Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Just Sayin

Today I filed my taxes using H&R Block software. It was a long and arduous journey to complete them. I can safely say that I will look at almost any other software product other than H&R in the future.

The entire process has been frustrating. We had software installation issues and then in the process of preparing my return we fell into a unique exception to the rules. I wasn't familiar with the particular rule so I called support thinking that it was a software glitch rather than an exception. I got four wrong answers from support before I figured out my issue myself.

Their customer service emails asking you to rate their service had a component that asked if you would like to talk with someone about your issue. I conveyed that I did in three of the responses I gave them. I am still waiting for that call.

Finally (actually firstly and finally), the price of the software initially looked the same as last year (perhaps a very modest increase), but the cost of the software did not include one state as it had in years past and did not include e-file with the state that you purchased. The two additional costs for purchasing state and e-filing added an additional $40 to the total cost of the software.

To prepare my own taxes and doing my own tax law research I had to pay as much as I would have been willing to pay a professional. In terms of stewardship, I don't think that this product is a good use of money. I can go back to using paper forms if I have to.

I will forgive H&R for the mistreatment of my pocketbook and go on with life, but I don't think they will see a repeat customer from me anytime soon.