenses should have been claimed on my return, and that I could come in after April 15th to file an amended return. I knew that H&R Block was promoting that "your taxes will done right the first time or your filing fees are free. "I was planning to go forward with a refund claim once my amended return was completed so that I could prove that they did, in fact, make a mistake the first time.

Surprisingly, Amy called me the next day to tell me that she did, indeed, make a mistake with the child care expenses, and that she would file an amended return for me after April 15th. (They couldn't bother fixing this problem during their busy season). When I mentioned to Amy that I intended to get my $193 in filing fees returned to me, she told me that she would have a manager give me a call. Well, guess what, a manager never called me, and every time I called to speak to Amy or a manager, for the next three months, no one would accept my calls.

I tried calling customer service and any other number I could find, but there seems to be no one in charge. Apparently, all locations are independent from one another. Finally, after about 50 different phone numbers, and 10 hours of hold time, I was able to get the number for a "regional manager." This manager told me she wold "look into it" and give me a call back, but even she wouldn't return my call once she realized that I was looking for a refund. I eventually gave up and just paid an independent accountant to amend my taxes.

In July, I received an additional $960 from the IRS. Basically, H&R Block's "money back guarantee" is a lie. They do not issue refunds for filing fees when they make mistakes. Heck, they will not even fix their own mistakes. Stay away from these scam artists! I had to pay an independent accountant $60.00 to amend my tax return when H&R Block would not return my calls. Additionally, I paid $193 dollars for a tax return done improperly.

Why is it possible for people, be they family or not be permitted to use another person's children's social security numbers with not so much as a courtesy call to the parent? Suppose this same scenario had taken place from a complete stranger. Yes, my kids do stay with her for convenience where they go to school. However, I still there should be some sort of notification process from the HR Block Offices as well as the IRS when someone is using social security numbers that belong to someone else. My sister should have asked me. HR Block should have contacted me as well as the IRS. I was counting on this small refund to tide me over until my next pay day. I don't even have gas money to get to work. The lack of coordination/communication involved in this matter is unacceptable.

They called the office manager of the other location where we got them done the year before and she said, “Oh, give them $25.00.” Needless to say, every returning customer got $25.00 off, so that was no discount. We found out about that later. Then we were told that we were not approved for the same day, but "congratulations" you are approved for the 1-2 day classic RAL. We left there with no money, but knew just like all the other years we would have it in a couple days.

We called on Monday and still no money. We then called H&R Block and they said, “Well, it being a holiday, it should be in there tomorrow.” Well, I called the next day, which was now the 4th day, and no money. I called H&R Block back and they couldn’t help me. They gave me a number to the bank. I called the bank and they said that my return had been denied because the amount that I was receiving could be held up by the IRS. Are you kidding me? I finally get someone at the bank, a real person and not a recording, and the gentleman proceeds to tell me, "I’m sorry, ma’am, it’s not only you, it’s everyone." When I asked why, he said, “I don't know. You will be getting a letter in the mail.”

So I called H&R Block back, they haven’t heard of such a thing and there is nothing that they can do. “That is not us, that is the bank doing that.” When I told this woman that I am broke and they guaranteed my money and that I was paying an enormous amount for this service that they are offering, she said, “Well, you shouldn’t spend something until you have it in your hand.”

Now, I’m extremely angry. They are not standing behind their product that they are advertising and do not care about anyone other than themselves. I would have never gone there and spent over $261.00 for them to do my taxes when I can do them myself for free. I will never return to this place. They also told me, “Well, don’t worry, you won’t have to pay the $111.00 that we charged you for the RAL fee, you will only be charged $29.00 for your refund to be put on your emerald card. Are you serious? I shouldn’t have to pay a thing for their screw up last year and this year. This place is a joke. They also told us that we would not be getting the home heating credit and that we did not qualify for the home buyer credit even though we paid off our house this year. I don't think that they know any of the laws. Whatever anyone does, do not use them again.

