How to Make the TurboTax Corporate Office Listen

It can easily feel like you are David facing Goliath when a big financial company leaves your problem unsolved and promises unkept.

This is particularly true when TurboTax made the mistake, but that mistake costs you. If you rely on TurboTax for your tax filing, you end up having to pay for the mistake or else risk losing their services, and that brings with the potential for other financial problems like late taxes.

Emails that you send about the problem tend to get lost in the vastness of the internet with nothing but auto generated replies and no one ever getting back to you with something other than a boilerplate message. Phone calls with TurboTax customer service teams end up with hours on hold only to talk with someone who doesn’t have the authority to fix your problem. Even requests to speak with someone of higher authority who can fix the problem can take months if you’re lucky and go completely ignored if you’re unlucky.

So what can you do when you feel that you are being taken advantage of by your tax prep company?

Use Arbitration to Settle Your Complaint with TurboTax

When you do business with tax prep services like TurboTax, you can feel very powerless and this can be very frustrating especially when something has gone wrong. With so few options when it comes to tax preparation services, a lot of people are forced to pick companies that they know have low customer service standards or difficult to reach staff at the headquarters level.

Thankfully arbitration is a great way for you to get a satisfactory solution to your issue with TurboTax. You don’t even have to sue them. With arbitration you instead request arbitration and an independent arbitrator is assigned to your case. That person is an impartial third party familiar with the type of situation involved. TurboTax has to do a lot of work when you use arbitration and they lose control over the outcome because it’s the arbitrator who examines the facts and then makes a binding decision to which both you and TurboTax are bound.

Arbitration is Fair, Just, Reasonable, and Transparent

Arbitrations handled by the American Arbitration Association® is an option that complies with the Statement of Principles of the Consumer Due Process Protocol which means:

The process has to be fundamentally fair for everyone involved, which means you and TurboTax get a fair appointment of an impartial, competent, and qualified arbitrator who conducts fair hearings.
A reasonable standard is applied to the process which means you all get access to relevant information, a good time for the hearing, a good location, and affordable cost.
The transparency standard requires clear arbitration agreements which means you can understand it and get all the necessary information and provide you and the other party with the ability to hire representation.
An alternative to arbitration, which takes the form of small claims court and, in some cases, mediation, has to be available.
The process should be just and allow the arbitrator to award you the same outcome you could get in the courtroom, an award which is a legally binding decision.

Arbitration Gives Your Leverage

Once you notify TurboTax that you are pursuing arbitration, you have leverage. While TurboTax could have easily ignored you before, more often than not this tells them that they are facing a lot of financial expenses they weren’t expecting so they’re much more likely to sit up and listen. When you tell the company that you’re pursuing arbitration they know that they might have to pay what you’re asking and pay for the cost of arbitration and they no longer have complete control.

It’s very likely at this point that TurboTax will be much more willing to meet your demands as long as your demands are reasonable. But if they aren’t willing, you can proceed with arbitration and have access to a reasonable, transparent, and fair hearing without spending any additional money out of pocket by using our FairShake process to help you file for arbitration. It won’t cost you anything unless you win.

Leverage Leads to Faster Settlements

You have to use that leverage properly. Now TurboTax knows that they aren’t the only ones in control and that you will be given equal footing with them and a neutral arbitrator will now be examining the issue. To start the process you have to formally tell TurboTax what your issue is and ask them to fix it.

At FairShake we help you do this. We send a demand letter to the corporate office to start the process of resolving your case before you file arbitration. Typically we give them a 30-day time limit in which to fix the problem, but this time limit is based on your contract arbitration clause. In about 50% of cases you get an acceptable settlement offer during this time. But if not, then you can file the appropriate paperwork with the American Arbitration Association. FairShake will put together all the official arbitration paperwork for you and guide you through the next steps.

Do I need an attorney?

If your case goes to arbitration you might consider hiring an attorney. In legal terms, if you don’t have an attorney with you that means you are bringing your claim “pro se”. If you decide that you want to go forward without an attorney, check out some information from The American Arbitration Association’s Pro Se Case Administration Team.

When deciding whether or not you want to have an attorney by your side, look at the type of complaint you have. There are a lot of common complaints that fall under very specific laws and for these it’s very easy for you to get high compensation without an attorney. You obviously don’t need one but, there are situations where it might be better for you. For complaints like those involving improper debt collection attempts or robocalls, having an attorney to assist you might help you maximize the value of your claim.

What is my next step?

Tell us your complaint, and we will get things started for you. At FairShake, we help you through the legal steps of working with a big bank corporate office.

We only get paid if you do. With our 100% satisfaction guarantee, you don’t owe us anything if you weren’t completely satisfied with our service.