I went to Liberty Tax Service in March to prepare my federal and state income tax returns for 2007. They completed the forms and I wrote them a personal check for their fee on March 25.
Three months later I was notified by the Rhode Island Department of taxation that my income tax return for 2007 had been miscalculated and that I owed an additional $958.00 plus penalties and interest. I contacted Liberty Tax Service and they admitted that it was their fault that the error occurred but did nothing else to help me remedy the errors. I paid the amount the RI Taxation department said I owed including penalties and interest.
In addition to this issue, I noticed that the check I paid Liberty Tax Services for their fee had not cleared my bank for several months. Since the check was written on March 25, it would not be valid after September 25 according to my bank. After September 25 I no longer kept the funds in my account to cover that check since it was no longer valid.
On October 3 the check cleared my account causing the account to be overdrawn and incurring overdraft penalties by my bank. I looked at the canceled check and realized that the date had been altered prior to it being deposited in Liberty Tax Service's bank on October 2. The date had been originally written as 3/25 it was altered to read 8/25. The alteration extended the time period the check would remain valid. My bank informs me that this constitutes a form of fraud.
I suggest that anyone considering using Liberty Tax Services reconsider and go to another more reputable service.
By the way, this company is NOT affiliated with Liberty Mutual Insurance. I have my home owners and auto insurance with Liberty Mutual and am very satisfied with the services they offer.
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