On top of it, after I called and reported it and asked for a copy of our 2008 return because we need it to file for this year, they want to charge us $20 for the copy and also we have to wait 5 days just to talk to someone (district manager) about the issue to get it straight. I am beyond upset now. My husband is in Iraq right now and I have not been able to tell him the issue. But I am looking for who I can report this too because someone is out there with our personal information. We will never ever use them again and I am also reporting them to the US Military services because if this is how they do business, I think they should be on the cannot do business with list for sure. This is dangerous. This is massive stress that someone could have my bank account information and my SS# as well as my husband's. I'm under stress of not being able to go ahead and file our return and stress of having to wait for a call back. This is unacceptable service.

We don't know what to do! Please help us. We needed this money rapidly because our car was about to break down and we needed to fix it. Now because of this waiting and not knowing period, the car has already broken down and now needs a tow. Also, we all might lose our jobs due to no transportation and no money to call a taxi because they are holding our money!

Well, I will have to wait 15 days for mine, I have gotten mine for the last 7 years on the same day I did my taxes, and this year, it denied me. Why? Because I got an Emerald Card Advance. That was the excuse to me, others are getting other stories. Last year it went all smoothly. I paid back last year’s Emerald Advance on time. I even took out a loan in December and paid it off on time, but not with this company. I have poor credit score, but I have never, in 20 years had this problem with H&R Block. I am never going back. I found out I could have gotten mine back in 7 days if I would have done it myself and way cheaper, too.

I am living with my mother who is in the throes of chemo and radiation and having to pay the bills and try to nurse her as best I can. I have a $700.00 electric bill I need to pay and now I am not able to. My son needs a truck and I found the perfect one, only $600.00. By the time I get my refund, it will be gone. He was going to go to work and help with the bills. I have never been so mistreated. My preparer was the best. It's that HSBC that is **! They are lying thieving jerks. And I won't be doing this next year, in fact, look for me on Craigslist everywhere. I am going to make sure no one uses this company if I can help it.

Unfortunately, I can attest to this firsthand. H&R Block's purpose is not a state of the art tax preparation experience for everyone. I took my December 2008 paycheck studs to the Maryland City Location H&R Block Location and because the preparer used the 2007 W-2s, I now owe $5,000 plus to the IRS. I no longer have peace of mind dealing with H&R Block. As a consumer, during tax season you are at the hands of fictitious professionals, if a physician makes a mistake, there is malpractice insurance involved. At H&R Block, if you do not pay an additional fee for mistakes made by the preparer, mistakes are not covered.

I tried contacting individuals to assist me at H&R Block to no avail. I was told by one employer at H&R Block in the Columbia Mall, an obvious mistake was made by the preparer, however, since you did not purchase the peace of mind, this will be a costly mistake for you. H&R Block states their values encompass client focus, responsibility, teamwork, integrity and respect. How regrettable, I will never refer another person to H&R Block nor will I ever look to them as professionals in the tax industry. Did I mention I have used H&R Block for 20 years?

It is now January 24th and I have no clue when my money will be in. I get the run around every time I call and no one can explain why my loan was denied. I have done the 1-2 day refund several times before and never had a problem until now. I would rather risk doing my taxes on my own and facing a penalty then ever going back to H&R Block.

They are sneaky and do not inform you of all the necessary information. I feel like their employees are under educated for what their responsibilities hold. Goodbye H&R Block, happy scamming! I have a vehicle that needs to be in the shop badly and I was counting on this money to get it fixed and now I will have to continue to drive my vehicle and risk more damage.

It's the bank guaranteeing your loan for the tax return who denies you which has nothing to do with H&R Block. However, they could be more up front especially when I told the woman who helped me that I had bad credit and wouldn't qualify. She guaranteed me after everything was complete a check in 2 days. Other than this major snafu, she was great and thorough and their customer service in responding to my questions was excellent, including the supervisor who called me back when I had questions about cancelling. Then I learned how much of a hassle it was going to be to cancel and decided and take the loss rather than tie up my money for a much longer time because the lender has to wait for your IRS check, then return it and then the IRS has to cut you a new check. I over paid on filing my taxes for a quick return on my check. It's not happening like that.

So I get up this morning and called the card to see if it was on there. I get a message saying that it was denied and that I will get the refund in eight to fifteen days after acceptance from the IRS. I have to admit that I was freaking out trying to figure out who I could possibly owe money to. I called my student loan holders just to make sure somehow that I didn't go into default or anything like that. I have yet to call H&R Block but believe me, I will as soon as I get off at work and in an area where I can speak freely.

