1 /5 Nancy Wittstruck: I can not recommend this service. The tight quarters and awkward electronic process made it difficult to review and sign the documents....had to sign with an old school mouse because the proper signature pad was broken. At the end we received a half inch thick stack of papers that didnt even include a copy of the 1040. It took several days and multiple failures to create an online account so I could print and save a 1040 copy. But an even WORSE failure came on the days following April 15......
I filed on March 11 but submitted a payment date of April 15. On the 15th I checked my bank account several times, but no IRS payment went thru. Did the same on the 16th. Still nothing first thing in the morning of the 17th. So I began googling for possible reasons around 7 am. This Jackson Hewitt office didnt open till 9 am so I spent two hours researching on my own. As I dug down thru that stack of papers I found the document for the electronic withdrawal of my bank payment......drum roll here...
The routing number of my bank was correct but in the account number field the 10 digits of my account were also correct EXCEPT the JH agent also typed the four digits of the CHECK that I provided for my banking information. (Now you dont have to be a CPA to know that a check number is NOT a part of a bank account number.)
So I left a voicemail message on the local phone number for this JH office. When they called back they provided NO HELP in dealing with the IRS to resolve the error THEY made. I was told the general manager was unavailable till after 10 and he would call me back then.
I knew that penalties and interest would be accruing for a late payment so I continued to attempt to call the IRS. And what a train wreck of a day I had trying to reach them. Each call had a wait time of 15 to 30 to 60 minutes each. After reaching an agent each time they had to transfer me to another department......one of these transfers just DROPPED after being on hold for 30 minutes. Had to get back in another queue for 30 minutes only to be transferred again for another 30 minutes only to have agent say he couldnt hear me and hung up. After waiting in a 30 minute queue,, thelast I made made took OVER AN HOUR to transfer! When the transfer agent answered she said I got sent to the wrong department! This was now the end of the day after 13 calls with 4 unsuccessful transfers and NO HELP from JH!
So what about a callback from the general manager of JH? Didnt happen!.. I waited till afternoon as I was kept on hold with the IRS all morning. So I took a break and called JH again. When the manager came on the line I told him who I was and asked why he didnt call me back. He said he didnt know who I was...that he NEVER GOT THE MESSAGE! After an exhausting morning I needed his help but he needed TIME to research it! I said I didnt have any time as I needed to get back with my attempts to contact the IRS.
And now for the final straw. After waiting for over an hour on the last IRS call, I decided to call JH back. Using the same number on this web page, it now came up from my call filter as POTENTIAL SPAM! No answer, office closed and wont reopen till NEXT WEEK. I even drove over to Walmart...no one there and the desk looked like everything was totally closed!
Now my call filter is blocking calls from this number so I doubt I will ever receive any resolution from JH....who charged me $149 and created this whole fiasco by their OWN ERROR. At a minimum they should refund my money and and pay for any interest or penalties that I incur.
I will NEVER use this service again and I suggest you do the same.
