You may have heard about Tax Defense Partners on the radio and have called in to talk to a high-pressure salesman. They are highly advertised on the radio, and with high advertising comes high fees. The former taxresolution.com, another heavily advertised company also now redirects to the site for Tax Defense Partners. It also appears to be located in Encino, California, where Tax Resolution Services was located.
Some reasons to avoid them…
1) Mostly unhappy customers. The average review on their Yelp page is 2.5 stars. There are numerous 1-star reviews. (Compared to TRP’s 5 stars)
2) They are not a law firm. There is no attorney-client privilege. Any information you send them, or they send to you, is not covered by the attorney-client privilege.
3) High Up Front Fees. Due to their high client acquisition cost, they cannot offer reasonable fees and stay in business. Most of their fees start above $3,000 per case, where most of our fees start around $350. It is estimated most radio tax resolution firms pay $1,500 to acquire each client. (Compared to TRP, where we are mostly referral-based or you found us on the internet)
4) No track record. The company previously was Tax Resolution Services. Why the name change? Probably bad reviews and unhappy clients. Tax resolution cases often can take 1-2 years to resolve, so the word is not out from all their clients, but its very likely 2-3 years down the road Tax Defense Partners will change their name again.
What to look for when you need help with back due to tax issues…
1) If you owe less than $10,000, you often can just settle yourself easily if you qualify. See TRP’s guide to doing your own Offer In Compromise. If you are being garnished, you still might want representation to handle getting those garnishment removed.
2) Look for a firm that has a good track record, has been around more than 2 years, and is a law firm. You will see many firms come and go. Lawyers at law firms like TRP are legally obligated to complete your case. Firms like Tax Defense Partners can go out of business any day without an obligation to the clients. JK Harris, Nationwide Tax Relief, American Tax Relief, and several others all recently have closed, leaving thousands of clients without help that already paid in full.
Tax Defense Partners has little to no track record.
3) Stay away from high upfront fees. If you see them on billboards, hear them on the radio, or on television, you are paying too much. Many firms, including most law firms, charge $3,000 just to start your case. A local firm named RJS Law here in San Diego typically charges clients $3,000 to start. We know this because so many of the people scared of their high fees hire us instead once they do some research. A high fee does not mean better results, as we consistently have the best results nationwide. You can see our recent results at the bottom of our main page.
Tax Defense Partners has very high upfront fees.
4) Make sure your consultant is licensed. Most tax resolution services firms have salespeople that do the consultation. They do not handle your case and really know very little about the workings of your case. They often give potential clients an outlook that is not accurate. Many will sell you a settlement when you are not even close to qualifying. Make sure your consultation is with an actual tax attorney, CPA, or Enrolled Agent. Not only is that salesperson making a commission, raising your fee, they often will get you to pay a high upfront fee for a service you may not even need. At TRP often we resolve a lot of “cases” right in the consultation, as many people call us after being misled by a tax relief salesperson.
Tax Defense Partners puts you in touch with unlicensed consultants, that know little about your case.
For more about fraudulent tax relief companies, see our big tax relief company guide here.
In Conclusion…
Avoid Tax Defense Partners. If you need help with your case, drop us a line at our tax resolution form or call us at (888) 515-4829 and have a free, 15-minute no-obligation consultation with a licensed tax attorney. Many times we can fix your case in the free consultation.
UPDATE 8/29/2016: Michael Rozbruch, Tax Defense Partners founder, closed his TaxResolution Facebook page due to poor reviews, 11 reviews averaging 1.7 stars. https://www.facebook.com/taxresolution/reviews/
glad i came across this. almost paid tax defense partners and i called you guys and you just told me what to do. saved about $3500 thanks a lot.
Informative and just what I needed.
This article was completely on point. See this
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Tax-Defense-Partners/Encino-California-91316/Tax-Defense-Partners-tax-resolution-services-Greedy-and-Incompetent-company-Encino-Califo-1092035
I have also seen tax defense partners advertised on Glenn Beck. Thanks for having this posted. I ended up calling you and you told me what to do. TDP wanted a lot of money for something so simple.
interesting info, almost hired them they wanted $4500 to start
I noticed tax resolution services is now tax defense partners. Seeing the review from the previous I know why now.
Almost hired them until I saw this. Thanks for the offer in compromise guide that really was all I needed.
Good Review. Tax Defense Partners does seem shady that they changed their name previously from Tax Resolution Services. Its like they are trying to avoid their previous complaints. Ill give your firm a call.
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Glad I found this site did not know they were Tax Resolution Services. Shady that they changed their name.
great article, and thanks for taking my call. you cleared up in one phone call what tax defense partners was trying to charge me for
Honestly this is a great article , Tax Defense Partners are very shady. I figured that way back. I’ll be giving you guys a call for being awesome
Nice article, tax defense partners seemed really high pressure to me I did not end up hiring them
I have learned not to trust any ads on the radio. Everytime I look something up just like tax defense partners its always more expensive and has poor service. Lifelock I hear everywhere then look online its 1.5 stats.
When first seeking tax assistance, I called a few companies that gave me the impression of being at a car dealership, dealing with greedy salesman. I looked some of them up online and read about a bad record of charging high fees and hardly even resolving tax issues overtime. I’m glad I came across this article, and will be sure to find a qualified and licensed tax professional. Thanks for the tips!
well what did I expect. researched them a little more and this is what comes up on the bottom of the first page of google lol
I do agree with what I found with every other review on them mostly high pressure sales. going to check out your settlement guide too.
they seemed total boiler room to me lol
Rush endorses anything. Look at reviews for Life Lock and he is up there selling it like its free gold. No reason he wouldn’t be the same for tax relief. Great site though and thanks for warning people
Dude you are totally right about their reviews being removed from yelp. It looks like it might be the case with Google as well.
i saw the exact same thing on their yelp page total crap
rush is always pushing junk
Honestly whenever I hear Rush recommend something, I know I am paying too much lol.
You are probably right. He always recommends LifeLock, and its mostly poor reviews.
great article they didnt seem that great when i talked to them
I was so used to hearing their name but I talked to them and t was very boiler room.
Most helpful! Thanks for the info about tax resolution consultants!
they have 104 complaints now on ripoff report
probably good sign to stay away
After consultation with 3 other tax firms, I can honestly say you guys provided the best advice. I spoke with two attorneys at tax resolution professionals who were more knowledgeable than any of the account managers at the other firm. thank you guys very much.
Tax issues are sensitive information. I wouldn’t trust any company that isn’t a real law firm. attorney-client privilege is absolutely mandatory for me.
After reading the yelp review for the tax defense partners company, I decided to call a lawyer at tax resolution professionals instead. We figured out exactly what I needed in less than 10 minutes! now thats quality service that money just can’t buy.
very high pressure when i called them
when i got my tax returns done i didnt owe anything anyway
the guy i spoke to at tdp just didnt seem knowledgeable
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Interesting commentary ! Speaking of which , if someone wants a IRS 433-A , my boss found a fillable document here http://www.taxresolutionprofessionals.com/Form-433-A-OIC-2017.pdf
interesting review on tax defense partners
i did not feel my consultant was knowledgable
Almost hired them for a debt I think I will try your guide
Tax defense partners is whack it’s the same as tax resolution services and those guys left me dry