I will never go back to H&R Block. They should let customers know that it is not a guaranteed process anymore no matter how many years you have been using them. They are crooks and are only out to get the poor man's money. Do you think that a person with money would need a RAL? I think not. Make the rich man richer while making the poor man poorer! The filing fees was $341 something that I could have done myself for free. The only reason I even had them do them is the RAL, which I didn't get.

The reason I needed the money is because my truck had broken down and I had it at the shop. After being assured that there was not a problem with me getting my refund today, I told the mechanic to keep the truck and fix it. Well, now my truck is ready to be picked up. I guess I'll try and figure out how to get it out in eight to fourteen days.

Any other time you can’t get them on the phone, but she called early so they know exactly what they’re doing. They’re very prepared to lie to honest people this year and cover their tracks to get your return in there to charge all those charges not regulated. And they know you can’t get it back or your taxes back after it goes through. If they cannot back what they’re telling people and this is a public business, then it is false advertisement and this should be stopped. They plainly lied knowingly and I think they are trained to do this. HR Block should stand accountable for this now.

On top of it, she has been in and out of the hospital. Stepdad had back surgery just a month ago and their power is cut off because they couldn't pay it and they are having to stay with me. They had made a deal with the power company to pay by the 19th. I would not recommend using H&R Block. They were told they might get it by Jan. 22, 2010. Who knows if they will or not.

Now, we have to pay a fee and wait 8-15 days. I am not happy with H&R Block so as many others. The bank told me it was due to the economy but our credit history has been the same for years--not good, but we always got an anticipation loan. What makes this year any different, I think, is that every body has got on the bandwagon about the economy. I think that H&R Block knew that they weren't going to give out anticipation loans so you would file and still owe them processing fees. It's funny how our preparer Morris ** failed to tell us that there are going to be credit checks this year. Thanks.

I was transferred to the collection Dept. The lady pulled up my account and said I owe H&R Block $429 from "2004". Now I'm a little upset, so I asked "Why did you wait almost 7 years to tell me?" I heard 100 excuses and not one made sense to me. She told me I would have to call H&R Block and find out. I told her I have done my taxes with H&R Block for almost 10 years and not once have I been denied anything nor was I told I owed them any money. I asked her why don't you just take the $429 out of my loan this year and HSBC said the IRS won't let them.

I called H&R Block and was told I didn't owe them nothing and they would further investigate the problem. I went into the office to cancel my loan and first was told I couldn't; it was too late. Then I showed them the letter I signed that stated I could and was explained to that I have five days. I was then told that I can only cancel the loan, but the IRS won't let them cancel after they accepted the taxes. No one knew what they were doing and I ended up having to talk to three different people and still nothing was done. It is the second day of the five days this letter says I have to cancel and I have to wait for a manager to come in and do the process.

When I asked for a copy of the letter, I turned in " Notice of Cancellation"; the lady said I don't know if my copier works! I told her I wanted a copy or I would go get a copy and come back. Well, apparently her copier worked because she came back with one. Now she is wanting to try to talk me out of canceling and tells me they are going to use a different lender next year and my answer is I still want to turn it in, I want to cancel! The lady at H&R Block then says. "Well, it is only going to hold up your check for five or six months." I asked."Why!?" When the IRS send HSBC your check, they will have to send it back and the IRS will have to print you out a new check. Okay, now I'm mad!"

I have been sent on a runaround for the last 4 hours and nothing can be done. I told the lady at H&R Block I was going to call the IRS and I don't care how long it will take me to get my check if I cancel! I want to cancel and HSBC wasn't getting another penny from me and they lost a customer! Now I have to wait for a manager to call me and I only have five days to cancel! It is day three today and I will be sending a certified letter to cancel to H&R Block and HSBC! My last day of work is 1/29/2009 and I will have no job! I needed that money for bills and to help support my kids, not to mention the $16 it will cost for the certified letter or the gas for the runaround they keep sending me on, the hours on the phone and being put on hold. I never expected this, every other year only took about an hour and I was done! These companies are misleading and dishonest. I think they have made a mistake somewhere and I'm paying the price!

