Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  09/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Below is a summary of the problem. Attached is a more detailed description as well as a document with the notes in point format that was I keeping throughout the process. This is a submission about an experience of power asymmetry I experienced with a tax assessment service, Liberty Tax. In 2020, I went to Liberty's Burnaby office to have my tax return completed. The *** later reassessed the return, and found that I owed $1,150 in penalties and interest because the Liberty employee had claimed the Canada Worker's Benefit (CWB) on my behalf without confirming my eligibility (something that the *** has confirmed Liberty tax is at fault for). Through a number of difficult, inappropriate, and unprofessional interactions with Liberty, there has been no resolution and no accountability. This experience has left me feeling unheard, unsupported and disappointed with the failure of Liberty Tax to fulfill its obligations to its clients. It has also brought a heightened awareness to the fact that these types of things happen probably more often than I know and certainly to individuals who are far less supported or resourced than myself. It’s experiences like this that perpetuate disparities in access to resources and opportunities for marginalized communities.

  Business response

  24/05/2023

  As a professional tax preparation franchisor, Liberty Tax takes pride in the accuracy of the hundreds of thousands of tax returns we prepare annually. We stand behind our work and provide a written guarantee which states, “** ** **** ** ***** ** *** *********** ** **** ****** **** ******* ** ********* *** ********* ** **** ********* *** *** *** ********** ********* *** *********”
  Every taxpayer in Canada has a unique tax situation based on their life experiences. To discover each client's particular situation, we ask a lot of questions, we download all available income tax receipts from the ***, and we depend on the client to provide all additional information (e.g., dependents, rent receipts, or tuition receipts, etc.). Ultimately, we do our very best to prepare an accurate tax return however we are limited to the information our clients provide.
  If an error is made and we are at fault, we honour our guarantee and refund the resulting *** penalties and interest. If a client owes the *** more than penalties and interest the remaining amount is tax owed and is the responsibility of the taxpayer.
  We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. In this case reimbursement of *** penalties and interest plus fees was offered but refused by the client.  

  Customer response

  24/05/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I did not decline reimbursement of *** penalties and interest plus fees offered by the business and have followed up numerous times seeking reimbursement with no reply.
  

  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ********

  Business response

  30/05/2023

  Thank you for your quick response. Please note, we are restricted in what we can divulge in this venue due to the privacy agreement we have in place with the client, however we can say that:
  
  This client sent an email to *********************, dated March 15/23 at 12:40 pm, in which she stated, and we quote: “** * **** ** *** ******* ** ******** **** **** ******* ***** ***** *** ******** ** *** ****** *** ***** ********** ** **** **** *** *** ***** *** ***** ******* **** ***** ******* *** ***** *** *** * **** ** ***** *** *** ********* **** * ***** **** *** ***** ** ** *********.” The offer was declined.
  
  As stated in our previous response; every taxpayer in Canada has a unique tax situation based on their life experiences. To discover each client’s particular situation we ask a lot of questions, we download all available income tax receipts from the ***, and we depend on the client to provide all additional information (e.g. dependents, rent receipts, or tuition receipts, etc.). Ultimately, we do our very best to prepare an accurate tax return, however we are limited to the information our clients provide. In this case the tuition slip was not available or provided as stated in the same email noted above, the client stated, and we quote: “* ******* **** ** ********** *** **** *** ***** ***** ********** ***** ** **** **** **** *******” If slips are not available through the *** and the client does not provide the information, we are unable to pull this information from any other resource.
  
  It is the view of Liberty Tax that pertinent information was not provided by the client and is the cause of this error. As an act of good faith the franchisee was willing to reimburse *** penalties and interest, it must be understood that the rest of the balance owed to the *** is taxes, and must be paid by the taxpayer, we do not pay taxes owed by client’s to the ***.
  
  Note to BBB: If we need to go into further detail, we will need the client to provide permission to divulge her personal and private information on the BBB platform.

  Customer response

  30/05/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The email referenced has been taken out of context. In the phone conversation, the employee asked if that would resolve the issue and I replied saying that while it would be better than nothing, that I would ultimately like to have the charge covered. The employee said they would speak to their "head office" (which a Liberty Burnaby employee later informed me does not exist) to see what else they could do.

  I have attached screenshots of the emails I sent (which were not responded to) where I requested a follow-up on the coverage of the charge.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ********

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