- Report: #147641
Complaint Review: Tax Relief Associates - Brea California
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Tax Relief Associates
3 Pointe Dr Brea, California, U.S.A.
Phone:
800-9714972
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Tax Relief Associates Ran away with $3200 of my money for no services rendered, RIPOFF! Brea California
In December of 2003, I sent Richard Hargus of TRA $3200 to negotiate with the IRS over back taxes owed. He, and his his associate Donal O'Rourke, assured me that this would be handled in a timely and professional manner.
The last I heard from Mr. Hargus, in early 2005, was that the Offer in Compromise would be submitted to the IRS through his office and not to worry. In March of 2005, I received notice from the IRS that this Offer was not submitted by his office, and there is no way to contact either Mr. Hargus or anyone else from TRA.
I was worried about this from the start, especially when it became difficult to reach anyone at TRA, or to have my phone calls returned. And to add insult to injury, they never even submitted my paperwork to the IRS! Now I am negotiating with the IRS for a settlement which I probably should have done in the first place.
I would do anything to help get these crooks disbarred (if they are in fact, tax attorneys), and would be willing to participate in a class action suit. It would be a relief to get rid of Tax Relief Associates!
Dave
Litchfield Park, Arizona
U.S.A.
The last I heard from Mr. Hargus, in early 2005, was that the Offer in Compromise would be submitted to the IRS through his office and not to worry. In March of 2005, I received notice from the IRS that this Offer was not submitted by his office, and there is no way to contact either Mr. Hargus or anyone else from TRA.
I was worried about this from the start, especially when it became difficult to reach anyone at TRA, or to have my phone calls returned. And to add insult to injury, they never even submitted my paperwork to the IRS! Now I am negotiating with the IRS for a settlement which I probably should have done in the first place.
I would do anything to help get these crooks disbarred (if they are in fact, tax attorneys), and would be willing to participate in a class action suit. It would be a relief to get rid of Tax Relief Associates!
Dave
Litchfield Park, Arizona
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Richard
Phelan,California,
U.S.A.
Rebuttal from Ex-Employee. This is usually the practice of how cases are handled when an employee leaves a firm.
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, July 27, 2005
The statement that I made previously is correct. I was an employee of TRA and collected no monies individually from clients. All contracts were made with TRA and the owner. We were simply employees. As for the "personal letter" written to the IRS...whenever I am listed as a power of attorney on a case, notices might be sent to me or phone calls may be made to me from the IRS to discuss the client's case. When this happens, I must send the IRS a letter requesting that they revoke my name from the power of attorney since I am no longer employed by TRA and therefore cannot represent TRA's clients. When I left TRA (way before they shut their doors) I sent a demand letter to TRA stating that TRA was to remove my name from any and all cases within their firm. They should have done this and reassingned my cases to someone else within the firm to handle. This is usually the practice of how cases are handled when an employee leaves a firm. The cases are simply reassigned to another employee to handle. The fact that they didn't left me no choice but to revoke my name from these cases as I was not allowed access to any files once I resigned, nor did I want any affiliation with TRA once I left. I hope this information is helpful. I know that many people do not realize that the employees were victimized by TRA as much as the clients. Yet, none of the employees had any control over what TRA did.
Dave
Litchfield Park,Arizona,
U.S.A.
More Information...
#3Author of original report
Mon, July 25, 2005
I recently learned that Richard Hargus has responded to a complaint in the RIP-OFF REPORT (try loooking under "Richard Hargus" in the search area), stating that he was merely "an employee" of TRA, much like a cashier in a retail store, and as such, he is not personally responsible for the misfortune of others. He left the company because of the way clients were being treated. He was unable to have any access to any of his clients files. All employees who worked for TRA after he left came in to the office to find the doors locked. He "can sympathize" with us, but he can't do anything about our situation. According to an IRS agent I spoke to, he personally wrote a letter to them stating that "he would no longer represent me". But then he says, in his rebuttal, that he never "personally" represented any of us... TRA did. So then, did he write the letter at gunpoint? By the way, did anyone ever hear from Joel in Burbank, California? He gave a number to contact him for a class action suit, and I never heard anything after I called his phone a couple of weeks ago. See how much good it does to complain?