Not only that but he gave me information that was incorrect, such as calling the Emerald card customer service number to see why I was denied. Emerald card is an HR Bank product, not an HSBC product. I am just as upset as any other person who has experienced the same thing. I am in the process of attempting to get my fees refunded to me (almost $300.00). This refund could have been done online for free! My refund is now $300 less than it should be.

However, if you add up all the money, you lose to access an ATM and those bank charges, you will lose a lot of money, much more than $20 when all you had to do was get a paper check and deposit it into your bank account! Anyways, my refund was supposed to be accessible on this emerald card no later than MLK day! Nope! I was not there today either. I started making calls and heard that we had been denied by HSBC bank. We use this HSBC bank every single year except for last year. My husband has a FICA score of 744 (woo hoo). Mine is around 680, give or take. So credit score was not the issue. We still do not know what the issue is.

I know that when I called H&R Block, I could not get a direct answer except for this, "You have been declined. We cannot tell you why because it is not our SS number!" So what did we pay the $29 in extra fees for? Peace of mind. Seeing how they do not know anything and cannot tell us anything. This is most certainly a rip off. They are stealing our money. Hey, the economy is bad. If they cannot give loans then they need to stop advertising that they can.

I did not desperately need my return in a two day period. I was however using the money to pay my deductible on my 9 year old daughter's braces. I think it should be illegal at the way they are going about getting their money, H&R Block as well. Some people could have used that extra $250 that was paid to H&R Block to buy food or pay a car payment or house payment, maybe got themselves a little caught up on bills and filed their taxes for free, free, free, free online and got their return in the same exact amount of time! Now my return will still be added to this *** emerald card that I do not need and I will still have to pay an arm and a leg to have all my refund transferred to my bank account.

We did rework (started over) our return at the time 2-3 times with the same result. It wasn't our normal return amount but we used the H&R Block program to rework our return. And since we did have $10,000 more in interest than 2006 due to a refinance loan, we didn't really think anything different. We now owe back to the IRS $15,980 at $450.00 per month for 24 months plus interest until the debt is paid. This was the money for our retirement plan. The local H&R Block office isn't being very helpful to correct the problem. Thank you for your time.

My problem lies in the lack of explanation about the approval process for this loan though their individual bank, HSBC. It was not made clear that I was approving a credit check while I had papers pushed in front of me at a fast enough pace that I was not able to read all the fine print. And when I was told that I had not been approved for the loan when I called, I was admittedly upset.

I called my local H&R Block office, and the receptionist explained very pleasantly and understandingly that I would now have to wait the normal two weeks, but that the money for the two-day RAL would be credited when I received my money, which was a small consolation. It still means that I paid roughly $150 for a process I could have done personally for closer to $35 (the amount for the two-day RAL), and could have simply called down with my questions. If you have any doubts about your credit in any way, shape, or form, let it be known that you will most likely not be approved for the RAL, so you should save yourself the money of applying with H&R Block if you have a fairly simple return.

It's unfortunate that I notice the same problem quite frequently from other people, and H&R Block does not have the foresight to train their tax preparers to inform you of a very important bit of information--that could easily change your decision to file with them. I understand that they are a business and this is one way they make money, but it is still dishonest and callous, especially in these difficult economic times.

I thought oh, okay, maybe it is different here. Nope I was not approved, I knew that I wouldn't be so I asked her so not being approved for the instant won't affect, my classic will. She said, "No, not at all. You should receive your check no later than Tuesday (the 19th)." I said, "cool." I joked with her that at Jackson Hewitt, I always got my check on the Martin Luther King Holiday and I never could get it cashed until Tuesday, anyway so no problem.

The office owner/manager Chris came over and said, "Hi" and welcomed me from Jackson Hewitt. She said Jackson Hewitt can't do the RAL this year. I said no they can't and she said, "well I am glad that you chose us to get you your money faster." I said she should be getting a lot of people from my work because we always use Jackson Hewitt but now that we can't get our money fast, we would chose them because they are the only one in our area that does the RAL. She said good, glad to hear it. I signed my forms and off I went to work.

