H&R Block / HRB Digital
reviews and complaints

I agree! We had a appointment in the Clinton Iowa office when we got there the office was full and told us that they were 2 hours behind. They sent us to the walmart kiosk to have them done. We get out there and the 2 girls that worked had no clue what to do. They changed in the middle of preparing our taxes and then preceded to tell us that the Internet was down. After wasting 2 hours of our time they told us to come back tomorrow...WTH! They are a joke!

With a credit score of above 730--I was also denied an HR Block/HSBC Emerald Card.

Ten Year Tax Pro...you are wrong, efiled online with H&R block website and chose the emerald green card to receive my refund on. At the end it stated that I did not qualify and made me choose another option. You can be denied the card!

Debra Laundra - 227 Ginger Rd MARYVILLE, TN Any articles on arrest and conviction for pedophile, sex abuse, sodomy, baby rapist, incest, etc during years of [protected]?

sounds like that corrupt attorney William (Dollar Bill) Brenner and William Brent Healey that operate in Grahamsvill NY as they charge crazy fees and always get their clients audited. Then when the clients come in with the IRS notice Brenner and Healey tell them to hire an attorney. So if you want your taxes done in Sullivan, Orange and Ulster County NY don't use Brenner Income Tax unless you want to get audited .But if you do go consider what you pay as tickets to the circus to see the world's fatest two slobs in the world as these two are real fat..I mean if you hosed them down and rolled them in flour you still could not find their pee pee..

You cannot be denied an Emerald Card. You *CAN* be denied the RAL by HSBC Bank if you have issues on your credit. Recall, a credit check is just part of the process and the one clients focus on should they be rejected. You can also pay late on your bills, but not have it show up on your credit history, and be rejected. For more on that, see Citigroup and what they do to you should you miss by 1 day a payment.

Plus, if your return is held for processing, then you can be out the fees for the RAL/RAC, the $29.95 bank product charge, and tax prep if that "processing" consumes your entire refund.

H & R Block Bank issues the Emerald Cards. HSBC Banks issues the RAL/RAC products. Any questions?

I wanted to clear confusion on the refund process. What people don't understand is that HR Block is only to prepare and send returns to taxing authorities. They are the middle man for LOANS. Yes LOANS is capitalized because note: THE IRS DOES NOT SEND ANYBODY MONEY IN 24HOURS OR IN 1-2 DAYS. CHECK THE IRS WEBSITE - NORMAL PROCESSING TIME IS 8-15 DAYS. Ok, so you goto HR block, have your return prepared and then you are told a fee. YOU CAN ALWAYS PAY YOUR FEES UPFRONT AND OUT OF POCKET (CASH, CHECK, OR CHARGE) OR you can decide to pay additional fees to have the cost deducted from your ANTICIPATED refund. Now I say anticipated since just because the IRS says 8-15 days, that's normal processing time and ITS NOT A GUARANTEE! The tax preparer doesn't know if you owe back taxes, child support, student loans, are being sued by a credit card company (state refunds only) or if you are selected for an audit or review of credits/deductions that you are claiming. NO TAX PREPARER CAN GUARANTEE YOU A REFUND, they go by the information that they are given. GARBAGE IN IS GARBAGE OUT. Ok, so you apply for a loan, you get charged a loan fee. Now because you are applying for a loan you sign a boat load of documents, have your identity verified and so and so. I wonder DO YOU TAKE THE TIME TO READ THE DOCUMENTS THAT YOU ARE SIGNING. You can't honestly say that you couldn't read them because even if someone was rushing you to sign that should be your que to STOP. But still you continue on cause we all got a sad story on why we need our money, even though we waited 364 days to get it. This is getting long so to wrap up my original point: If you have a problem with TAX PREPARATION AND FEES, complain to HR Block. If you have a problem with why you couldn't get INSTANT MONEY OR ANY KIND OF LOAN, complain to HSBC. If you have complaints about EMERALD CARD FEES, NOT ABLE TO GET MONEY OFF OF CARD, RETURN CREDIT DELAYS, complain to HR BLOCK BANK. Note HR Block & HR Block Bank are 2 different entities. One prepares taxes and one is well it's a virtual bank. THE END. I WOULD LOVE ANY AND ALL COMMENTS.

