H&R Block

The lady that prepared my taxes was very warm and sweet, so I hate to write this review… but H&R Block is horrible, as a company. They charge me $ 250 to do my taxes; when I did them a couple years back with H&R Block, it was like… $ 40. They totally cheat you and trick you into getting their Emerald card which they don’t tell you charges you $ 35 to use anywhere except their own «Emerald gold approved» ATMs. $ 35! So far, H&R block has scammed me out of $ 350 of my tax return!
Like I said, the Woman that actually assisted me was wonderful she went out of her way to get me the most money possible and she was very sweet. Unfortunately H&R Block has turned into a total scam and they will do anything to take your money from you. They charge outrageous prices just to prepare your taxes and the more forms they use to do your taxes the more they charge you. They make it seem like getting their ATM card is the best choice and it’s the fastest way to get your money but the truth is it’s the fastest way to get your money taken from you by H&R Block. I feel so cheated out of my hard earned money.

I went last week to have them look over my return. I already filed but did not feel comfortable about my work as I was adding schedules for the first time. I expected all of the accountants there to be knowledgeable about the different forms. But that was not the case. The first accountant I met with wasn’t sure about any of the forms I needed and handed me over to someone within 10 min.. The second accountant had more experience but even then, she didn’t come right out and say I had filed the wrong forms with my 1040. She did say I may need to do an amended form but never pushed to have it done. She mentioned using a different schedule but after checking she sounded unsure and just went along with the wrong forms I used. I paid for a half hour’s consultation but left feeling uneasy.
I eventually went to a private tax accountant who after seeing my work came right out and said I made a mistake. This preparer showed me which schedule to use, filled them out and helped me with amended returns for both Federal and State.
The accountants at this H&R Block office didn’t really help me nor did not give me the right answers, which was the main reason I went to them. I needed them to come right out and say this was wrong, here is what you need to do and show me how. They were nice and friendly, but overall I felt like I was missing crucial information. I was hoping to get step by step instructions on how to fill out one single page form but they threw figures and calculations around expecting I would understand everything, which I didn’t. I scheduled an hour’s consultation but saw one accountant for 10 min and the second for just about 30 min. then I had to leave because the next customer was waiting.

I had tried doing taxes this year online first but it was a really crappy experience for me and I had to redo (amend) my taxes because it couldn’t handle my situation.
With that out of the way, Martha and team at H&R Block in Santa Clara were able to take my situation and help me out. They gave me a good price since I already had a bad experience with the tool that is supposed to be associated with their company (don’t be fooled, H&R Block Store and H&R Block online aren’t the same at all!). I didn’t give full stars because I was left waiting for nearly 30min during my first appointment but she did finish my taxes VERY QUICKLY. I got a call by the end of the day with good news and was able to make an appointment for the next day (which she was more timely for). I definitely appreciate the help that I got, and I feel confident that they were done correctly this time. If you have questions, GO SEE THEM.

One of the best H&R Block experience that I have had so far. Being the third year, they had all the data already available and all I had to do was just provide the necessary documents.
Simple and easy.

That time of the year again. Boo!
We’ve been using H&R block for the past few years for our taxes because we always have some tax complication — like a move to a different state or a different company — which makes it easier for us to just have someone else do our taxes: D
This location was good. We went in to meet Chu Tran and were out in 30 minutes with our taxes done and filed and also received our tax refunds within 2 weeks. Easy peasy. We would go back again — Ms. Tran was patient with my questions, did a great job with our taxes and was very efficient through the process!

My review is a little unique because I didn’t actually use there services. i called to ask how much a simply EZ form would cost. The response I got was «its not free anymore if thats what your thinking, that deal expired last month» ill admit i may have been overly sensitive but i thought that was such a rude response. I had known the deal expired which is why i asked how much it would cost not can i still get them done for free. I was telling my friend about the situation and she encouraged me to call and tell a manager. I did and turns out the manager is the one i has spoken to that gave me the rude response. He apologized blah blah but i was still blown away that a manger would speak to a potential customer like that. Needless to say i did my taxes else where.

I should give them 5 stars actually since I have been going to this location to the same person (Kelly Scott) for almost 8 years now. The 4 stars is just cause the wait is always quite long when we go there, even with an appointment. Perhaps that is just the nature of how it is, but I think they could do a better job of staggering returns and estimating how long an appointment will take. Even after we moved away from the area, we are happy to drive the 20+ miles to get our taxes done here. So I really have very little negative things to say. Kelly is methodical and detail oriented. So yes, the process may be a little slower, but we have not had any problems with him yet. Even when we got questioned by our bank (during a re-​finance) about a couple of things, H&R Block stepped in and explained how what Kelly had done was correct. I am getting ready to get our taxes done again this year and we will going back to Scott. I don’t know what other tax consultants in this office are like since I have never been to them. Who knows, if we went to a fancy consultant and paid a lot more, they may find ways to reduce our taxes a bit more, but I don’t know if that is true or not, and there is no point in second guessing that.
We typically go in, turn our paperwork in in-​person and walk Scott through all our documents. He gets it done and we go back a few days later and pick it up. And if he has any questions, we communicate via e-​mail. Easy as pie.

