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This is the home page for my encounter with H&R Block. I thought that $9.95 for Web-based tax filing sounded like a better deal than Quicken Turbo Tax. So I tried it. Everything went very well up to a point. Then I encountered their technical support process. It's been a nightmare! I have an archive of the e-mail and my phone conversations, but here's a summary of my complaint:

  1. Initially, I wanted a refund. H&R Block would not give me one, so I tried disputing the charge with my credit card company (NextCard). Here's a copy of my message:

    dispute HR BLOCK charge
    From: TIMOTHY B CHAMBERS
    Date: 5/24/00 9:57:37 PM
    To: NextCard Customer Service
    Case: 61503

    To Whom It May Concern:

    I have never wished to dispute a charge more strongly than BLOCK *ELCTRNC FILING 617-428-1119 MO, on 4/7/00, reference number xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, for $9.95.

    I received nothing of value for the payment, and my attempts to resolve this matter with H&R Block through their so-called customer service channels was entirely unsatisfactory and fruitless.

    NextCard replied that had to I file a complaint via snail mail, so I decided it wasn't worth my time to pursue it.

  2. I am appalled by H&R Block's byzantine support process.

    1. Their Web-based "submit a question" system is too cumbersome. It simply takes too long to get turnaround. They ask for home and work phone numbers when submitting a question, but I got no indication that anyone actually wanted to use the phone. My e-mail archive speaks for itself. The replies were sometimes helpful, but I never did make progress on the problems I reported.

    2. Their CGI script isn't set up to handle questions of any significant length. (My question was only 1,544 bytes long -- four paragraphs. That was enough to break it.) This weakness is the whole reason I was inspired to set up this Web page. The company seems to have no mechanism for listening to its customers! This bug is documented in my e-mail archive.

    3. Their phone support did not live up to my expectations. That's being diplomatic. Some might say that they're simply clueless. Read my phone notes and then tell me if you think that's being too harsh.

  3. There is no indication that anyone in H&R Block with whom I've had contact has a clue, in the sense of the cluetrain manifesto <http://www.cluetrain.org/>.

Causes | e-mail archive | notes from phone conversations

Last Updated:17 September 2000
Document Author: Tim Chambers (tbc+me+hrblock@netbox.com)