I was denied an Emerald Card with a credit score of above 730 which is rated as excellent. My other 2 scores were well above 700. This summer one of the Bureau scores was above 800 based on 30 years of good credit and a 57 page credit report. HR Block has no answers. HSBC is not listed on the Emerald Card-- but that is the company that HR BLock tells you to call. The buck should stop at the name of the company on the card-HR BLOCK. It is the classic round around "shell game" scheme-"U need to call HR Block"--"no you need to call HSBC"--"no you need to call the IRS." HR Block was surprised that I was denied with such a high score--which I faxed to them. There have been numerous class action lawsuits against HR BLOCK RAL's--California, Chicargo, and West Virginia. According a Harvard Business School Report --up to 12 class action suits--for high usuary interest fees-- but that may be the least of the customer's problems--according to online complaints of charges for calling "toll free" line to find out about your refund. According to online complaints-- HSBC checks that bounce. Lost refunds--have to have the IRS trace the refund which seems to take weeks or months. Endless attempts at trying to verify your idenity--some customer's said they went back to their local office with 3 picture ID"s and HSBC still refused to verify identity even after an HR BLock worker called verifying the customer's idenity. Of course one can't believe everything written on-line but one site has 45 pages of complaints and another site has a high volume of complaints as well as negative newspaper and magazine articles.

As a 10 year tax pro that works for the company, I can say that the smartest things customers can do is to set up a checking or savings account and utilize THAT account as the destination for whatever refund (federal or state(s)) they are due to receive once their taxes are calculated. Oh, and if it were a savings account, I'd also suggest they treat it as a Christmas Club account and set aside a little each pay period so as to be able to withdraw that $$$ and pay the H & R Block fees up front.

The Emerald Card does not have an upfront charge, but it has a whole host of potential charges, depending on how the customer wants to use the card.

I would also like to strongly advise against the Emerald Green Card. We were told we would save money by taking the card versus a rapid refund check. We were told it could be used as a debit card. What a farce! We were charged a $3 fee for each transaction plus $1.95 service charge. We had also used the card to reserve a hotel room. We decided to pay cash for the hotel room so they said they would run a credit immediately. The Green Card would not apply the credit for three to four weeks. Try to call their customer service number and talk to a real person - impossible! And, when you do talk to a real person, of course, they don't have any answers! Also, approximately 8 weeks after we filed with H&R Block we received a notice from the IRS stating that not all our W-2's were enclosed with our return and our signatures were not on the return. We returned to the H&R office where we had our return done and showed them the IRS notice. We did not receive any kind of apology. They did not even offer to mail the needed items back to the IRS. H&R Block - never again

I live in Houston, Tx and have had my taxes done by hrblock for years; I always get about the same amount of money back every year. So this yr when I was approached about the "Emerald" card advance I excepted the $500.00 bucks because the "estimated" amount that I was to get was based on my last check stub; the same amount on my W-2. The prepairer said I'd get around $2400.00 back But when my W-2 came in he claims that not only was I not getting back the $2400.00 but the $500.00 advance I had to pay back plus the interest that it had accured and now he say's by the way you also owe the IRS $49.00? I was pissed! I will pay the IRS; but not only will I NEVER have my taxes done by hrblock again, I will also NEVER pay them back!

Grover and Sheila Williams
[protected] and [protected]
My wife and I have used H&R Block for 21 years. I have always sent people to
HR Block warn them that it would be unwise to trust anyone else with tax preparation. Now the very foundation of the trust I have in H&R Block has been compromised. I heard a radio commercial, "why wait for your W2s, bring in your last paycheck stub and H&R Block will get you a loan that you can payoff when we do your taxes. It was trust the H&R Block name that led me to go for the Emerald. I brought in my W-2, told the lady that I always file jointly and that my wife made $19K. Your rep asked me the usual questions and enter the data into your impressive software. After your rep had completed her computations, she told me that my wife and I would have a $5800+ refund and that I could get $1000 right away, through the Emerald deal. I am always surprised at the size of refunds H&R Block computes. So I went for the Emerald and agreed to its term, all based on the premise that I had a $5800 refund coming. When we got our W2s, we went to H&R Block to file, only this time we were told our refund would be only $600. I was dumbfounded. We elected to not to use H&R Block. No one loathes the term "predatory lending" as much as I. What is it when a bank lends money when they know know the borrower cannot pay it back. What is it a bank lends money based on false anticipated income. Well I owe Emerald $1000 and I want to pay it, but I can't pay it as agreed, for obvious reasons. PLEASE modify my loan and have your collections people cease and desist, I simply cannot afford their payment plan nor can have this ordeal affect my credit.
The family attorney thinks that I should let various government and regulatory agencies vet this matter. H&R Block has been very good to me for a long time and I trust.

