JK Harris sold me lies after lies after lies and I feel as though I have no recourse. I hired them in Nov prior to many negative reports on the BBB or lawsuits. I didnt realize the company was only a few years old at the time. As of June I finally excepted that I have been totally scammed. I wanted to believe what they were selling me. Now 2 1/2 years later I owe roughly $17,000.00 more than when I hired them and I'm out my original $6000.00 I paid them!
First of all the company made fradualent claims and used extremely dishonest sales techniques in order to get me to sign on for $6000.00 on the spot. They claimed that as soon as I paid them and gave them power of attorney that my interest and penalties would stop accruing as they negotiated with the IRS. I rushed to get my paperwork done so they could FEDX it overnight! I didn't find out this was completely false until at least 6 months later. They also estimated that my total payment to the IRS could possibly be negotiated down to $3500.00.
Secondly, I had five advisors over the years with each one telling me knew lies and giving more false hope. Each advisor I had wasn't aware of my case until I called and called to get answers. I had to constantly send them paperwork that I had already sent because they couldn't find things in my file! It was impossible to get anyone on the phone. I had to keep tabs on them to know if anything was being done at all. That was not an easy task as I was yanked around from advisor to advisor.
According to my records, of the 31 months I was with them, for 15 MONTHS nothing was being done on my case! The actual work it took to put the Offer in Compromise (OIC) together was five months and the IRS had my case for ten months. So the rest of the time I was gaining interest on their watch and they didnt care in the least!
I was told all the changes in advisors was due to restructing of the company and I was asked to be patient. I was also encouraged all along by each advisor to continue with the process because they felt I had a really good case. Well, I have since learned that the IRS rarely excepts OIC's unless you have extraordinary circumstances. Basically if you have a job and own a house forget negotiating with them. Well from day one I never had extrordinary circumstances. I was never a good candidate!
Thirdly, the IRS sent a preliminary report rejecting my Offer in Compromise which by the way was almost three times the amount the sales guy estimated that I could offer. The advisor I had worked with was gee, surprise, no longer on my case and I was assigned a new one. After updating him once again and sending in more documents to support my case he said he was going to send them on to the IRS because he felt they should have accepted a particular item. I have no idea if he sent them anything at all and my case was finally rejected. That was 21 months after I hired JK Harris.
Lastly he felt confident that I should definately appeal my case because he felt that strongly that the IRS should have excepted this item. HE also claimed that in his experience when a case goes to the appeals process the IRS is much more lenient and just want to get a deal done. I was very concerned about this prospect. We talked in great length about it and what to expect. I felt much better that he believed we really had a strong case so I agreed for him to send it to Appeals. He told me that he would and that now it was in the hands of JK Harris lawyers and there was nothing we could now but be patient and wait.
So wait and wait I did. When I called to check in 4 months later a voice message tells me that I have yet again a new advisor! After leaving message after message, 3 months later I finally find my new advisor who knows nothing about our case! Eventually, I come to find out that my case was never sent to the Appeals and now it is to late!!!
Talking with her supervisor I'm told that in their notes they were waiting for us to send them information! That is a blatant lie! Was anyone ever going to contact us if I hadn't? I asked who would be held accountable and what recourse did I have. She told me none. It's their word against mine. I beg to differ and I will do anything it takes to make sure they stop taking advantage of people who are already down on their luck!
I feel lucky that I am not financially ruined as Im sure others have been by them but it will take me decades now to pay off my huge debt. The strain and stress of it all has been very difficult on my family. I have asked for a refund at the very least but after all of this I certainly dont expect one from them. They know they have you because they know you cant pay for a fight against a million dollar company. They are the lowest slimiest thieves! Its so hard to believe that I believed in them for so long.
0 comments