I contacted Gary Stapleton CPA in Clackamas, OR late 2004 to help me rectify some taxes due issues. At the initial meeting, Gary went over basic information on me, and what I was looking for from him. Stated to him that as I read on his yellow pages ad, he help lower or even eliminate penalties and interest on back taxes. He said yes he can do thisand knowing that I had a lot of penalties and interest form the IRS, we spoke further.
Gary agreed to take my case for a $600 fee (which he lowered from what he said was his normal $900). The agreement was for him to request all information and records the IRS had on me, to see where I actually stood with them. He had explained to me that there was a possibility that the IRS didn't even have the records and that would work positively in our favor. Further agreed was the fact that he was to put together a packet (once he received the info from the IRS) on his recommended course of action following the review of what he received. I knew that any work done by Gary after the agreed upon packet, with a detailed recommendation, would cost extra money. Before payment, I asked him point blank if he was positive he could at least save me the $600 I was paying him with the IRS, he said Yes. I paid Gary that same day $600.
Appox 1 week later, I met with Gary with some of the documents he requested I bring in. I took them in to him, and he stated, Now what do you want me to do. To say the least I was a little dumbfounded by what he said and replied that I had hired him, and his expertise to solve, or at least recommend a resolution to my tax nightmare. This is where I got the first inclination I had been ripped off. He began to tell me about the different services that he offered and the hourly price for each.By this time I am sure he could tell I was getting a little aggravated, and stated to him that I wanted him to make the recommendation he promised and I would make my decision based upon that.
After our meeting he agreed that he would get the documents he originally promised including one specific years filing to make sure it was filled out correctly. Appox 6 weeks later I received a call from Gary's office stating that they had the forms in, but that they had ordered the wrong years. I advised them of this, and they said they would re-order the correct years. 8 months go by, I make calls that are not returned and I hear nothingthat is until I get a notice from the IRS that I need to pay up, or else. I call and leave a message, and of course, I get a call back the next day. Gary proceeded to try and sell me on why I needed to hire him to represent him with the IRS. He stated, I would be stupid to go in and try and negotiate a payment plan myself. When I inquired about the fact that I still had not seen anything from my $600, he stated that he Already earned the $600 and anything from here on out would be $300 hr.
Bottom line is that he ripped me off for $600 to order some forms from the IRS, which I could have gotten myselfhe even charged me an additional $45 for IRS fees on top of the $600. I never say any sore of packet, or written recommendation from him. The only recommendation I received from him was that I should hire him at $300 an hour to work on my case, and on top of that he could not give me a reasonable estimate of time it would take him to complete the work (he said 2-10 hrs).
Against his recommendation, I met with the IRS myself, and they were totally willing to work with any sort of reasonable payment plan. They explained everything to me, what I would need to prove if I wanted to reduce or eliminate my penalties, and took as much time with me as I needed.
Don't spend the $600 on Garyit's a waste.
0 comments