Preferred Tax Relief reviews and complaints
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Fraud
When I initially contact PTR I spoke with a Sam Miller in January 2011. After giving Sam information both financial and IRS, he said that he can get a significant reduction on my tax bill, and that it will cost $3500. With my payment of $3500 PTR did manage to get the power of attorney started. I was then assigned to a case worker Michelle Marti, was spoke on the phone several times. Michelle gather all financial and IRS information from by fax and email. Michelle also said that any documents I receive from the IRS and Franchise Tax board should be faxed or emailed to her. Michelle Marti did get a request for a collection due process and appeal hearing. This hearing was scheduled for May 24, 2011 via telephone conference call. Last week I received a letter from the IRS dated May 24, 2011 stating that my power of Attorney (PTR) did not make the scheduled call to the appeals collection due process hearing nor did PTR send the information the appeals due process requested for this hearing. This document I received from the IRS also states that if they do not hear from my power of Attorney (PTR) by June 7, 2011 that they will take immediate action. I tried calling my case worker (Michelle Marti) several times, on this matter, all I get when I call is this message that says "The destination number is busy please try again". I went as far as calling the PTR's corporate office, based in San Diego, I get the same phone message "The destination number is busy please try again". I tried to call Sam Miller's office; I get the same phone message. I tried contacting both Sam Miller and Michelle by email, still have not heard from neither one of them. I've been taken for $3500 by PTR.
I am in the process of Filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, also hiring a attorney, hopefully I can get something done. does anybody know if a class action has been filed against PTR? If so please share that information with me, I'd like to be a part of that. I would appreciate any help in finding out how to contact a PTR office.
non refund of money
in jan 2010 found a website to get me out of IRS trouble preferred tax relief, a smooth talking sam miller said he could take care of it for 3500.00 no way i had that kind of money, so i turned to my wife and we used our home equity line of credit, which i still could not afford.did it anyway, didnt hear from him for a month, then he called and said he needed 200.00 more money, told him i couldnt afford anymore than that, no more.i checked my bank account later that day.to find he took 1500.00, which i didnt even have in it.i called sam miller and he said i authorized 1500.00.i said wrong, why would i when he told me 200.00 and i didnt have 1500.00 in my account then he laughted when i told him i wanted a refund.i had to take 3 days off work to get my bank straighted out as it took 3days .it took sam miller only 5 minutes to screw it up.its been two months and wont return my calls, so its attorney time, also attorney generals office.also people reading this.you can do a FBI internet scam report on line.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
To Whom It May Concern,
I am a PTR employee recently informed of the complaint posted above by Mr. Ron Hamerik. To begin, I would like to clarify that I am very familiar with this case as I have spoken with Mr. Hamerik on several occassions, all of which he yelled at me and insulted me throughout the conversation. To clarify, Mr. Hamerik hired us for tax resolution services. PTR later discovered that Mr. Hamerik had several missing tax returns that needed to be filed with IRS. Mr. Miller was informed of this matter and was asked to contact Mr. Hamerik to arrange for payment for tax preparation or advise Mr. Hamerik that he needed to find someone to prepare returns himself. Please be advised, in these instances, it is company policy that a manager monitor the call for payment approval. Mr. Hamerik was clearly advised the additional fee was $1500 to prepare several years worth of tax returns for him. He provided us with a debit card for the transaction and we ran the payment as authorized. Several minutes later, Mr. Hamerik contacted us yelling and stating that the charge was not authorized. Again, Mr. Miller had management monitor the call at which point Mr. Hamerik stated he only authorized $200.00. Mr. Miller chuckled in disbelief that Mr. Hamerik confused a $1500 charge for $200. PTR IMMEDIATELY voided the transaction. We even faxed a copy of the voided receipt to Mr. Hamerik, his bank and got on the phone with his bank representative to explain the situation and ensure his funds were not held. Mr. Hamerik has subsequently filed complaints with several agencies all of which have been dismissed or closed due to PTR's thorough response and proof supporting our claim.
Most the people you talk to when you first call these companies are not authorized to handle any tax cases. He is neither an attorney, CPA, or Enrolled Agent which is required for one to represent someone before the IRS.
Most of these companies are sales based, and not service based companies. When things go wrong - they rely on the service agreement.
When you call Prefferred Tax Releif, Nationwide Tax Relief, American Tax Relief, Tax Masters, and most the others, your call is directly connected to a salesperson, not someone who is authorized to handle your case, and technically that person is not legally allowed to give you tax advice either.
