March 2011 Client Bulletin: Tax Settlement Companies – Beware
Texas Attorney General’s Office Resolves Legal Action Against South Carolina-Based Tax Consulting Firm
HOUSTON – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has resolved the State’s action against South Carolina-based income tax consulting firm JK Harris & Company. The judgment also applies to two related companies, JKH Financial Recovery Systems, LLC and Professional Fee Financing Associates. In April 2009, the State charged the defendants with materially misrepresenting their ability to help Texans resolve their unpaid federal income tax obligations.
Under the agreed final judgment and permanent injunction, the defendants must pay $800,000 in refunds to their Texas customers. The court-approved agreement also imposed significant injunctive relief and ordered the defendants to reimburse the State for investigative and court costs and attorneys’ fees. “Under the court order, JK Harris and its related companies must reform the way it does business – and provide restitution to Texas taxpayers who were harmed by the defendants’ unlawful conduct,” Attorney General Abbott said. “Taxpayers from across the state complained to the Attorney General’s Office about the defendants’ misconduct. The agreement seeks to resolve past problems, reimburse Texans who paid for services that were not actually rendered, and prevent additional misconduct in the future.”
In addition to the agreement’s financial penalties, the court ordered the defendants to reform several of their business practices and to improve disclosures to their clients. For example, the defendants must clearly disclose, in writing, the fact that very few taxpayers qualify for the Internal Revenue Service’s Offer in Compromise (OIC) program. The defendants must also acknowledge that a taxpayer’s future earning potential and equity holdings factor into taxpayers’ eligibility for the OIC program – and thus decrease the likelihood that certain taxpayers will qualify for OIC treatment.
Former clients of JK Harris & Company, JKH Financial Recovery Systems, LLC, or Professional Fee Financing Associates who believe they were misled by the defendants’ conduct should contact the Attorney General’s Office at (800) 252-8011.
If you are in deep trouble with your I.R.S. debts or other debts and want to discuss your alternatives, call and speak to Mr. Black at 713-772-8037, or email tom@jthomasblack.com. ■
QUOTES-
The aim in life is not to die rich. It is to spend as much money as you can afford.
—Harry Triguboff
When I think back to those first couple of years in Rome, those endless rejections, without a glimmer of encouragement from anyone, all those failed screen tests, and yet I never let my desire slide away from me, my belief in myself and what I felt I could achieve.
—Sophia Loren
When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that person is crazy.
—Dave Barry
CONSUMER CORNER
Don’t let billing errors spiral out of control
Dealing with a billing error can be frustrating. But giving up too quickly will only cost you money. If you’ve got an erroneous bill to settle, here’s what to do:
• Write a polite letter. Control your irritation if you want results. Describe the problem and ask for help. Customer service personnel will be more willing to work with you if you don’t attack them.
• Follow the chain of command. Addressing a letter to the CEO of a bank, for example, may only delay a resolution. Start at the bottom, and work your way up until the problem is resolved.
• Write within 60 days of receiving the erroneous bill. The Fair Credit Billing Act will protect you only if you follow its limits. That means writing to the company within 60 days after the bill was sent to you.
• Give full information. Include your name, address, account number, a brief description of the problem, and copies of the sales slips and other documents that support your claim. Try to keep the letter to a single page.
• CC a regulator. If you show that you’re sending a copy of the letter and documents to the Comptroller of the Currency or the Federal Trade Commission, you signal that you mean business.
• Confirm delivery. Send the letter by certified mail with return receipt.
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A little humor –The Handgun edition
TEN REASONS WHY A HANDGUN IS BETTER THAN A WOMAN
1. You can buy a silencer for a handgun.
2. You can trade your .44 in for two .22′s.
3. You can have a handgun at home and another for the road.
4. If you admire a friend’s handgun and tell him so, he will be impressed and let you try it out.
5. Your primary handgun doesn’t mind if you have a backup.
6. Your handgun will stay with you even if you are out of ammo.
7. A handgun doesn’t take up a lot of your closet space.
8. Handguns function normally every day of the month.
9. A handgun won’t ask, “Do these grips make me look fat?”
10. A handgun doesn’t mind if you go to sleep right after you’re done using it. ■
Call Us If You Need Us. We Also Welcome Referrals —
Are bill collectors threatening to take your home or garnish your wages? Are they threatening to do anything else that they are not allowed to by law?
Facing a foreclosure or repossession? Is the I.R.S. threatening to levy your wages or other property? If any of these situations describes you, contact Mr. Black at 713-772-8037 or make an appointment to go see him. ■
ARE YOU IN CHAPTER 13 NOW?
Always keep the law office updated with your current address, telephone numbers, and email address. We may need to reach you quickly.
You can check on the status of your Trustee payments, how much you still owe on your case, etc., by going to www.13datacenter.com to set up your user ID and password.
Lose job or overtime? Expenses increase? Want to give up property to lower payments? Call the office for a Motion to Modify worksheet. Complete it and fax it to the office at 713-772-5058. We’ll review it and contact you if a change to your plan is possible.
J. Thomas Black was licensed as an attorney in Texas by the Texas Supreme Court in May, 1982. Mr. Black is Board Certified in Consumer Bankruptcy law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
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