This was the first time I've used Stephens Tax Service. I found him on a Notary Facebook page. I had high hopes as he was very responsive and had extensive credentials and appeared to be very organized. (so i thought). I had an initial conversation with him at the beginning of the new year as to my situation (started new business) and he quoted me a "no more than price", and told me if I did great bookkeeping with a known site we both used that it should be less. I went the whole year and used the site that kept track of everything we discussed. I sent him all docs he needed at the end of the year and he was still very responsive at this point. He then sent me a message letting me know he was going to start my taxes. He had a couple of questions he sent and I answered right away, and then I heard nothing for a couple of weeks. I reached out to him to check the status and he told me he would be getting them completed that weekend which was in 2 days. I realized I had forgotten one thing and immediately responded by letting him know and sending him the documentation. This was immediately when he said he would be finishing them in 2 days, so it wasn't too late, he told me the price and sent an invoice and it was for the "No more than" price, which I was under the impression that was going to be less because I had done exactly what we had discussed and kept everything and had everything he needed. I didn't dispute it and paid him immediately. Two days goes by and I heard nothing. My mom went into the hospital and I wasn't able to stay on top of it, so another week or two went by. I sent him a message checking in and he responded that he was finishing up that day. He sent me signature docs, I signed and figured I'd be getting to see a copy of my taxes before sent. Another two weeks passed and I reached out again. He responded and said he sent them. Never gave me any copies, never gave me a notification, I never saw the taxes, he just left me in the dark. I told him I didn't get anything informing me it was sent, and he replied that he would post a copy on his portal, which he did that day. I noticed he hadn't claimed or asked me about any donations I had made throughout the year, which I ALWAYS make, but we hadn't discussed them and I had forgotten to forward that info. He said it would have only been a small deduction and he issued me a refund of that amount, (under $40 dollars) back from what I had paid in his fee. A few days later, I was doing my daughter's taxes and saw that if you had COVID-19 and missed work, there was a credit you can claim. Stephen and I had discussed we both had COVID earlier in the year and how long it lasted and that our family members had gotten it also. I told him I was sick for a month and a half and missed two months of work. He never told me about the credit. I reached out to him to ask about this and he told me he hadn't heard of it. I find that a bit unrealistic because in doing your own taxes and looking at all new tax breaks regarding COVID (especially if he had it also), then you would know that. That is his job after all. I reached out to him and asked if he could figure out how much that credit would have been as depending on that amount, we may have to amend the taxes. He told me he would check into it and get back to me. That was March 29th. It is now May 10th. I have reached out to him several times since and he will not respond. When all was said and done, It took him a couple of months to complete my taxes and he became unresponsive after he was paid and didn't do the job I had needed him to do. I could have done them better myself, which is really unfortunate. Nice guy, but wouldn't recommend him. read more