Well, I called Monday to check the status of my refund only to discover that the bank denied me because of my guess, what poor credit score. I was furious. I called the local H&R block office and the office manager told me that I should be grateful that they saved me money, that going to Jackson Hewitt was expensive and they saved me from their fees. I was even more furious. I told her, "I don't give a ** about fees, I wanted my refund fast, which is what you guaranteed." I told her that I was told that my refund would be here by the 19th and now it won't be. She said, "well, we have some inexperienced tax preparers. I will talk to her about that." I said, "what they don't have experience with dealing with customers but they can do my taxes?"

I called the customer hotline only to be told, "well you need to call the bank." I called the bank, all to no help. They said, "well you were denied a loan." I said, "I know but I don't understand. I have received my refund for over 7 years with Jackson Hewitt with no problems." She said, "well they don't use the same bank we do." Well duh, I knew that she said that she was sorry for the inconvenience but there was nothing she could do. So here I am now paying expensive tax preparing fees that I could of done myself online at the IRS website and with the same results. I think the HSBC bank and H&R Block are scamming their customers. I have to pay over $180 for preparer fees when I could of done this myself. I went there with the confidence that I could get my money fast. The only thing H&R Block is good at is getting your hard earn money fast for them.

I called this morning and was told that they just started to accept them and that it would be 1-2 days after they accepted it. Then I called the main office and was told something different, that they wouldn’t release the money until the 19th. This is false advertising because even if you file early, you don’t get your money until several weeks later. Now the only reason I even filed early was so that I could get my money and take care of some bills and get my medicine, so instead of getting my money today or tomorrow like I should, I probably won’t see it until Wednesday or Thursday. No real damage except for the fact of going without my medicine because they lied.

This incompetent filer, who also is a teacher that runs his mouth excessively, charged me twice for my emerald advance, did not give me a card, did not sign the tax preparer slot, did not discuss my return, didn't do squat like my previous experiences. Personally, I think he is scamming somehow. I haven't figured it out yet but I will. I called customer service and got dissed by a bunch of Mexican or Indians, got dissed by the office, stating they could not pull it out and he was the only one that could. And he was off all weekend? I am powerless because of the retarded mistake or scam he committed and I hate H&R Block so bad. It is my life mission to drive them out of business. They are the most unprofessional overpriced predatory lending establishment ever!

All of the deductions are legitimate. In fact, the preparer had me take more deductions then I normally took. The preparer saw all of my documentation, receipts, logs and was more than content with my documentation. Keep in mind that this has been going on for almost three years (March 2007), and I don't know who I should go after. Do I go after HR Block or try to deal with the IRS? I need someone who knows what to do in this situation. I've already paid about $10,000 dollars; which is a lot of money to me. I've been worrying about this for years. I received my first letter in March of 2007 and as stated, I have paid about $10,000 dollars and am not done yet! I am so overwhelmed when I think about this that I sometimes can't sleep at night, which affects me at work.

Well, I have called him before and he didn’t return people’s calls. Also, I left the card there and he said, “Here is your card. Well, if you can’t get any money on your taxes, then why have the card?” I have gotten my taxes done with that agency before for 21 years but never again. I will do them myself. Also, John had stated that when we had our taxes done, that when all was said and done, we would be getting a nice refund back at tax season. Then, what is the problem? We make 50000.00 dollars a year and pay $2000.00 in taxes and we can’t get the Emerald card like we did last year. Something is wrong and it looked like they ran our credit and we did not give them permission to do that because on the bottom of the paper it said, the credit bureau information Equifax.

It was finally my turn after two hours of waiting and anxiety. I was waited on by a so-called tax professional, who went through H&R Block's computer process to apply for the LOC. She prompted me for my personal information and when she got to certain sections, she went through quick explanations of the process, which I did have to stop her on several occasions and question. The first instance occurred when she asked for my pay stub from my employer. I explained that I had been on unemployment for the entire year (unfortunately). She then began to populate the required fields on her computer with the corresponding information from my unemployment pay stub. I explained to her (although it may not have even mattered) that I have been an H&R Block customer for 5+ years and counting.

I also explained to her that I had received the Emerald Advance last year, which I did pay off early. I mentioned these things to possibly add to my credibility, which it most likely didn't because she was going through H&R Block's applicant stipulation process. As the so-called tax professional went further into processing my application, I noticed that H&R seemed to be conducting some unethical business practices in their LOC approval process. First, I noticed that the system mentions through the application process that H&R Block Bank requires a $10,000 projected income for an applicant for the year of 2010. With this in mind, through the application process, H&R Block Bank also requires the applicant to pay the LOC off by February 15, 2010. This seemed downright crooked to me.