Grover Williams

Why were your returns adjusted? Were you subject to a refund offset? That would explain the delay in your receiving your refund. H&R Block has no control over that.

Your fees are not based on your filing status or on your income level.

They are based on the complexity of your return.

You were not charged an additional $30 for e-filing. The extra $30 was because your boyfriend paid H&R Block up front, while you elected to have your preparation fee withheld.
HSBC charges you for that service. I always encourage people to pay upfront. It is cheaper and there is one entity less between the client and his/her refund, but roughly half of H&R Block's clients can't manage their money, and frankly would not be able to file were it not for HSBC.

Turbo Tax is a great program, but it assumes a certain level of knowledge especially when you have more than a simple 1040EZ return. My best clients are the ones that "do it ourselves", then a couple years latter get an IRS letter audit demanding back taxes, penalty and interest.

Good Luck!

same crap here approved they screw up my birth date and keep passing the blame on three weeks now no word on emerald advance that i was approved for plus they say my card is tied to someone else in another state really bad medicine to have to take man why would anyone let these people do your taxs ask yourself that before you go christopher in kansas

I just got scamed! I got the Emerald scam card in Dec 2011 I need to use for the first time today Feb 22 2012 My card is no longer active, customer service says I was suppose to had used the funds before feb 15 . Now they are going to charge me over $100 in taxes interest and fees when I get my Tax refund!

this was my first time using h&r block and you couldn't pay me to waste my time again, they like to blame the bank but they choose witch bank they do business with. i am sad to say iv'e never been so disapointed with a tax agency before.

never in my life have i been so dissapointed with a tax agency my first time using them and im never going to them again.

Was it a corporate office or a franchise office?

I could not efile for my new york state return because I had my new baby last year and number of exemption changed. system could not detect any errors when you run error checks. After you sent data to IRS they gave you errors and now HR Block is saying I need to file manually. How awful that software is. I will never use HR Tax Cut Software again. May be I should join the group to sue HR block. There was a horrifble experience with their customer service.

They also make it very difficult to use the free efile feature. You need to find a code they supposedly send you via email. I could not find it after wasting an hour searching. I've been using TaxCut since 2005. Between the $50 for the Fed return, $30 for the New York form and 1 hour wasted looking for the code for the "free" efile, I will just go to a local accountant next year. It will be worth the $150. I wound up having to print out and mail.

Also I am growing concerned that answering any question wrong can wind up in owing more taxes. And the explanations for alot of the questions are no more clear than on the Fed forms.

The way they try to nickel and dime their customers really has crossed the line. Never again. Another case of greed ruining what could have been a good product.

My husband is in construction and one of his friends recommended us to a tax preparer that works for H and R block on durango at the rhodes ranch shoping center. My husband's friend told him that you give the prepare all your receipts and they do all the calculations and advise you on what you should do to prepare yourself for next years tax. Well, we went there with all our information. I mean everything because I kept every single receipt we had. I just didn't know what was tax deductible so I kept everything in order, we always used a friend to do our taxes before and we depended on that friend so much that we never really new much about taxes. This year we decided to use H and R block to see if they could help us more by letting us know what is really deductible and what we should do to maximize our returns. My husband also worked in another state and had information there too so I wasn't sure how to do our taxes, so we decided to give H and R block a try.

