Where to begin? After emailing an inquiry as to approximate cost and timeframe, a woman called me back to tell me to complete a client info sheet. I was hesitant to send my personal information considering I hadn't decided on a tax preparer yet, but went along with it. Once I decided to go through with Laura Tax Services, I send along all my forms and documents only to receive a call that they didn't receive some of the faxes - which is strange because I faxed them all in one batch. Laura insisted she never received them and told me to send them again, but I pressed her to take a look with the other documents. It turns out the "missing" documents were just lying on the printer. Fine - it's their busy season, mistakes happen, customer service (multiple cold transfers, lack of professionalism) isn't what I'm paying her for.
Then while awaiting my taxes to be prepared I began to receive phishing emails from Laura's email account - clearly the result of a virus or some other suspicious culprit. This went to me as well as a number of other clients, and I continue to receive these suspicious emails to this day. This does NOT make me feel like my sensitive information is safe!
Finally, I get a call that my taxes are done - great! Except that I somehow owe the State of Indiana $700 - something I've never owed before. I questioned this and Laura blamed it on the way my company reported my earnings then told me how to send payment to the state. Still, something didn't feel right so I went back and reviewed my forms and documents myself, only to find her oversight (it was reported in a weird way; but you, the professional, whom I am paying, should catch this - not me!). I called back and let her know - and then I magically end up getting back roughly $100 instead.
But it doesn't end there. I mentioned this fiasco to one of my coworkers and she asked if I got the renter's deduction - which would be weird since I never gave Laura the name of my landlord or how much I pay in rent. So I called her back and she said it slipped her mind, then recalculated it for even more savings!
DO NOT USE LAURA TAX SERVICES! I literally would've been better off had I used some independent software (not to mention the hundreds of dollars Laura almost cost me without batting an eye) and had the added benefit of my personal information not being exposed to computer viruses. I'm kicking myself for going to them and will never trust them with my business again. read more
