I have worked with many professionals in accountancy over the years for my businesses and personal. I can say without a doubt that this is the worst professional I have ever met. \r
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At our first meeting, on February 19, I thought Russell seemed confused. We had just moved from the East Coast and needed a new local accountant. \r
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We told Russell that our taxes needed to be prepared in the state of New Jersey and California and that we needed our federal taxes done. He asked a series of questions and we gave him almost all of our information. He quoted us a price of $500 and we agreed. At the end of that meeting we told him we would supply him with additional business expenses that we had not completed.\r
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About a week and a half later, I got a call from Russell with our expected taxes owed. I then told him that he did not have all the information; that he was still waiting for our business expenses as we discussed in our first meeting. He seemed confused and said ""OK.""\r
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Shortly thereafter, on March 7, I got a last-minute 1099 for $3000 and supplied that information to Russell by email.\r
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On March 18, a full 11 days later, I got a message from Russell saying he just opened my email.\r
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In his email to me on March 18, he said he had to ""cut"" his ""losses"", and would not be completing our return. He ended his note to say that he would leave our paperwork at the ""front desk"" and states, "" I have decided to cut my losses and would like to return your information to you so you can go elsewhere. There is no way that I can charge for the amount of painstaking detail that is required. I will leave your information in an envelope at the front desk. Sorry but this is a freaking nightmare.""\r
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This left us with barely 3 weeks until the tax deadline to find a new accountant. Luckily, my wife found us one who would take us at the last minute. That gentleman did a great job in the meeting and seemed to comprehend everything; and charged us $264. Russell was prepared to charge us $500 for work, it seemed to me, he didn't even know if he was capable of doing.\r
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If you want my opinion, you are best to ""cut your losses"" and go to another local accountant who will charge you fairly and be more professional.\r
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