I am just another victim of fraud from Tax Masters! I rejected their services and didn't sign their contract. They stole $4000 from me. Tax Masters high pressures their victims like me into sending them money misleading the victim into thinking the IRS is going to levy their accounts and garnish their wages immediately if funds aren't sent to them.

I rejected their business and did NOT sign any contracts and yet they won't return my $4000 they charged me! They then lie and say there was a verbal contract and a third party! If that wasn't the biggest lie I ever heard then why did they send me contracts to sign?

Tax Masters are total crooks. I can't believe there are so many victims on this board and these guys are still ripping off people as I write this. Where is the justice in America anymore. What does it take to help victims like me out and to protect future victims from Tax Masters ongoing FRAUD??????

Please e-mail me if you have any positive advice to help. I will gladly join in any Class Action Lawsuit against them.

Thank You Brian

I went to TaxMasters for help. They used scare tactics to sell me. I fell for it because I didn't know any better. After they didn't do ANYTHING for almost a month except tell me that I owed more than the IRS said I owed and that they would set up apayment plan for me for double what I had already paid, I went to the BIG SCARY IRS. THEY helped me in three days do what I had already paid TaxMasters to do. It turns out that the IRS owed me money! Tax Masters was going to set me up to pay $63, 000! TaxMasters is a terrible company to do business with. Worse! They are pure evil! The people that I delt with were all very nice to me personally and very happy to help me become completely destitute. The time that they caused me to lose cost me my credit because if they had advised me properly instead of telling a bunch of lies I would have been out of Levy in a couple of days, instead I was in Levy for over a month, so I was late on everything, my bank account was overdrafted and my family had live through December on $438.00! I sent them the letter below and have not gotten any relpy from them. I will tell everyone that I can how they ruined me.

TaxMasters shall regard this letter as legal written notice to terminate all contractual agreements and/or arrangements made by MY NAME (SSN xxx-xx-****) with TaxMasters, a business located at 900 Town & Country Lane, Suite 400 Houston, TX 77024. Be it also known that this includes any and all Power of Attorney authorizations which are hereby revoked and terminated upon the writing of this letter. TaxMasters shall cease and desist in further works or actions in the interest of MY NAME (SSN xxx-xx-****) . All works or actions in the interest of MY NAME (SSN xxx-xx-****) by TaxMasters and any employee or agent acting for TaxMasters after the date appearing on this letter are to be considered null and void by all. This termination is to take full effect immediately. No further payments will be made to TaxMasters. The bank account that the drafts were authorized to be drawn on has been closed. Any further collection attempts by TaxMasters or any employee or agent acting for TaxMasters will be met with legal action and full refund will be pursued.

This is a copy of the letter that I sent to Tax Masters thinking that they were a reputable company and could help. Boy, was I wrong. I have since contacted the BBB of Houston, the Attorney Generals of Texas and Colorado, the Office of Consumer Fraud with the FTC, and an attorney. So far, everyone has taken my complaint but only the BBB has received any correspondence telling me that I have no case for a refund and that I am responsible for the remaining "installments" even though they do not have a signed Power of Attorney to represent me with the IRS.

Anybody for filing a class action lawsuit? Looks like I'm just one of many with complaints against these frauds. How can there be this many complaints without remedy from someone?


January 7, 2009

To: Quality Assurance, Tax Masters
From: Client #R7209
Re: Contract screwups

On December 30, 2009, I contacted Tax Masters through e-mail (at 9:07 am) regarding a rejected Offer in Compromise from the IRS. Antonio Ruiz called me on December 30, 2009 to discuss what Tax Masters could do to help. At that time, I agreed to work with Antonio, and he explained the billing to me. I was told that the cost would be $4750.00, that fees were deductible, and that I could make payments in installments. Antonio and I agreed on January 8, 2010 and February 8, 2010 as dates for two installments of $2375 to be withdrawn from my checking account.

I received an e-mail at 3:35 pm from Abigail Venegas with the Engagement Agreement and Power of Attorney to sign and fax back. The Engagement Agreement listed the dates of installments as December 30, 2009 and January 8, 2010. I immediately called Antonio to tell him that the dates were incorrect. He said he would notify Billing of the changes and send out new paperwork. I told him I would not sign the incorrect paperwork. I have yet to sign any paperwork.

On January 4, 2010 the first installment was taken from my checking account. I immediately called Tax Masters, albeit after hours and left a message for Antonio to call me. I again left a message for Antonio to get back to me regarding this matter on January 6, 2010 and did not receive a response. I called again this morning (1/7/2010) at 8:15 am and was put through to the Billing Department because Antonio again was not in the office.

