I signed up with TRA in 2004. At first the company seemed legit. They promised to settle my tax debt substantially. I paid almost $2k for their services.
At first I talked to Richard Hargus. He was very accommodating at first, but then after three months, it was hard to get a hold of him. He never returned phone calls and handwritten notes that I dictated to the receptionist. That alone should have told me that something was wrong, but I gave them the benefit of a doubt.
After not getting anywhere with Hargus, I was given to Ernie Aguayo. He was helpful at first. I received documentation from IRS about a month ago. I spoke to Ernie and asked him if they received anything from IRS. He said 'no'. He said that they usually receive something a week after I receive it. I faxed over the documentation, and he said he would give me a call the next week. I'm pretty sure he knew at this time that the company was going to fold. To nobody's surprise, I didn't get a call from Ernie.
Ernie also told me that Lidia Saavedra was also taking care of my OIC. FYI - Lidia is a member of the Latino Med Journal ([email protected]). I emailed her last week and she hasn't responded. What else is new?
I called TRA last week and their 800 number and fax were disconnected. I personally went to their Brea office this week to see what was going on, and their door was locked. They still had signage, and according to property management, Bert was still paying the rent. They actually signed a five year lease. The leasing agent also told me that Bert and his wife (forgot her name) are going to the office at weird hours of the day. Hmmmm... Probably to shred some files. I spoke to the Brea P.D. But they can't do anything since this is a civil case.
I've spoken to some clients during the past week. If you are a client and want your money back, we need to file a class action lawsuit against Bert Ferrer, Richard Hargus, Lidia Saavedra, Ernie Aguayo. I know some of you also have some other names we can add to this list.
Also, beware of a company called Associates Tax Relief (associatestaxrelief.net or.com). It's the same people. Check out register.com and see who these sites are registered to. They all link back to TRA.
We must put this company and these people out of business forever. We have enough problems with the IRS, and now we're losing more money because of the corrupt company.
Please call (213) 925-5635 so that we can put a group of people together to file this lawsuit.
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