Well, let me tell you that H and R block is a total scam, first that lady really didn't do anything for us, she told us to calculate everything ourselves and then give her the numbers, and the worst part is she didn't tell us anything about taxes. We had some medical expenses that we wanted to know if it was deductible and she couldn't tell us if it was or not. We had so many questions and all she could tell us was that we had to do our own calculations and all she does is enter it in. Huh, she charged us $340.00 and then told me to learn from her and become a tax preparer. FOr $140.00 I could learn from her, wow the nerve of her. She told me that maybe next year I wouldn't have to pay and that I could do it all on my own. So I went home and went on to turbo tax for the federal tax and entered in all the numbers I calculated myelf, and guess what? Yah, I got the same return for FREE! Yes, H and R block is a scam. DOn't go to them. Seriously turbo tax is free! Let just say that I may have lost some money in this but I learned a very valuable lesson, NEVER go to that H and R block AGAIN!

I got our taxes done at H and R Block in 2017 for the 2017 tax year...I went to pick up my envelope as usual after my taxes were done paid over 100.00 to have them done...
I am filing my taxes now and need my information from 2017 and go and pull out our tax return and I HAVE ANOTHER PERSON RETURN IN OUR ENVELOPE. Now I have this persons SS#..bank account number and everything about him...And I am wondering who has mine...THIS IS OUTRAGOUS. Now that I reported it I have to wait another 5 days for a district manager to call me back and then they want to charge me 20.00 for a copy of my damn return...I have not told my husband yet due to he is in Iraq and is going to flip when he hears this and that someone could be out there using our information...I want to report this to someone because now I am sure my husband is going to want to close banks and so forth..but we can't just change our SS#'s...and this poor guy I have his information and I am going to try and contact him and assure him it is safe but he should know we have his return as well don't you think...If anyone knows who I should report this too please email me happy98329@yahoo.com...I am pissed off beyond belief right now...needless to say I WILL NEVER EVER USE THEM AGAIN...LOST OUR BUSINESS FOREVER.

I have had my taxes done for the last 4 years. At h and r block in shafter, ca, and have had so many problums with them. Hear is my complant : I had my taxes done this year and thay took money that I did not oue. And I am giving them a change to fix it or I am having my attorney take care of it. My name is martin salaazar address is 746 mayer lane shafter ca, 93263 I am faxing over the things u need

I have dealt with these ppl, b/c like most of us, I was desperate! For 4 yrs they have raised their fees, but b/c I need the xmas money, I go thru with it. I did it again, so now I owe them the $900 I borrowed, but now, after many yrs as a LOYAL customer, I'm hearing that there is no RAL! And it is now close to $400 to FINISH the process, and it STILL takes 14 days! The same as if I did it myself, for $40!If these ppl think I'm doing my taxes there, they are CRAZY, they claim they arent making enough PROFIT to continue w. the RAL, HA what a joke! I know I owe the $ but I will not be stupid again, I am going elsewhere to file my taxes, they are not getting the $900 back! I am sure they will come after me next yr, but I cant see myself going there, even if in the long run I will have to pay.I didnt mind being screwed if I got my $ in a few minutes, but to wait 2-3 weeks, at THAT price, they are immoral, and they deserve for NONE of us to return! We must all go elsewhere, and put their ### out of business, but then I'm sure they will get a bail-out from the gov't! I'm SICK of big businesses screwing over us little people! We must stand up for ourselves!

the state said my check was released on 3/12/10 and if i put it in my own account it would have been their instead h and r block said it would be good to put it on the h and r block debit card and i ok and did it that way, now mind ya i have been waiting since 1/22/2017 for my state tax refund and was told by h and r block officials at head quarters they have had the check for 3 days and i will be waiting another 3 days before i receive it on the card. this is robbery to the tax payer who keeps these guys in business. wrong wrong wrong i say.

Thats funny I live in Indiana and 2 people I work with got their loans before christmas they began here on Dec. 5th personally the only people I know who do this are the one's with children who get the unearned income credit. Unless its an absolute emergency why would you pay these fee's your refund is in the bank within 10 days My therory is you made it thru out the year without so you can wait 2 wks..

your dumb

Well first why would you call the IRS? That has nothing to do with the bank that owns the atm? Did you speak th HRB's disputes dept. If you read the terms and agreement of the card ( just like any card) there are no hidden fee's. You just were simply a irresponsible adult who didn't read before you used. AND If you saw a person that was there fixing the ATM why would you use it? Duh common sense! When you dispute a transaction of course it will take time for the any bank to put it back to your account. They of course are going to do their research to figure out if in fact the funds are yours band belong back in your account. There is such thing in this world that is called FRAUD!

