ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County woman told 9 Investigates a local tax preparer charged her hundreds of dollars to do her taxes, but ended up taking nearly $1,000 from her return.
Ardella Robinson decided to go with Simply Taxes on Semoran Boulevard for her tax return this year, after she saw one of the company’s fliers.
"I thought everything was legitimate, but come to find out it’s not,” she said.
Robinson agreed to pay $400, and was supposed to get back nearly $3,500.
She was told because the printer was out of ink, she would have to come back to get her paperwork.
”Every day it’s been closed,” she said.
She checked with the Internal Revenue Service and discovered she was owed about $1,000 more than she was promised.
Eventually, the owner of Simply Taxes showed up to her house with a cashier's check.
"I didn't say anything to the man, because I knew I just got ripped off."
Robinson filed a report with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, but investigators couldn't determine if a crime occurred.
Citing lack of information, deputies recommended she seek out an attorney, and file a civil suit to get her money back.
Simply Taxes was licensed with the state in October 2015.
A check with the Better Business Bureau turned up nothing.
There was nobody at the office Monday, and both addressed for the owners listed on the LLC turned up empty.
H&R Block's Noel Rodriguez said he hears bad things about small tax preparers that pop up this time of year.
“When a person leaves here, they should know exactly how much the refund is, how much the cost is and how much their net is going to be,” Rodriguez said.
He said returns for individuals should range from $180 to $300.
"Usually a $900 return would be a corporate return,” he said.
He suggested staying away from tax preparers that promise a certain amount per child, and to use a company that is open year round, because, sometimes there are complications with returns and they need to be taken care of when it’s not tax season.