In addition to the aforementioned stipulations placed against an applicant, H&R Block Bank also does a credit check for the LOC. This seems a little realistic, but still very unethical for the simple fact that many individuals (including myself) have given H&R Block Bank many years of loyal business (which was very expensive for their loan products). In addition, I received and paid off the exact same Emerald Advance LOC the prior year, as I had H&R Block prepare my taxes. Ultimately, tax clients who have their tax returns prepared by H&R Block and who are entitled to a tax refund are prompted by H&R Block to pay off their LOC through the tax preparation process. So no matter how you look at it, H&R Block Bank will get their money.

On top of H&R Block Bank getting their money, they charge very high interest rates on their repayment terms since the LOC or other loan product will only be short term. How extremely unethical and devastating for the low income individuals and households that H&R Block targets. As I sat in the office where I applied for the Emerald Advance LOC, I noticed that the office was filled with minorities and other seemingly low income individuals. It is just so appalling to me that H&R Block does this to people and are still getting away with it.

After my three hour ordeal with the LOC application process, as well as the poor treatment by the tax preparer, office manager and district manager, whom I confronted all about the issue, I was finally able to leave with some type of dignity. Yes, I do understand that I could have avoided even going to H&R Block, but their advertising is so subliminal and they fail to tell its customers/clients upfront about the stipulations regarding any of their loan products. The customers/clients usually have to find out the hard way (like I did) and suffer the complete humiliation of even attempting to apply for H&R Block's loan products.

All in all, my experiences with H&R Block have been horrible over the last three years, but I continued to be a loyal yet unappreciated customer. I will never give H&R Block my business again, even when they eventually get sued out of business and possibly assume another entity that prepares taxes. I will definitely be keeping my eye on this and I hope others who view this learn from my experiences.

I think by law and their admission, they have to keep at least 3 years of files on site. I asked them to get them so I or she could review them to see if the 1099 was there. If so, then it is their fault and they should be liable for the extra expenses. After some phone calls from me, stressing that they get this done, I received a voice message from a woman named Brandy that H&R Block was not liable for any charges or payment to the IRS because I didn't pay them $30.00 for the peace of mind clause. She said that they had redone my claim and I could pick it up at the Crawfordsville office, but they are only open for appointments at certain times and certain days in the week and no time and day was set.

I am also guessing that I am not going to be allowed to see my 2007 files or be able to make copies for my records. I am thinking about taking them to small claims court to sue for my money paid to the IRS. Do I have a leg to stand on here? Also, I'm thinking about filing a complaint to the BBB. Besides the worrying about the results and possible further inquires about my taxes, H&R Block has just made it that much worse with their lack of importance this is to me and my family. They just didn't seem to be that concerned about getting things done or about my concerns.

On August 10, 2009, in the evening, my wife received a phone call at our home and the person on the line said they had our tax information, did not know how they got it, and wanted to know if we wanted it shredded or sent back to us. We chose to have her send it to us and on the 12th of August 2009, we received an envelope with our complete tax statement and a cover ledger with the statement Confidential Client Information, Do not Copy or Remove from Office.

We called our bank and credit card companies to check on our finances and to see if anything had changed, lucky for us nothing has changed, but our info was in an unsecured state. I notified law enforcement and did a report and the case was investigated. And the detective felt that after an investigation, it was a simple case where the paperwork was placed where it was picked up mistakenly, found later and sent back to me. I called H&R Block and talked to the manager of the business. He said he did not have any thing he could say and would not answer my questions and did say that a district manager was coming in on the 17th of August 2009 and she has my information. I at that time asked for her to contact me. She has not, but the detective has and explained his work and what he believes to have happened.

The problem that I have is that H&R Block has in no fashion contacted me and talked to me. I feel that they owe the person that picked up my information an apology for their mishandling my information and they need to explain themselves to me and then accept the fact that they have exposed my family and myself to any number of potential problems. I know of no damage that has occurred yet, but the potential to my financial stability is devastating. I also believe that the persons that had my information and were interviewed for possible theft have sustained some emotional damage.

