Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/30/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am writing to report McLaren for unethical billing practices involving 1) excessive billing for "consulting" services and 2) inconsistent, potentially fraudulent invoicing.
  
  McLaren bills in part for consulting and provides a document to clients detailing billing practices. Here are some of the things I was charged “consulting” fees for in 2022:
  1. I was charged for being referred in. My first invoice showed a charge for “Consult with Jean Zick at Luna Financial regarding client stock option advice” before I was a client or had signed the billing procedure documents. McLaren claims that though this was on the invoice, I wasn't actually charged for this.
  2. I was charged for follow-up about the status of my return, which was not filed when I was told it was. I was told in writing my return was filed on 9/2/22. It was not filed until mid-October because it lacked my signature on a document that was never sent to me.
  
  Once I decided to leave McLaren as a client and requested my $1k retainer be returned, a mysterious back-dated bill for most of the value of the retainer appeared. I had never been sent this $790 bill (McLaren admitted this) and it was 5 months overdue. The invoice, which bills from June 16 to August 15, included "processing" my tax returns, which I learned for a fact were not processed until October. I had received bills dated after this bill that made no mention of an unpaid bill. McLaren claims this was due to staff shortages.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/28/2023

  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  I am happy to have the opportunity to respond to Ms.
  ********’s complaint as I believe these are great learning and growth opportunities
  for me and the firm.

  
  When we took Ms. ******** on as a client, she sent over a
  lengthy list of questions that she would like to consult on.  Some of the issues were quite complex and
  required research which we did bill for in addition to the actual time
  consulting with ***** on the issues.  I
  am not sure the detail that I am able to share with you due to issues of confidentiality.  The firm is licensed and I am a licensed CPA.  The rules of confidentiality are quite strict
  and breaking confidentiality rules could mean the loss of our licenses.  But suffice it to say, I spent a great deal
  of time researching issues and consulting with ***** on them, as she requested.

  
  We did indeed list on our invoices to ***** that we had a lengthy
  conversation with the person who was referring ***** into the firm.  We discussed the issues that Maria was
  contending with.  We then gave ***** a
  credit for the time spent with the referral source.  We believe in articulating to our clients all
  of the time spent on their behalf and then providing a credit where appropriate
  as would be the case in talking with a referral source.  We would never bill for that consultation.

  
  The efile permission forms were sent to *****, so I am
  unclear as to why she said she did not receive them.  I do know that ***** travels quite a bit, so
  I can only assume that she missed the email.

  
  With respect to the mysterious invoice, we were indeed quite
  short staffed, as many employers are at this time.  Hiring has been quite a challenge for
  us.  We did however, subsequently hire a
  few new people and were able to get the billing caught up recently.  Unfortunately, we did have to do a three
  month billing to get caught up and this invoice was quite late – 4 months after
  services rendered, which is not ideal. 
  That is what Maria was referring to, a bill for services rendered from
  June 16th to August 15th when a majority of her work was
  being done to complete her return.

  
  I am sorry that Ms. ******** did not have an exceptional
  experience.  That is what we strive for
  with all of our clients.  As a firm we
  believe in doing the right thing by our clients, our families, our team and the
  community.  We are even B Corp certified,
  we take this commitment so seriously.  We
  believe we worked very hard for Ms. ******** to give her the best in consulting
  and save her taxes on her return.

  
  I have been with McLaren and Associates for 16 years and I
  have never seen ANY unethical behavior. 
  I simply could not work for a firm that was in the business of
  fraudulent billing and ripping our clients off.

  
  If you have further questions, I am happy to address.  Again, I must adhere to the rules of our
  licensure and respect *****’s confidentiality, but to the extent I can respond
  I am happy to.  Certainly, if I have
  failed to address an issue thoroughly, just let me know and I will respond
  further.
  
  Sincerely,
  Jennifer Chase Williams, CPA
  Partner
  508-842-0459

  Business Response

  Date: 03/15/2023

  Again, I am happy to have the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********’
  s complaint.
  
  Ms. ******** claims that she was charged for follow up about the status of her return.   We did indeed follow up with her in October to make sure that her return would be filed timely as she was not responding to requests for signed efile forms.  We have no evidence in house of a correspondence with Ms. ******** indicating that we had filed the return on September 2nd.   We sent an email on October 13th to *****.****************** requesting permission to efile her return.
  
  2.  I believe that all
  the consulting services is a relevant point, as she is asking for her entire
  1000 retainer back. .  Ms. ******** asked
  for quite a bit of consulting.  Our
  minimum fee on tax return preparation is 1000. 
  So it is not unreasonable that we did another 900 of consulting.  Services rendered:  Preparation and analysis of Ms. ********’s
  2021 return.  Consulting services:
  Consult on stock options, etc. including analyzing multiple legal documents
  regarding the benefit, consult on Alternative Minimum tax implications, consult
  on capital gains, consult on timing of exercise of options, consult on Roth
  conversion, consult on implications to capital gains with Biden administration
  changes to tax law, consult on her trust account funds and usage of funds,
  consult on state residency issues, research on all of the above consulting
  points.  We also prepared numerous calculations
  to assist in the consulting, as requested. 
  Hourly rates involved were $210 – 230 per hour.
  
  3.  As we have said
  before, we did not charge Ms. ******** for the consultation with the referral
  source.  Accountants are required to keep
  track of all of their time and then all of that time is put onto the bill
  whether the time is billable or not.  In
  the case of the consultation with the referral source, this was a nonbillable
  service.  We are transparent and all
  bills show everything done even if it was not billed or was free of charge. 
  
  4.  I understand that
  Ms. ******** feels that it is improbable that we would fall behind 3 months in
  billing, but it is a specious argument. 
  We were very short staffed in our billing department due to a covid outbreak,
  and we fell behind in our billing.  In an
  effort to catch up our billing, we produced a 2 month bill to cover the months
  that we had fallen behind.  Her assertion
  that “companies that are so short staffed that they cannot collect revenue go
  out of business” is simply false in our case. 
  She has no insight into the structure of this firm and its financial
  policies and stability.  Her assertion is
  simply an opinion not based in any facts of this firm.
  As I said in my initial response, unethical behavior is not
  tolerated at McLaren & Associates. 
  We believe in always doing the right thing.  We have been in business for 18 years.  Had we been engaged in unethical activities
  we would hardly have been able to stay in business so long.  I personally have been here 16 years, and I
  would simply not work or be a partner in a firm that behaves unethically.  Her accusations are rising to the level of
  slander and libel and are simply false.
  I do hope this brings an end to this issue.  Certainly, if we have not addressed any
  issues or that you would like clarification on our response, please let me
  know.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/16/2023

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

  - McLaren says they have no record of telling me that my return was filed on September 2nd. This is surprising. I have attached a screenshot of an email from McLaren stating exactly this. It was from Patrick Sweeney on September 21st. 

  - Again, to clarify, I understand other services/consulting was completed on my behalf. I'm not disputing those charges, and I would happily settle for the return of only the last two bills ($790 and $140) for the reasons I have previously stated. Those total to $930. 

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