Evelyn F:Did you get this resolved with your District Manager? What you described is outrageous and should never have happened. I am shocked that someone tried to charge you another $20 for a copy of your return. If I were you, I would demand that the District Manager pay your expenses for credit bureau monitoring for the next 12 months. Obviously he/she should refund this year's tax prep fee. Do not surrender the other person's return that you received until H&R Block has done at least this much for you. They owe you at least that much. If your District Manager is less than cooperative, report back here and I will try to get you the names and numbers of the next couple of guys up the corporate ladder. Everyone makes mistakes. It's how a company responds after the mistake that makes the difference. I hope this gets resolved to your satisfaction.

Integrity123: Are you saying you want to sue because the folder was in spanish? Hang on a second...ok I have stopped laughing now. One of these days, maybe after health care is passed we can get tort reform. When people like you start paying attorney fees to the other side when you lose these frivolous cases, maybe you will quit wasting the court's time.

Put in a complaint to the Attorney General of your State and also report it to the IRS compliance division.

I would also go to your local news channel and report it to the "SHAME ON YOU" team! and your local newspapers.

I went once and never again. At H&R Block, employees are not trained, and this is due to lack of madetory UNPAID training. They don't care...I'm very surprised the number of people that go to H&R Block...it's as sitting down on your computer at home and do your own taxes on Turbo tax.

Note I live in the United States of America and when I walked in to H&R Block the tax person that did my tax return said sorry because they only had "spanish" written folder for all clients. They ran out...Note it's tax season and you run out of english written folders?

This would be a nice lawsuit...I'm thinking about it and have 180 days.

A few weeks back I had a client come in that was very unhappy and of course he had a long story about how H&R Block had screwed up his taxes and he whined and moaned about the poor service etc, etc. On that particular day, I was in a very good mood and so I listened to his story, took his information and promised to try to help. He left mad. The next day I was able to determine the problem was on his end and he came back in and I helped him amended his return.

He was very apologetic and repeatedly apologized for his prior behavior. I told him not to worry about it as tax time is always a tense time. He will likely return next year.

I suspect your tax pro was not having the best day or may have needed additional training in customer service as well return assembly. In either case, please try to remember we are human and do make mistakes from time to time. I do agree with the previous responders, you should contact the District Manager.

I agree: Poor customer service from one employee or office needs to be addressed by the site manager or district manager. A partieal refund is the LEAST they should do for that poor CS.

If I were you, I would talk to the District Manager and ask for a refund for at least the forms that the IRS said were missing, I would also ask for a discount for your time.

My H&R block emerald card has been missing for over a 6 weeks now and no one in our local office will not do anything to help me track it down

I have been with H&R block for 3 years now. Last year they gave me a line of credit because I had direct deposit. When this year came around, I went through them again and they said that I had a line of credit then took it away from me, for no reason at all.

If the tax pros at H&R Block did your taxes right, then you are in good hands.

As for the emerald card, if it was a problem for you, just get a check at the office next time OR wait 8-15 days to get the refund. If you need it faster, then you have to pay what THE BANK wants you to pay. H&R Block offers the service for those who want or need it. This does not mean everyone should take it.

BTW: wait a couple of years. The IRS will be upgrading to a much quicker system of getting the money back to the public. when that happens, the "Rapid Refund" loans will be a thing of the past. Maybe the bank behind the Emerald cards will take the hint and reduce the fees... we will see.

The first time I ever filed taxes was this year. I feel so ripped off misled and abused by H&R Block. I feel like they prey on low income people without bank accounts. I know nothing about taxes or even what my rights are when someone does my taxes, so I feel very powerless. I can only say I paid for a very expensive lesson in tax preparation and just do it myself online or go to a non corporate CPA.

What about contacting your local TV station? In Wisconsin, one of our stations have people whose job it is to resolve consumer complaints

That's all sounds annoying, but the fact of the matter is that you signed disclosures and authorizations for the entire arrangement.