Wow, im a little surprised of the negative reviews. We have never had a problem but then again, we have had the same tax person for the past many years. Her name is Mabuba and she is awesome! She is always fun and always double checks her work.
One year, we owed a lot of money due to some bad financial advice by a friend and even thought we walked out of there owing money to the IRS, we still enjoyed our time. So, regardless of the bad reviews, my review for the one person we deal with yearly is spectacular. I recommend Mabuba to anyone wanting to do their taxes right.

I showed up 10 minutes early and all accountants were busy. It was two weeks before tax day, so that was to be expected.
The building is a bit small and had only 6 accountants available in this office.
The receptionist was very and offered water or coffee when I stepped in.
The accountant who did my taxes did quick and easy. He was very friendly while doing the taxes. He seemed like he knew what he was talking about and got me a very good return.
It is pricey, but just getting someone ELSE do my semi-​complicated taxes its ALL WORTH IT TO ME!
I don’t know why this got 1 stars, 3 is just fine.

I usually do my taxes either on TurboTax or through my dad’s private tax advisor. This year because I’m so busy with work I decided to go through H&R Block since they were right across the street from me. I made an appointment at 2:00pm, when I got there the receptionist told me that I would be helped in a few minutes and to have a seat. 10 minutes later… no help. 20 minutes later… no help. 30 minutes later… no help. Finally 40 minutes later a very sloppy unprofessional looking guy walks in with food crumbs on his huge belly and calls my name.
When we were at his cubicle he had my W2’s, 1099r, 1098t and all sorts of forms scattered all over his desk. Very unorganized. Anyway an hour later when we were finally finished he told me how much the service would cost me… $ 206!!! H&R Block charged me TWO HUNDRED AND SIX DOLLARS! And it was not because I had complicated documents or anything, and when I asked him about why it cost that much he just mumbled a whole bunch of gibberish. It should have not cost that much. I’ve been doing my taxes for a while and it was never close to being that much. I didn’t have time to argue with him so I just left it at that. I already had spent two of my precious hours there. But I’m planning to go back this weekend to see exactly why it cost that much from another tax advisor because this guy didn’t know what he was doing. I would give names but I won’t go that far. Be careful of the charges they’re charging you. They would’ve only had to print 4 forms for my taxes and that would not equal to $ 206. I will never go back to H&R Block again; they pride themselves on «getting your taxes done right.» Cleary he didn’t know what he was doing.
I realized that day that I have become a very patient person.

Have you ever been somewhere just thinking to yourself «damn this place is going to get Unilocaled when I get home!». Well that is what I found myself thinking for the 30 minutes that I wasted her. I left wanting to punch someone because this place was so damn frustrating.
What could be so frustrating you ask? Here is what was so frustrating:
So yesterday I called them asking if they could help me fix an error that TurboTax created on my federal return form. They said «for $ 29.99 we can TRY to guess at what the problem is». Why the crap would I pay $ 30 for a guess? If i wanted a guess I would google it.
So today I has a little spare time and decided to go down there to see if I could get some help. I very clearly told them what the problem was and I was sent to a representative for further assistance. So I sat down with Thuy Hillman (remember this name!) and was ready to get this problem solved. I agreed to pay the $ 29.99 fee if they could help, and she said «we will see». Not a good sign when the employee who specializes in taxes can not promise you that they will fix the problem. So I explained to her literally 6 – 7 times what my problem was and I started to get upset past the 2^nd time. She looked at me and said «you look like you upset». OF COURSE I WAS UPSET DUMMY! I told her I was upset becaue I was tired of repeating myself over and over about everything. Why ask me for my social security, phone number, date of birth in front of a large group of people when its on a fricken piece of paper in her face?
So to skip the other details of her HORRIBLE customer service skills and having to repeat my other questions she said that she needed to ask a supervisor… after 30 minutes, still couldnt answer a simple question and now she decided to ask a supervisor. So she walks over, asks him, comes back, and that easily she said I had to call the IRS. How damn hard was that?! Took 10 – 15 seconds and she spent 30 minutes wasting my time, getting me pissed off, and she couldnt even help at all.
I hope you read this H&R Block and I hope that you fire her before someone gets even more upset and strangles her for being a moron. If you hire someone to work with the public they need to (a) be able to read! and (2) know how to communicate with people. She couldnt do either, and should not have a job. Millions of people need jobs would be willing to take this job but noooooooo she has it. Fire her and find someone who is willing to work hard, and be helpful.
Ok I feel a little better now, still 1 star though for the horrible experience.