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Tax nightmares: Buyer beware of tax relief offers

Help Me Hank: Beware tax relief rip-offs

Tony Statz, Producer, Local 4 First at 4

DETROIT – If you're ever in trouble with the IRS, you'd probably be frightened and looking for assistance.

However, Ken Robinson of Lapeer wants to warn you about the risks of trusting the wrong person or wrong business to help get the IRS off your back.

Robinson fell behind on his IRS payments and he needed help.

"I wasn't sure if I was going to wake up one day, and the IRS was going to be outside my door," Robinson said. "I was very scared. I thought I was going to lose my business."

That's when he saw a commercial on TV. Self-proclaimed tax experts offering to help taxpayers in trouble with the IRS.

Paying for help, no results

Over the course of a year, Robinson says he paid the company $9,000 to help with his tax issues, but they never came through.

"'Cause they just kept saying they wouldn't get the paperwork."

In fact, Robinson says his situation continued to get worse.

"Meanwhile, nothing's getting done -- I'm still getting letters from the IRS."

While he grew more and more frustrated with the company, he felt he had invested too much time and money to fire them.

Robinson was on the verge of filing bankruptcy when he finally turned to The Ayar Law Groups in Southfield. Tax attorney Venar Ayar says he sees too many people run into trouble when they hire the wrong "experts" to help. "The scams, unfortunately, in my business are too prevalent," Ayar added.

How to protect yourself

Ayar says many tax relief companies start with good intentions, but end up hiring too many marketing experts and not enough tax experts to work with clients and the IRS. He says the biggest tell-tale sign of a bad company is that you end up talking with a salesperson.

 

Ayar shared some guidelines people should use when hiring an expert to help with tax problems.

 

  • Make sure you speak with the person who will actually speak to the IRS on your behalf, before signing any agreements.
  • The only people who can speak to the IRS are attorneys, certified public accountants, or enrolled agents. No matter what fancy title a salesperson might use, if you're not dealing with one of those experts, you're not really speaking with the person who will truly do the work.
  • Check the experts credentials. You can check their backgrounds with the Michigan Bar Association, the IRS, or the state boards of accountancy.
  • Look for customer reviews. Check with the Better Business Bureau.
  • Beware of experts who use fear to motivate you to hire them.
  • Beware of experts who promise results that seem too good to be true. The IRS will negotiate, but only if you truly cannot pay. "Would you negotiate with someone who clearly was able to pay you and give them any discount? Of course you wouldn't, the IRS doesn't either," said Ayar.
  • Be suspicious of someone who asks for a huge up front payment. Look for a reasonable payment plan.


    • The first firm Robinson worked with is currently out of business. Robinson says the Ayar Law Group has helped him solve his tax issues, but he wants people to learn from his mistake.

    "Just cause they're on TV does not mean they're going to help you" Robinson added, "I know there are other companies out there that I'm sure are doing the same thing."

     

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