However, there are a few tax resolution companies which are run correctly.
One is Tax Resolution Professionals, www.taxresolutionprofessionals.com They are owned and operated by attorneys with no salespeople. They are based in Los Angeles as well. When you call them you speak with attorneys the entire time on your case. I have had two friends use them and they were extremely happy with the result. They have an extremely good reputation in the industry.
The key is, when you call a tax resolution company, ASK who you are talking to! Most likely it is NOT an Attorney, EA, or CPA, but just another unqualified salesperson!
Tax Relief
November 14, 2007 We recieved a letter stating "Congratulations, by contacting us your tax problems are over". What a fraudulent choice of words. However, we are even more sickened to read most of the americans taken in by Preferred Tax Relief had 3500 dollars taken out of their checking accounts and we had 6500 dollars taken out of our checking account. We were even told "do not contact the IRS we will do all the talking for you".
Preferred Tax Relief did nothing for us. We never heard from attorney Dillon unless we called him. He passively agressively let us know by the tone in his voice our call was a bother to him. Our calls to attorney
Dillon always ended with "don't call the IRS we will handle the communication". It sickens me to type the word attorney before Dillon. No one that treats people the way he does can possibely be an attorney.
So after a year of nothing from Preferred Tax Relief, I called the IRS. They said it looks like Preferred Tax Relief has contacted the IRS 2 times, the 3rd phone call states "Put on hold by Preferred Tax Relief, call ended"
At this point we would be happy with 3000 thousand returned to us. Why were we taken for 6500 dollars?
Our last contact with att Dillon was when he was screaming at my husband about something. Screaming, what a great way to help your fellow man after you take money out of his checking account! By the way att Dillon our son has been fighting for YOUR freedom for 4 years. And will be fighting for your freedom for another 2 years. Were sure glad your safe!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Most the people you talk to when you first call these companies are not authorized to handle any tax cases. He is neither an attorney, CPA, or Enrolled Agent which is required for one to represent someone before the IRS.
Most of these companies are sales based, and not service based companies. When things go wrong - they rely on the service agreement.
When you call Prefferred Tax Releif, Nationwide Tax Relief, American Tax Relief, Tax Masters, and most the others, your call is directly connected to a salesperson, not someone who is authorized to handle your case, and technically that person is not legally allowed to give you tax advice either.
However, there are a few tax resolution companies which are run correctly.
One is Tax Resolution Professionals, www.taxresolutionprofessionals.com They are owned and operated by attorneys with no salespeople. They are based in Los Angeles as well. When you call them you speak with attorneys the entire time on your case. I have had two friends use them and they were extremely happy with the result. They have an extremely good reputation in the industry.
Another is Mike Habib, EA, also based in Los Angeles. He's an Enrolled Agent, and also handles the case from start to finish himself. I don't know anyone who has used him directly, but he also has an extremely good reputation in the industry.
Also, the gentleman who replied above, Joe Mastriano - is a legitimate tax problem solver, actually licensed to handle your case.
The key is, when you call a tax resolution company, ASK who you are talking to! Most likely it is NOT an Attorney, EA, or CPA, but just another unqualified salesperson!
This industry is filled with too many complaints against representatives. For years I've been telling people to hire a professionally licensed CPA or law firm. Having over 25 years of experience in dealing with the IRS and solving people's tax problems, I'm saddened to see that there are so many people that are falling prey to the many scams and unethical practices going around in this business. The best advice I can give to anyone that is having tax problems is to do your research before taking action. First you need to understand your tax problem and what your options are, then, if you decide to hire a professional or a firm to solve your problem, you should do some background checks on them before you hire them; regardless of who recommended them to you, or where you've heard from them, you should always check them out.