I spoke with Aaron Sinclair in Billing, and his records did not show that a change in billing dates had occurred. Unfortunately, Aaron bore the brunt of my anger and I apologized to him for that. This is not Aaron’s problem. Aaron did tell me that the initial deposits are non-refundable. At no time was I told this by Antonio nor is this shown in any paperwork that I have read through.

I have not signed the incorrect Engagement Agreement or the Power of Attorney, an installment of $2375.00 has been drawn from my checking account, I’ve been told that that money is non-refundable, the agent will not return my phone calls, and I’m stuck with something I no longer want to be a part of. At this point in time, I want to end the services from Tax Masters, receive my first installment back, and be done with it. I’m hoping that we can work together to resolve this problem. And I would expect to be contacted by Tax Masters Quality Assurance Offices and by Antonio.

Sincerely

Tax Masters continued to draft a client's bank account after a letter required (by them)was written to terminate the relationship. No work was ever done by Tax Masters, and no power of attorney was given to TM by the client for TM to represent him. The client gladly paid the initial nonrefundable consultation fee by draft ($550.00), but then wrote and faxed a letter declining their services, as advised by an agent at their 800 number.

After many attempts to reach the company, they offered to "try to review the tapes" where they claim repeated drafts on the client's bank account would have been authorized, but absolutely refused to allow anyone representing the client to hear them. They insisted that the tapes were their property and only they had the right to review their contents.

Beware of any verbal agreement you make with this firm! A red flag is their fee ($3, 800 in this case), which they determined with very little information on the work the client's tax problem would require. Indeed, the client hired an independent CPA who resolved it for a $250 fee. Tax Masters, to date, has happily taken $2, 100 from the client's account for no services, and is determined to continue collecting the full amount.

This just happened to me.. I had been with Tax Masters for two years. I had a defalcation/embezzlement that happened to my company and me 10 years ago. It took us two years to bring the party to justice. They were convicted of aggregate felony theft. (they stole also the computer and physical records for the two years that caused the problem with the IRS) Many attempt to work with IRS, no help. in 2005, granted Chapter 7 in which the IRS was included. Still no help. Tax Masters promised to come between me and the IRS. We filed Offer in Oct 2008, In Sept.2009, finally got meeting with Tax Masters, asked them to call IRS to check on status. They said they wanted to wait two weeks(Until Oct 09, then in there for one year and had to approve). Nope. Got letter Oct 2, that they were "returning"..not rejecting. Aparantly there was some info that they asked Tax Masters for that Tax Masters did not respond to. I was on their rearends on a daily basis, ie ; emails, phonecalls, etc to call the IRS. They kept saying they called and the IRS would not answer their calls. Finally, Fri. got email from Tx Masters, that the irs denied offer and we would have to start over(for more money). They were going to keep the 750.00 that we had included toward the first offer, and the Tax Masters had been paid upfront 2650. I decided to call the IRS myself. Guess what? Tax Masters Lied to me. They NEVER called the IRS. The IRS agent on record answered the phone on first ring. There was no record of Tax Masters ever calling. Further, IRS told me what I had been asking for the past six months.. there apparently been a letter they sent in July requesting more financial info; and even though I asked the agent at TaxMasters to "double check"s, as I had movedover the summer, they did not. Tax Masters, further had received the letter(they got a correspondense every time I did).. Two years of my life WASTED.. because of Tax Masters negligence and deceipt. Not only did they lie. If they had just called the IRS(which they charge each client in their line item 500.00 for contacting and meeting with IRS), they would have found out what the IRS needed, and the IRS would have worked with us to get the info in, and not return. Now, I have to start over. I have a meeting on Mon. with Tax Masters. I am going to show them the copy of the letter the IRS was kind enough to fax to me (that Tax Masters did not respond to)in July. That is what got us rejectd. And their negligence and enept ability to simply do their job has not only cost me over $4, 000.00. but cost me the last two years of my life, and I have to start over???? Can there be anything done? Can we at least take these guys to court and have them remove their false advertising that Patrick Cox does every time he gets on Fox or other channels and spews out his lies about getting in between me and the IRS and SOLVING our tax problems... He just caused my problems to escalate.. I have a good reason for an Offer, and they were close to granting it, they just need a bit more info)(ofcourse, they had requested different things atlest 3 times in the two years)...But Tax Masters complete incompetence cost me more than the 4, 000. They cost me not to be able to start my life for how much longer????? ----------------------------------