Anyway, I was furious and called H&R Block to have them solve this issue. I went to another office and had to have the amendments redone by a manager this time and we were getting back more and got the correct addresses. Then we got a nasty gram from the IRS state and federal that we owe money that we didn't have and started to add on penalties. I had to pay the state and did so, but I called the IRS and explained it to them and now they have my account on hold until August 7th. This is a nightmare. I will never go to them again.

Now last year, the lady that did my taxes forgot to do a part for my state taxes and she had the common courtesy to tell me and show me what form I had to mail off to receive them back. But I’m starting to think that these people are not properly trained to do people’s taxes. Now, I have to take a day off to go to the IRS building to have my taxes done over. I really feel like I should be compensated for this. This is a company that does not care about the people they are serving. They just want the money. This will be the last time I go there.

I spent some time with the tax expert at the local H&R Block office. He was less than impressive and I had to remind him several times that he had errors which were obvious to me. He kept assuring me that it passed the tax scrutiny software provided by his company. The preparer came back with a figure of $700 owed to the IRS. I was pleased and I paid them $450 for them to prepare all forms and, since it was offered, I paid for their "Peace of Mind" guarantee. Total cost to me with payment to the company and the IRS was $1,150 or just over half of what I had calculated. Maybe these guys really are tax experts! Their guarantee was explained to me that if I ended up owing taxes that they had not foreseen or calculated for, they would happily cover them.

They filed the taxes with my payment of $700 and, you guessed it, the IRS comes back a few days later and says there are multiple errors on this return and you owe $900 more, which is exactly what I had estimated myself and would have owed anyway! I went to H&R Block and filed a claim under Peace of Mind with the office manager stating, "This is so obviously our fault."

Two weeks go by and I get a letter from their Home Office stating that my claim is denied! I called all over, trying to reach someone about this matter. Everyone within the company I talked to stated, "This is so simple. We did not file your taxes correctly. We should pay any taxes that the IRS says you owe." By this time, it is now four weeks after the claim was denied. Of course, that is what was said. However, you would not believe the phone chase, endless emails and call backs during my work time that I endured trying to get this company to honor their advertised commitment to accurate tax preparation.

Finally, I went to discuss with the District Manager and was told by a claims manager, "We are not responsible. These were taxes you yourself calculated that you owed. But I can offer you a voucher for next year's tax prep." Yeah, right! I was pretty peeved. "What do I have to do?" I asked. File a BBB complaint, protest in front of the store, and go online to blog about this awful experience to anyone who will listen? To which, she said, "Don't forget that we have your personal information and your wife's SSN!"

I have made numerous attempts to contact higher ups. Again, I always get from the customer service department, "We will honor our guarantee." When I went online and started to blog about this experience, I met hundreds of people who have had this same experience. I finally found the executive offices and spoke to Anthony who stated that he would do everything he could. He sent the claim back for a second look and, right again, it was denied this time with the person calling me at work.

I emailed the local BBB and was told that I would have to file the complaint with BBB where the National Headquarters are in Kansas City. When I tried to do this, I was told that I could not file a complaint from out of state. So what good is the BBB? One blogger stated that this company is very bad about denying claims and feels that they are too big to be touched by an individual.

Janice looked into my file that she has on me, and found the receipt showing that she was given the information, and she simply overlooked the information, thus omitting it from my return. Janice immediately issued me a check for the penalty and interest, and informed me to pay the $1100 by the due date. My complaint is, why should I pay for something that was not my fault, since the tax preparer had all the information in front of her? Janice has been doing my taxes for years with no problems. If I have to pay the $1100, I feel that this error is not my fault.

I feel that I was misled and taken advantage of. I was to believe one thing in regards to the safety of my return. Now if this tax person is employed to help with filing people's tax return and yet said did not know that Texas is a community property state, then I feel I should have the $2,300 returned to me and this person or should I say H&R Block make restitution to me due to not my mistake but the company's.

My wife and I have no home. We have no job. We lost our personal belongings due to no home. We are in debt with family and friends that we do have. We're starving and we're tired. We have no way to pay our bills and now we have serious problems because of this; meaning my wife and I are looking at a jail time due to our bills being unpaid.