To anyone having tax problems, I recommend you visit www.TaxProblem.org and read up on all the advice available there, it will help you better understand the depth of the situation you are in, and point out what the available options are. You should also check out the section about selecting tax advisors which details a couple of good things you should do before hiring someone in order to protect yourself from scams. (www.TaxProblem.org)
After the $3500 was charged to my Visa card I was assured by Preferred Tax Relief that the IRS levy on my online savings account would be lifted only to find out later on that the $2500 I had in that account was used, unbeknown to me, in the bargaining process and I would not be recouping that money. To make matters worse, most of it was not mine. Negotiating a deal with the IRS through PTR has been a long and arduous process which has dragged on for almost over two years. During this time I have spoken to Mr. Dillon twice, every other time that I called it seemed like someone different was on the case and eventually I felt that if I didn't call every week, nothing was going to get done. Patricia Lopez, who handled the final stage of this negotiation process, i.e. proposals, offers in compromise and appeals, discussed with me my options. I submitted to her an offer in compromise along with other documents she had requested and which she promptly submitted to the IRS. Eventually I received a notice of rejection from the IRS. At this point, I felt defeated and called Ms. Lopez to let her know that I will not appeal and that I just want to pay monthly towards my total tax liability. We agreed on payments of $150/month to the IRS with penalties abated. I was told that I'd receive the details of this payment plan soon; I waited for over two months and had not heard a thing from PTR or the IRS, so I called PTR. It turns out that the paper work got lost in the shuffle, once again shaking my confidence in this supposedly professional firm. Finally I spoke to a Mr. Robert Kohler who had to endure my enraged disdain for his company. Acknowledging that PTR screwed up, he took the reigns and called the IRS that day in order to set up a payment plan as soon as possible. Well, his actions thereafter haven't really restored any confidence I might have initially had in PTR. I'm still dealing with problems of miscommunication between Mr. Kohler and the IRS, false promises and notices from the IRS stating that my entire tax liability of over $13, 500 is due in the 26th of month - three days from now. This indicates that nothing has been really been resolved. I still have this unsettled feeling in my gut and I think it's about time I submit my certified letter to revoke this horrible company's power of attorney. The lesson I've learned is that companies like Preferred Tax Relief prey on people who are fearful of the IRS. In hindsight it would've been a lot easier for me to have dealt with the IRS directly, not to mention it would've saved me $3500.
Mr. Kinderly
Wow, when I first began responding to you, I did so laughing at audacity with which you negate any and all complaints against your company. Now, however, I find myself growing angry. You really are a worthless person that has no morals or ounce of human decency. I am glad that we live on opposite coasts of the US or I might end up in jail.
How many people does your company screw every week? I must hand it to you, you guys over there at PTR have a great setup for scamming people. The fact that you are still in business amazes me. Actually, no it doesn't, I know why PTR continues to thrive. You prey on unsuspecting people by streaming sweet lies into their ears while taking their hard earned money with no signs of remorse. I am sure that most of your clients would love to pursue legal action against you, but they don't have the resources to do so as your company took what little money they had.
You should be ashamed of yourself and your company. One thing that keeps me happy is knowing that karma will come back around upon all those employees that helped PTR flourish. I just hope that all of us "clients" find out what happens to each of you so that we can revel in your misery. Stephen Kinderly, Matt Jones, David Becceril, Gumecindo Leal, Bob Hanna, Malachy Dillion and all the other PTR employees - may you all burn slowly in the fires you have created.
This case was resolved, and they did not follow through on the settlement. We had to go back in again and re-open the case, secured yet another settlement (very tough to do) which they then also defaulted on. There is only so much we can do on our end. Since the recession began, we have noticed an uptick in refund requests; we are very sorry for folks' financial troubles, but that does not take away from mountain of work perform for our clients in putting together years of tax records of our clients and getting them reductions and/or settlements.
Unauthorized Drafting of Funds
The manager of BayBreeze Seafood Restaurant of Henderonville, NC called Preferred Tax Relief to inquire on their services. Without authorization or any paperwork provided and thus signed, Preferred Tax Relief drafted $8500.00 from the account of BayBreeze Seafood Restaurant. This draft was not authorized nor did the manager ever indicate that PTR would be hired for their services. Instead, he asked they send information and necessary documents and that once the owners reviewed them, a decision could be made. When the funds were discovered to have been missing from the restaurant account, Preferred Tax Relief was contacted and asked to return the money. They have refused. After a police report was filed they offered $5000.00 and claimed to require the remaining $3500.00 as a minimum fee to cover their expenses. It is unclear what these expenses are since no services have been provided by Preferred Tax Relief to BayBreeze Seafood Restaurant. In fact, no paperwork or contract was even sent until after the manager of the restaurant called to ask for his money to be returned.
There must be some way to find this company and file a lawsuit to recomp our money, I have hired an attorney and plan on getting my money back
This is my favorite part of Mr. Kinderly's response:
"The complaint makes it sound sordid, and that is not how we do business, and we have since destroyed the banking information he gave us."
Well of course you destroyed the banking information, you already wipped out all the money in the account. What good is bank account information if the balance is $0.00. PTR is the black widow of the tax world.
You have a C+ Rating Stephan Kinderly. Again you and your group of money grubbing thieves are misrepresenting.
