Last tax season we decided to join the ranks of self-preparers. We did some research about the different programs available and decided to go with the H&R Block online program. After about four hours of inputting information, searching for more information and debating whether or not we had the right information in the right places, we could have hit “send.” We didn’t.
We were pretty confident in the beginning, but after a full afternoon of numbers and questions we started to doubt our work. We called the H&R Block office in Hickory Hills to ask how much it would cost to come in and talk to them about our work. Since we had the exact forms completed, we were able to give precise information about what we needed to review. The person on the phone quoted us a price of just under $200. It was more than we wanted to spend, but since this was our first time doing our own taxes we thought it was worth it for the double-check. Better safe than sorry and all that stuff.
After about ½ hour in the H&R Block office asking questions and double-checking our work, my husband was satisfied we were ready to submit our taxes. This is when the bait and switch started. First the tax preparer quoted him a price that was about $100 more than the telephone quote we received. When he questioned the cost, she told him that H&R Block doesn’t do phone estimates. Secondly, she said he was free to leave if he wanted, but she would delete the entire file. She wasn’t just going to delete the few changes she made. She was going to delete all the work we did. She said once she touched the file it was no longer ours. It was her work and if we didn’t want to pay for it she would delete it.
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We discussed it and paid the fee. We didn’t want to start from scratch again and time was running out to file our taxes. We chalked it up to a learning experience and took our losses.
A few weeks later I went on Yelp to review the Hickory Hills H&R Block. I saw many, many reviews with the same information about pricing and service issues. Since I saw a pattern similar to what we experienced, I called H&R Block customer service to file a formal complaint.
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During the course of the next six weeks I spoke with nine or ten different people. Each one had a different reason he/she couldn’t process my complaint. I heard everything from “Oh, I don’t handle Illinois offices” to “Oh, that’s a franchise. I only handle corporate owned locations.” The most amazing thing was I didn’t call any of these people. They all called to talk to me and after I went through the whole story again told me why they couldn’t help.
By the time the last person called I didn’t want to talk about the issue anymore. Still, she wanted to hear the story so I told it – again. Then she said, “What is your social security number?” I told her I wasn’t going to give her my social security number. She was a random person who happened to be on the other end of the phone when I answered. I did not know who she was nor why she needed my social security number. She explained that it she could only access my file via my social security number. If I refused to provide it over the phone she would mark down that I refused to provide required information and close the file. I told her to close the file. I was not about to give a complete stranger my social security number over the phone.
What amazed me was when she said she has been making calls all day and I was the only person who refused to provide my social security number. With identity theft such a growing problem, how is it possible that people still provide their social security numbers to strangers on the phone?
In 2002 Bankrate.com published an article called “15 must-know tips for protecting your identity.” Here are three tips Bankrate.com provided regarding your social security number:
10. Protect your Social Security number. Only give your Social Security number when absolutely necessary. Avoid using it as your account number whenever possible. If merchants demand it, ask for an alternate number and take your business elsewhere if they insist on writing it on your check. Likewise, don't print it on your checks.
11. Never carry your Social Security number and driver license together in your wallet.
12. Don't provide your Social Security number, bank account number or credit card number to anyone who contacts you through telephone solicitation.
For more than a decade these tips have been available and yet a company like H&R Block can still call people randomly and receive social security numbers over the phone?
Another interesting article is“No, You Can't Have My Social Security Number. Why using SSNs for identification is risky and stupid.” This slate.com article points out that “Social Security numbers were never designed to be secure. When SSNs came into existence 75 years ago, they had one and only one purpose: to keep track of contributions to the federal pension system.”
Weeks have gone by since my last conversation with H&R Block. It still bothers me to think that people are willingly providing strangers their social security number over the telephone.
No matter what a person tells you, there are other ways to identify you without using your social security number. Yes, it might take more time. Yes, they will ask more identifying questions. In the end, one of the first lines of defense against identity theft is protecting your social security number. Don’t let an official sounding stranger on the phone talk you out of yours.