I kept saying over and over, “So it’s definitely going to be there within 48 hours, correct?” “Of course,” she told me what I wanted to hear. If she would’ve done her job and properly informed me verbally, that it was not a fast refund, it was just a loan from an independent bank that had no direct affiliation with them, I would have balked. In fact if they said, there is a 1% chance I won’t get the fast refund, I would have still balked. I know my credit is bad, and she never told me that I am authorizing them to run my credit. I tried to read most of the stuff she handed me. But I had like 60 papers to sign. Going back at everything I signed, I still can’t see where it says, “It is based on credit and I authorize them to check it.”

All in all, this is a classic scam, or just really extreme ignorance on behalf of H&R Block. But it seems, based on reports, too much of this is happening. Why is H&R Block screwing their loyal customers in the worst economy in recent memory? I paid 150 dollars in fees/rapid refunds, to find out I got denied and have to wait 2 weeks like everyone else. But this time I’m cool because I have 150 dollars less, and a nice shiny green card that charges me every time I use it for normal transaction and daily ATM usage. Oh, by the way, to call H&R Block and tell them my story after getting hung up on and the runaround, they deducted $4.00 from me. So as of now, my tax refund is -4 dollars for the privilege of telling me I am **. Does H&R really expect to pull these practices and have repeat customers? Or, are they only focused on short term and knowing they will bank off the fees and scams they are pulling off their customers?

I explained to the H&R Block office that I was wanting to file electronically for the usual reasons: the fees for the tax prep are withheld, the money is 8-15 day return, it is direct deposit, the tax guarantee. The H&R associate said all this would be no problem and they would take care of everything. And as long I as brought the court documents, it would be fine. It wasn't fine. The next day, I received a call from the H&R Block office to come and pick up my returns, due to the electronic system had rejected my filing. Why? Oh, because my ex-husband had already used our daughter's Social Security Number. Yes, I know. I told them this even before the visit.

So a couple of days later, I went into the office to get the taxes done. Well, once I was there and they got started on them, they came up with a figure of around $170 so I explained to them what I had talked to them about my situation. The lady went to talk to the manager and said that the only thing they could do was give me a $50 discount but that would take a day for confirmation. I really didn't agree with that decision, but I needed to get them filed asap so I told them as long as they could tell that I would receive the RAL, I would accept. Again, they said no problem so I ended up paying about $250 with their service charge and the banks.

Well, a couple of days later, I called and they told me that the bank did not approve me for the RAL. I was very disappointed because I ended up paying around $250 for something that could have cost me not a single penny but a push of a button when I did them myself online. It's like they aren't there to help their customers. They are there only to see how much money they can squeeze out of us. I will never ever again go for their service or even recommend their services, because they are a business with a bunch of lies and money hungry. I am very disappointed with H&R Block services!

They tried to charge me $190. I'm only getting back $210 from the Feds and $98 from the state! That’s almost all of my return! She barely worked with me for half an hour and I have no idea what to do. I don’t have that kind of money to pay her! I'm in college and not really working! I told her I would come back because I thought I might have some paperwork left at home, and she kept my W-2! I am at a loss on what to do.

My family and I were very much in need of this money. I was more worried for my negative amounts we owed to creditors, and this made us more in debt with more people. And then they promised to pay because of the two-day refund which turned out to be more than 45 days. Direct deposit was used for this also. Again I was charged more for this service too. It was trully awful to hear the money was going to be there everyday, with me passing this on to my creditors. I felt very ashamed, like I was lying.

After a week of that nonsense, they finally admitted to me they screwed up. It’s been over one month and I still have not gotten anything from them! They keep giving me the runaround me and I am ready to go to the media to tell them never to use H&R Block. I feel I will get the attention since it's tax season and since our economy is bad. I am prepared to do whatever it takes to get my money and have H&R Block refund the money it cost me to do my taxes and overdraft fees they cost me!

Making entries using the software was straightforward, but it was a complete waste of time and money because I could not complete my return, nor could I find a reference that would let me request a refund. The cost was $19.99, but it wasted my time and gave all sorts of guarantees but no way to get to them. An 800 number would be a great help. They give all these guarantees, but make it impossible for one to use them.