Preferred Tax Relief, located in Century City, CA. also took $3, 500.oo from me on Dec. 2008 and provided absolutely no tax services. They are a complete scam. Check out more complaints on /link removed/ type in "Preferred Tax Relief" and see how similar everyone's report of their terrible or no service really are...
I agree PTR took my money but waited so long to negociate my account with the IRS that by the time i filed for my tax return the IRS took all the money i was suppouse to get back, including my stimulus credit for buying a house in 2008 ($7500) of course that and my refund covered what i owed the IRS and PTR does not need to resolve anything with the IRS, in other words i paid them $2700 for doing nothing. I ended up paying more than what i needed to pay
We have a B- Rating, thank you.
then y do you have an F rating w the los angeles bbb
Very untrue, and it must be addressed. As a case worker at Preferred Tax Relief, I can tell you without speaking specifically about this restaurant's tax payment history (unless he gives us permission to do so) he gave specific verbal authorization to process the fee, with account numbers, routing numbers, etc., with the understanding that the paperwork was a formality. It appears he changed his mind after much time has passed and his casework had begun without telling us. The complaint makes it sound sordid, and that is not how we do business, and we have since destroyed the banking information he gave us. We went beyond our refund policy and we're still not sure after lengthy conversations to hire us why he changed his mind. As a firm of ex-IRS attorneys and ex-IRS CPAs who typically get very favorable financial arrangements with the very tough IRS for our clients, we are used to people taking out their frustrations with their tax problems on us. As I've stated elsewhere, many people come to us late in the game with a dire tax situation and we are forced to perform triage, if you will, and most of the time they are up and around in no time at all. All in all, most of our clients are very happy and relieved with our help. [protected].
False Advertising
This began in March 2008. I called PTR because they advertised that they can reduce your tax debt. I first talked to a Kevin Logan, he stated that they work with the IRS and can resolve the issue, for a payment of $3500 to get the ball rolling. After I sent in the money (which was the last of my savings) I next was turned over to a Dave Beccerril who did...
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The company promised a service to IRS settlements for only a fraction of the debt; stop IRS collections; stop seizure of assets and income; transcription investigation; levy protection, etc., and for a fee of $3, 500 from beginning to end. When initially contact PTR, they gathered all financial and IRS information over the phone and gave me a quote of what i would end up paying IRS of $5000. Then PTR asked for my credit card number, I then told them I would like to check on my interest rate before I proceed, but they went ahead and charged my account on 2 separate transactions without my permission, called my credit card company when I received my statement, the credit card company asked me to call PTR to reverse charges, when I called PTR for a refund they denied it so I had no choice but to proceed with their service which started 10-27-2009. When I called to follow up, they were asking for additional $1, 500. I complained to Kevin Penn that they already have the fee of $3, 500. and till now I did not receive any update and have been following up on status and have spoken to the following Kevin Penn, Marco, Danny, Blanca and last month when I called again was told the my case was being handled by Janet Mata instead of Kevin Penn, states he is no longer assigned to my case. Last month after faxing additional doucments requested my Janet she emailed me after our conversation and requested more documents (pay stubs, 401K statements) but the fax would not go through after 3 attempts, I called and emailed to tell her the fax is always busy and so with her phone, to get another fax number from her, no reply and now the number provided is out of service. Now I am still paying the credit card for the $3, 500 charged including 10% . I would appreciate your help in finding out what this company really does, the services they claimed to service to me have not been met.
I agree, I was only taken for $2500 but yes, haven't been able to get ahold of anyone. I sent my paperwork to the IRS and they rec'd it
Jan 24, 2011...PTR said would take 6 weeks for the IRS to answer...it's
been 5 months and no word yet. I am still paying the credit card I used to pay them and a monthly fee to the IRS which I can't afford but have to. If I had taken the money and paid the IRS, my debt now would be much lower. I will also file with BBB. thank you and will try to keep posted.
My name is James Mack Preferred Tax Relief charged me 4, 500 and did nothing, that is to say not a single thing, for me. I filed with the BBB I have all of my documentation I would love to be part of a class action law suit. My email is jamesmack2981 at yahoo.
James Mack, taken for $4, 500 by PTR please include me in any law suit my email is jamesmack2981 at yahoo. I have all of my documentation.
Unfortunaytely my husband trusted them and they took 4, 500 and this is the time they haven't done that much. Last mail we sent has been returned, as they moved God knows where on earth. We would also love to be part of a law suit against PTR.
my brother in law got taken by them also if anyone files a suit he would love to be part of it, he is going to file a complaint with the BBBand also with the california state law board.