Mr. Salvatore Candala of "The Tax Advocate Group" has SEVENTEEN complaints against his business on the BBB website in the past 3 years. Please read the NATURE of these complaints. I wish I would've done so prior to seeking out his services. He basically takes advantage of vulnerable people who owe back taxes. Let that sink in. To that end, Mr. Candela is no advocate. In fact, you will find yourself "advocating" for yourself during your partnership with him. Let me be clear- you will be calling his office asking for updates through his receptionist- Joanne. Basically, you will need to advocate for yourself- in order to facilitate having your taxes completed by him. You will need to be the initiator of any contact. He will not lead the way and guide you as to what he needs. A pattern will ensue where he will ask you for one more thing and one more thing when you finally speak to him. Before you know it, TWO months have gone by and the interest and fees imposed by the IRS will continue to accumulate! In my attempts to move things along, Salvatore Candala became hostile and agitated toward me. At one particular point, he stated, "Unless there are 2 IRS agents in your house, it's not an emergency." Although, he is well aware (given his many years of experience) that fees and interest are accumulating for monies owed. He simply does not care. This cannot be overstated. There was no sense of urgency on his end despite the fact that tax season was over. Again, he could care less let alone be an advocate.
There is a real "disconnect" here that cannot be captured adequately in a Yelp review. He will get angry at you for feeling anxious instead of recognizing the role he is playing in this scenario. Put simply, Salvatore Candala is a self-absorbed, narcissist. Again, please refer to the many BBB complaints of people he has hurt and scammed for money. Our conversations mainly consisted of him rambling on and on in a tangential manner about how BUSY he is and how he has "clients all over the world" such as "Hong Kong." He presents as both braggadocious and grandiose. He talked about his long days and long working hours more than he ever talked about the filing of my return. Every. Single. Conversation with him consisted of him talking about HIMSELF. A complete Narc with no insight into his own behavior. He makes you feel as though he is taking your case "pro bono" ignoring the fact that you are a paying customer. He will make you feel as though he is too busy for you. He will talk down to you in a very infantilizing manner.
I am sure Mr. Candala will say that I did not give him ALL of my documents upfront causing a delay in the completion of my return. My husband and I gave him the standard package, documents we have given previous tax preparers in the past- last year's return, W2's, paystubs, 1099's and any other tax document that we received in the mail. We also included a letter from our daughter's school. He apparently needed additional info such as bank statements etc. which he did not disclose until he already had our all our info in his possession for 2 months. We have been asked to provide additional documents in the past but it has never resulted in any sort of significant delay processing our return.
Lastly, Mr. Candala falsely promotes himself as an "accountant" as evidenced by his website. In 21 states, including New York, only a Certified Public Accountant is legally allowed to advertise themselves as an "accountant." Mr. Candala is an ABA- Accredited Business Advisor. There is a difference.
Suffice to say, Mr. Candela strung us along and decided to terminate our relationship very abruptly with reckless abandon just as we were at the finish line. He is unpredictable to say the least. After we sent him every single piece of paper he asked us for, over a 2 month span, he became hostile and completely uninterruptable when I asked him for a specific date to pick up my completed return. The main reason he gave us was because I called his office too much- 3x in a week. I believe this is a blessing in disguise after reading the BBB complaints. Nonethelss, it was truly callous and a complete over-reaction on his part.
You can't win for loosing with this guy! It is definitely time for him to retire!!! Bottom line- You will have MORE problems than you started with if you decide to forge a business relationship with this man read more
