Should I not pay, and if I don't, will he sue, will it go to collections, or will nothing happen?

Question

I earlier had posted a question about my CPA charging me $450 to do my taxes. Price was not discussed beforehand because my parents were paying for it in the past, so it was not a concern of mine. This past year I got the bill for $450 from the CPA stating that I have to pay it this year because my parents won't because we are not on speaking terms. I emailed him back saying $450 was way too much for a single w2 filer, and I offered him $200. He says the $450 stands because he did 5.5 hours of work, and that he "knows more lawyers than I do people". Do you think he would actually take me to court for this amount? If he does, would I wind up spending more defending myself in court? What should I do here? I feel like I'm getting totally ripped off!! Just to add to this, I never signed anything up front saying that I agreed to this price. Some of you are saying just pay him and chalk it up to experience, but does he really have a case if I didn't sign anything agreeing to the price?

Answer 1

if it was me... I'd make the offer again at an even lower price, if he still doesn't budge on the matter, I'd see how long it is before he starts for collection, a collection service charges a fee, he may, MAY decide that fee isn't worth paying and will settle with you- just my thoughts

Answer 2

He can easily take you to small claims court, and it sounds like he's a jerk so he probably does it all the time. Will he win? Who knows, but it will be a big headache for you, and can be costly if you have to miss work. So it's probably better to pay than to go to court.

But you have his head over a barrell. A CPA is only as good as his reputation, so you can ruin his reputation if he tries to rip you off. To start off, there's the Better Business Bureau and probably a state office that handles CPA disputes. Then there are public forums like the newspaper letter-to-editor and the "channel seven news consumer crime fighter" or whatever it's called in your area. Finally, you can tell everybody you know, especially this CPA's coworkers, managers, and other clients, that this guy ripped you off. In this way, the dispute will become way to expensive for him and he'll balk. Dude's not going to jeopardize his career over one disagreement.

Probably the best thing to do is to start with the techniques above, but still hold out the offer of a compromise. This will get the fastest results. After it's resolved, take your business elsewhere!

What is the Yahoo Answers policy on answering legal questions? Obviously, I'm not a lawyer in any way, so don't consider this legal advice in any way.

Answer 3

Well, first, you may be screwed because you didn't ASK, so basically you went into it blind and are still liable.
Second, you probably WOULD spend more defending yourself in court, so I agree with paying it and learning a lesson
Third, I don't even pay my MEDICAL professionals $100 an hour, so I think that's pretty friggin ridiculous.
We pay about $40 to get our taxes done....
Oh, and yeah, if he's lame enough to charge $100/hr, he's definitely lame enough to sue you for the bill, and BET he won't try to make you pay court costs too.
But then if he's threatening you, and using phrases like -"knows more lawyers than I do people". - he might just be bluffing. Of course, if you offered him 2 & he's not willing to take it.....hell, I dunno. See if you can get a free consultation with a lawyer over the phone. That's just........out there....

Answer 4

Pay it. He's been working for that amount to do your taxes for years - it's not his problem that you and your parents aren't on speaking terms. So, while he IS ripping you off you still need to pay it up...and yes, court would cost you a lot more b/c, trust me, lawyers are more expensive that CPA's.

From now on, take some responsibility and pay attention - ask about price up front...it doesn't seem like you had thought this situation through.

Answer 5

I'm not an attorney, but I wouldn't pay it. I'd take your situation to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or your states CPA licencing board. Unless you are earning more than $50,000 a year, he has no business asking you to pay this much. And there's no way it took him 5.5 hours of work! Do you have like 300 different things to itemize? All kinds of interest payments and trust fund income?
The BBB will work with you to resolve this issue. If it can't be amicably settled, then they'll put a black mark on his name!

Answer 6

$450 sounds outrageous, especially if it's a single W-2 return.
What did he work on for 5.5 hours?
Is he an inept CPA or something?
I would not pay this.

Answer 7

if he does end up taking you to court u will end up costing u a lot more just pay the man