H&R Block in 200 Great Road #8

Customer Reviews about H&R Block:

• ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
  I filed my own taxes for the first time using this service. I am good enough with numbers, I suppose (currently I am pursuing a PhD in the natural sciences), but since I am not well versed in the language of tax documents, I decided to visit my local H&R Block office. They advertised a free federal return for simple forms, and a $40 state return, satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. What could go wrong? The preparation service was efficient enough, with my tax preparer (whom I will not name because my complaint with her is a minor one) flying through form after form. The tax preparer did not explicitly discuss charges at any point, including when she rung up the bill (on a private computer screen) and presented me with the receipt. Since I had come in with what I believed was a simple set of documents that would make me eligible for a 1040EZ (which would be free for the federal form and $40 for the state form), I hurriedly took the receipt and signed it, since my tax preparer never contradicted my question from the start of our session, that "This will cost just $40 for the state return, right?". As it turns out, I was billed $305 for the preparation of tax documents on an income of around $20k, because apparently filing a credit for student loan interest disqualified me from having a "simple" return, even though the amount credited to me was nowhere near the increase in fees charged by my tax preparer. Well, my preparer may or may not have had an incentive to charge me for additional forms - I do not know if they operate on commissions or not - but I still had a chance to catch this discrepancy at the point where I was holding a pen to the receipt. Let's say the fault was mine there. None of this is cause enough for a one star review, though. What upset me most of all is how the Bedford branch office manager, Mr. Gerard Dufromont, treated me in the aftermath as I tried to straighten out the situation and apply for a refund under the "satisfaction guaranteed" policy. While I made a mistake in not double-checking my receipt before signing it, my absent-mindedness certainly did not entitle Mr. Dufromont to tell me, *in writing*, "I feel you received excellent service [...] You sound like a very intelligent young man I find it hard to believe you don't review a receipt before signing it." As I am a starving graduate student (yes, poor life decisions all around, I know), I have neither the time nor the financial resources to wave empty threats of legal action, or to wade through layers of bureaucracy and unhelpful upper management at H&R Block to continue the formal complaint process. I am forced to swallow the $300 loss (and the kick to my self esteem from Mr. Dufromont), and move on with my life. I do hope that, by writing this review, I can help other people avoid making the mistake of patronizing this business. To be perfectly clear, I fault H&R Block not for the accuracy of my tax return documents, but rather for their deceitful billing practices (i.e., not stating explicitly what the cost will be up front, nor even as the charges were being rung up), and even more so for how condescendingly I was treated by the office manager. Bottom line: the management of this office is extremely unprofessional in demeanor, acting with blatant contempt for the humanity of their customers. This attitude appears to percolate through all levels of service at H&R Block, from the individual tax preparers up to at least the Regional Manager. Do yourself a favor and find a more reputable source of help for your tax returns; I know I will never come back to an H&R Block office again.
  By Michael Hutson, January 03, 2017
• ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
  I went to the Tax service at Hanscom AFB an extension of this office, the service was awful, they took so long to do my taxes. At the end the tax specialist couldn't figure out how to take my payment. I left completely frustrated, I called the manager and he assured me he was going to review my case and call me back. He never called! I called the district manager at Headquarters and she told me this manager was just being lollygaging. I called the assistant manager and told him to remind his manager about his call. He never called..... the worst HnR block office I've met in my whole life, this guys really put to shame a business like this. I went then to go to HnR block to tremont st, in Boston. They know what they are doing.
  By Edgar Torres, December 19, 2016

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