Frankly, we're frequently embarrassed by the companies in this business. We welcome good competition and good tax resolution firms exist, but by and large, we honestly believe that the IRS should shut down the majority of businesses that want to represent you before the IRS.

As we find businesses that don't deserve your money, we're going to list those companies and the reasons why we would stay as far away as possible.

We're not perfect and we've had unhappy clients as well, but that isn't the problem. The problem is businesses that choose to lie, cheat and steal as the way they do business. We turn away more clients than we take and that's because we prefer to sleep at night and to make money without screwing over people that already have serious financial problems.

1) American Tax Relief (americantaxrelief.com, 10save.com, 92save.com, 84save.com, 9save.com & 28save.com). They solicit through lies. We recently read a postcard they sent out which states, "The Congress has recently passed NEW laws, making it easier to settle tax debts. We are now finding that many people who did not previously qualify for tax relief can now take advantage of these NEW changes and settle for much less." The only problem is that it isn't true. There have been NO changes in the law that make it easier to get your IRS tax debt settled. In fact, the IRS has made it far more difficult to get Offers in Compromise cases accepted as noted elsewhere on this site.

SEE THIS COMPLETE ARTICLE ON HOW AMERICAN TAX RELIEF STEALS FROM ITS OWN CLIENTS

Their lying TV ad states "you have ONLY one chance to settle with the IRS". More lies. In addition, they put the names of unlicensed salespeople on their IRS Power of Attorney forms. These guys are pure trash.

According to the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau, American Tax Relief is so bad that they give them a rating of "F".

The LABBB also says, "we believe this company misrepresents their ability to negotiate settlements or offers in compromise with the IRS. Many complainants state that they make promises concerning their ability to negotiate these settlements when they have no way of knowing whether or not they will be able to deliver on those promises."

American Tax Relief posts on their web sites "as seen on CNN & MSNBC". Sorry, boys, but running an ad doesn't qualify. They want you to believe they've been talked about in a story which couldn't be further from the truth.

2) Tax Incorporated aka Tax Inc. (TaxIncorporated.com) Here's another company that lies through their solicitations. They falsely state in their mail solicitations that “The IRS has recently changed its settlement procedures. This means many taxpayers who previously did not qualify can now take advantage of many new, generous relief options to settle their tax debt for much less than before and save thousands of dollars.”

This is nothing more than a complete fabrication and they damn well know it. It's designed to get you to pick up the phone and call them. Nothing more and nothing less. I'm sure I'll be hearing from their attorneys soon. Let 'em threaten me with legal action. My response is simple. Prove your lying statement is truthful and my statement comes down.

On October 31, 2006, I received a call from a Tax, Inc. employee named Yulia Diaconu (the way she said her name sounded like "Julie"). Yulia, whose phone number is 323.857.5809, told me to "stop harassing their client". Of course, Yulia doesn't know the whole story. I have been calling "their client" for two months asking for a return call or for a phone number and name at Tax, Inc. You see, my client was President of a corporation that was owned by "their client". "Their client" fired my client and ran the corporation himself. Seems that the corporation has unfiled employment tax returns and the IRS is looking for those returns. My client doesn't have the records since "their client" changed the locks and took control of the business and all the records.

To make a long story short, I did speak with Yulia, but of course, she had no useful information whatsoever. What she did tell me was comical. She told me that "our enrolled agent is going to do a Doubt as to Liability Offer for our client". I told her that was impossible since we were talking about unfiled employment tax returns and her client didn't owe the IRS anything yet. She then told me "well, that's what our enrolled agent is going to do" and hung up on me. That's nice. And you wonder why this industry has a horrible reputation. Let's just submit an Offer when your client doesn't even owe anything yet. Just another reason to avoid the clowns at Tax, Inc.

***November 7th, 2006 update***

How do you feel about a company that runs an ad that refuses to even state their own name? Well, that's what the people at Tax, Inc. are doing. I just saw a TV commercial run on Fox News. The ad states that "Many tax resolution firms offer quick claims of pennies on the dollar settlements only to disappoint their clients". They go on to say "...and poor representation could cost you thousands of dollars in overpaid taxes or even worse your settlement could be rejected". They also say, "don't hire a tax resolution firm that over promises and under delivers". I couldn't agree more. Especially when that company won't even say who they are in their ad. Instead, you have to go to their web site, StopIRSDebt.com or call 1.800.410.8821. Try going to that site and it bounces you over to TaxIncorporated.com.

Well, one thing that have done is state in this ad that the IRS has become more aggressive which is true. Of course, they still falsely state that you only have one chance to settle your debt and the fact that they won't disclose who they are in their ad is enough to not even consider hiring these jokers.

3) Theresa Eldredge aka Theresa Eldredge Watts dba T&E Financial, Inc. (147 Texas Avenue Lawrenceville, NJ 08648). This person is an unlicensed scam artist operating out of the Trenton, New Jersey area. Her phone number is 772.240.4921 and her email address is princetonbaby@aol.com . Avoid her like you would avoid the plague.

She has no license to represent taxpayers. She may not have a license to be in business at all. Theresa is incredibly unprofessional and she will rip you off. Theresa finds leads in various ways. If Theresa ever contacts you, tell her that Steve Kassel warned you not to have anything to do with her.

***This business should not be confused with a legitimate business known as T & E FINANCIAL LECTURES, L.L.C.***

I have a filed formal complaint against her with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

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Last updated 12/11/2007 03:59:00 PM

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