This tax service was recommended by a friend, who did have a positive experience, though she later…read moreshared that she had also found Steve to be somewhat rude at times. I shared with this service that I had been hesitant to have someone do our taxes in the past because I have found tax services to be unreliable. I should have known better.
I provided Steve with all the requested materials by April 3. He did not respond until April 11, when I reached out to him. He said he had not filed our taxes by April 11, the date on which he had expressed that they would be filed and paid for. When I expressed concern about the lack of communication and said I felt uncomfortable, he said that was my problem. He refused to take any responsibility. No apologies, no warm tone, just an immediately defensive, very aggressive reaction to my disappointment and concern. When I asked for a refund for our deposit, he responded, "How would I do that?" And then refused to refund our deposit. He also refused to provide confirmation that he has deleted our confidential financial records.
My husband had gone into the office midweek, and Steve never mentioned that we needed any other paperwork. Also, when we first came in, he was very polite, shook hands, walked us to the door, but when my husband stopped by, he barely gave him the time of day. And, when I asked for the refund, he said that he had done a lot of work for us. But, when I asked what he had done - he just kept repeating "a lot of work." He also retorted that he had spent time with us, when that was supposedly part of the initial free consultation. He also said in that initial consultation that he had everything he needed and we wouldn't need to meet further, but then when I expressed concern over the phone when our taxes weren't done, he shared that sometimes he does need further meetings.
Also when I called initially to schedule that first appointment, his first question was: "What are you hoping to get out of this relationship?" That is a weird question for a man to ask a woman. I should have known from that first creepy question that this was not a guy on the up-and-up. Also, this is a ramshackle little office on Main Street in Waltham. It's not a nice working or meeting environment. While we were there, Steve appeared to be pinching every penny. For example, he wanted us to print things, but you could see he was getting frustrated when we were using a fair amount of paper to print.
In addition, in our initial consultation, he had very little helpful advice. He came across as very critical, made assumptions about our married relationship, and in the end, didn't even offer any deductions that a person couldn't get from TurboTax. I thought -- well, he didn't know anything I didn't know -- but at least, the money I'm paying him will save me the headache of having to do my taxes this year. . . until, he just, um, didn't do them!? And, I assume, had I not reached out myself on April 11, he wouldn't have contacted me, and then I'd have late taxes, for which he'd probably blame me for not following up with him.
In the end, I spent 2 hours doing my taxes on TurboTax, which cost $200, rather than the $600 we were going to have to pay him. It also allowed me to get more deductions than Steve said we would get because he didn't really spend enough time to get all the information from us. He didn't provide a checklist like other services. He needed clarification on all our documents, when they were very clear.
If you could read the emails this guy sent me after -- "I hope you find a solution to whatever is truly troubling you." A passive aggressive: "God bless you and your family." He's a true BS artist.
Lastly, this sounds like a financial service - LTR Financial - but it is just one person, so there's no recourse if you have a negative experience. He only puts up the 4 and 5 star reviews he gets. His website seems like a franchise, but when you look at the fine print, it's just him selling himself falsely. And, when I read the fine print, I saw he only likes cash, check, and debit -- for a reason! He's not trustworthy.
I have heard good things about H&R Block on River Street in Waltham, and there you'd have the assurance of quality and care.
Real schiester of a guy. BEWARE!