I strongly recommend avoiding O'Larry.
I had used Branton Dejong for my taxes for years, and Ed had handled our returns for over 8 years without issue. After Branton Dejong was acquired by O'Larry, the service became absolutely horrible. What used to be a reliable and professional experience turned into one of the most stressful, disorganized, and unacceptable customer service experiences I have ever had.
This year, Ed referred us to someone else, and from that point forward, everything fell apart. Communication was almost nonexistent unless I repeatedly chased them. I had to hound them over and over again just to get basic updates. Emails went unanswered. Calls did not resolve anything. There was no sense of urgency, no ownership, and no proactive communication whatsoever.
As the tax deadline approached, they suddenly told me they would need to file an extension. I never asked for an extension, and I did not need one because of anything on my end. The only reason an extension became necessary was because they failed to get the work done on time. On tax day, I had to call and email more than 15 times just to figure out what was going on. That is completely unacceptable from a firm responsible for handling something as important as taxes.
When I asked to speak with Ed, who had done my taxes for years, I was told he was on vacation and would email me when he returned. When he finally did respond, he sent a canned email that he was no longer with the firm. No proper transition. No accountability. No real explanation. Just more confusion and frustration.
Then, weeks after the deadline, they finally prepared my taxes and sent me a DocuSign so they could file. I completed the DocuSign and asked for confirmation that the taxes had been filed. I received no response. After waiting and following up again, I was told they were missing a signature and that my taxes still had not been filed.
That is unbelievable. If the DocuSign had been set up properly, the signature should not have been missing. And even if something was missing, why did no one notify me immediately? Why did I have to chase them yet again to find out that my taxes had still not been filed?
The entire process was a disaster from start to finish. Their communication was terrible, their follow-through was terrible, and their handling of the filing process was completely unacceptable. I spent weeks stressed out, sending emails, making calls, and trying to get answers from a company that seemed incapable of managing a basic client relationship.
I trusted this firm because of my long history with Branton Dejong. That trust is completely gone. Based on my experience, O'Larry is disorganized, unresponsive, and not a company I would ever trust again with something as important as tax preparation.
People need to know what they may be walking into. If you value communication, accountability, professionalism, or peace of mind during tax season, stay far away from O'Larry. read more