If you look through your packet, you'll find one that says THIS IS A LOAN or something to that effect.

They had to start doing that because too many clients refused to pay attention and just blindly signed and heard what they want to hear.

I read the same crap from the clueless every year.

that same ### just happened to my wife and i and i also have kids and im in the military i feel ### after this whole ordeal i feel as if there is something we can do

You should find a good CPA to do your taxes if your return is complex enough to warrant professional help. As a CPA, I would never issue a refund anticipation loan to a client before the return is finalized.

You shouldn't expect to keep the money that you were over-advanced, though. Though it was H&R's mistake, it's still not your money. Even better, I would be patient and let the refund come in it's time. Refund anticipation loans are bad news. Our firm does not offer them, nor do I encourage them.

I'm going thru the same thing with hsbc. They told me that they were going to return the money back to the irs and the irs would then send me a paper refund check. This was weeks ago and I still don't have my money.

Your post makes no sense. The advance line of credit is something you apply for in December, not when you do your tax return. And is only useable until and must be paid off by Feb. 15. This is explained very clearly when you apply, and in all the paperwork you get that no one ever reads. Don't be blaming a company for your own stupidity.

Hi, my name is Kim Tipsord and I own a small tax preparation and bookkeeping company.

I am NOT trying to sell you anything but I may be able to help. Please e-mail me at info@swansonqualityservices.com

I don't make false promised but I might be able to make some contacts on your behalf or help you sort it out. We offer nationwide services so we can help anyone anywhere.

The exact same thing happened to me this week. For the last week or so, the system kept saying that I have $800 available on my advance line of credit. When i tried to transfer the funds, it stated that they were "unable to complete the transaction." The next day, the system states that I have $0 available. I called H & R Block Bank, not the number on the back of the emerald card, and was told that my $800 was reduced to $0 because the emerald advance period ended Feb. 15th. I told the rep that I have direct deposit of my paycheck, which is a requirement to keep the advance year-round. She then stated that I am no longer eligible because I was supposed to have my emerald advance paid down by Feb. 15th. and I had failed to do so. I advised her that I had my taxes prepared on Jan. 22nd, and that the IRS deposited my $ on Feb. 6th, so that is their issue if they didn't apply it to my account by Feb. 15th. I was also told that you have to reapply, and I did and have heard nothing from them. Today when i went to their website, it says that if you got an advance from them between Nov. 2008-Jan. 2009, DO NOT reapply. I have never had a problem with H& R until this year. I will not go back next year.

The Same Thing Just Happened to Me and i really need it to pay a bill this place is a scam
I had $900 credit line called to transfer it every time it said they could not proccess it be cause it was there down time & i would be able to access it on feb 16th. i called back on feb 17th and still could not transfer the funds so i spoke with a rep again
she said the misinformed me and i would be able to access the 900 on feb 21.
today i called and my line of credit was gone($0.00) Again I spoke with a rep
the man was nasty and said my deadline to use it was feb 15th i told him i tried to load it on my card before that
ans i was told you had to reapply online. some should have said that the first time i called and all the differnet information i recieved
each time i called has me worried about trusting theese people with my tax money
pernst78@msn.com

Totally hate h&r block. I payed peice of mind claim and they refused to even go to audit and made me pay. At one point jim rice from wagoner oklahoma claimed they never did my taxes till i put papers in his face. Got audited again and he flat out said. We ain't payin. Jim rice from wagoner, oklahoma. This is for u buddy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H&R_BlockBetter Business Bureau The Better Business Bureau has given H&R Block a rating of F, the lowest rating on the organization's scale. The reasons given for this rating are"Failure to honor commitment to arbitrate or mediate disputes, " "Number of complaints filed against business, " "Failure to respond to complaints filed against business, " "Number of complaints filed against business that were not resolved, " and "Overall complaint history with BBB." [20

ok, I hate to say this, being I work for Block, but your complaints all sound legit. This is not to say that at another office you would not have had great service. It just sounds like that office needs to be reported to the district or regional manager.
BTW: the number for for the tax cut program is also 1800hrblock... That office should have known that.
Again, a poorly run office... NOT typical in my experience with the company...