I had a review on google as well, but that appears to be taken down…read more
Before choosing Mr. Horrigan for my tax services, I should have read the 1-star reviews and asked myself: Would I be happy if this happened to me? The short answer is no.
After my experience, I went back and read those reviews, along with his replies, which, in hindsight, are full of gaslighting--blaming customers, insisting they lied, and using capitalized words for emphasis. I fully expect his response to my review to follow the same pattern. But I'll upload email communications to counter any false claims.
I initially reached out to Mr. Horrigan based on the glowing 5-star reviews. Our first call was fine, and he provided a quote--roughly 2.5 times the cost of a DIY tax service. I was okay with this, expecting his expertise to save me money in the long run.
On February 11th, he sent a checklist of documents. I submitted everything by the 16th and followed up to confirm they received my files. Silence until February 27th, when he finally acknowledged receipt--11 days for a simple confirmation email. Not great service.
Then, another month and a half passed with no updates, despite my repeated inquiries.
Finally, on April 13th, Mr. Horrigan emailed me--my tax return was complete, and he wanted a 15-minute meeting to go over it. Everything seemed standard until it came time to pay. He handed me a summary of forms and schedules, and the price was nearly double his original quote--five times the cost of a DIY service. I was stunned. I understand prices can change, but when I take my car for a service and the mechanic run into complications, they call and ask if you want to continue. I was never given that option.This is dishonest business practice at least, a five letter F word at most
A realistic quote should have been communicated, given that he knew I had children and would need to file Schedule 8812, which apparently qualifies as an "extra form" with additional fees.
To add insult to injury, I later ran a DIY proof-of-concept return, which took only 45 minutes. Not only did I overpay for his services--I paid more in taxes.
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND MR. HORRIGAN TO NEW CLIENTS DUE TO HIS INCOMPETENCE AND IMPROPER BUSINESS PRACTICES. I ALSO ENCOURAGE CURRENT CLIENTS TO REEVALUATE THEIR CHOICE FOR TAX SERVICES.
*update #1, based on his unprofessional reply*
So much to unpack from this unprofessional response. Firstly, restaurants have the courtesy and foresight to price each individual item and show their customers in a form of a menu what they will be paying so there are no surprises... unlike your practice. (Try another analogy, because the restaurant one didn't quite hit home)
As you can see from the photos I have uploaded, I have nothing to hide. There were no follow-up emails explaining the additional work that would be needed. I would also like to know when we previously met "in-person" other than the 15 minutes to go over my taxes (Which he also states, therefore contradicting the multiple in-person meetings). I would encourage Mr. Horrigan to upload the email evidence where he states additional work is needed from the base rate.
What's astonishing is that Mr. Horrigan talks to each of my points, EXCEPT the one we hired him for, to help us with our taxes.
Mr. Horrigan I ask you, a CPA and published author of two books, How is it that by using an online tax service, where I imported all my tax forms without any modifications was able to have a lower tax bill ?
Please do not make the same mistake I did, read DJ's 1 star review on google
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