Question

Support, Lack thereof, reporting errors, getting help

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
December 10, 2022
2 replies
0 views

(I know I will never get any answers to any of this, but I thought I would try again regardless.) I am a new TurboTax customer, and used the desktop product for the first time for 2021 taxes, after decades of using H&R Block software. Overall, I found the product itself to be very good, although I did find an error in it. The IRS found it, too. I tried to report the error, but no one seemed to be interested. Communications seems to be the primary problem with TurboTax. If I have a question, I have to search endlessly to find the 800 number, then sit in a wait queue for anywhere from 10-15 minutes to several hours during tax season. This is frustrating, and provides no way to send screenshots. A ticket or chat system is a default requirement for proper customer support in a technical environment. I feel Intuit is not interested in communicating with its customers after they get paid for the product. Even buying the next year's version is difficult. I bought the desktop version, yet every marketing email I receive comes from a universe where desktop does not even exist. All product information is for the online product. There are ZERO links to the desktop products. I finally found how to purchase next year's software tonight, and there's no discount for a returning customer. Boo. Hiss. Very bad at twice the HRB price. Before I commit to using TurboTax again or ever again, I have to solve the support issue - how to receive support via a ticket system or even just a chat window. I see they have SupportID's, and I think the ticket system is just hidden, or typically difficult to find and access. The best bet for finding anything about these topics, even the support hours, is to Google it. That's how I found this page (https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/contact-turbotax/L2y9ZKpQB_US_en_US?uid=lbhn7grt) The instructions seem to be incorrect and non-functional however. I will continue the struggle to get real support tomorrow.

Not A Product Question

X

xmasbaby0

Employee

Purchasing the CD/download software can be accomplished in a number of pretty easy ways:

CD/DOWNLOAD (This requires a full PC or Mac—-cannot be used on a mobile device)

https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/cd-download/

You can also purchase the CD/download from various retailers such as Costco, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Staples, Sam’s Club, etc. etc. etc.

This link Where can I obtain authentic TurboTax software? has a list of authorized TurboTax resellers.

When you use desktop software, there is an additional fee to e-file a state return. You can avoid that fee if you print, sign and mail the state return. The state e-file fee is $19.99 and increases in March.

As for support or help with your tax questions, when you use desktop software you can always use this forum, which you have already discovered, or you can contact customer support. The customer support hours will become longer during full-blown tax season. Right now you can contact customer support during normal weekday business hours.

To call TurboTax customer support

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899263-what-is-the-turbotax-phone-number

Customer support is available from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time daily Monday- Friday

Or

https://twitter.com/TeamTurboTax

or

https://www.facebook.com/turbotax

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

T

TomTerrific22Author

Thanks. I was already aware of most of this. I remember trying Twitter (before it died [RIP]) , and they were unable to answer my question and referred me back to the telephone line that was backed up for days. It's an old story, repeated by many software companies before they go out of business -- cut back on support to save money, maximize customer dissatisfaction, close doors. Easy as 123.

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I found the "CD/download" links yesterday -- when I needed them they were impossible to find. That's because Intuit is making a basic marketing error -- referring to the same product by multiple names. They sold it to me as "the desktop version" but online they rarely even use the word "desktop" and call it "cd/download." That's a failing grade in marketing 101. I am a software developer, amongst other things, and I've had clients who (literally!!) used six (count em 6) different names to refer to exactly the same entity. It's a recipe for total chaos, like what I experienced online with TurboTax.

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The cd/download links are hidden in some of the web page footers, not all of them. The product line is not featured in any of the mainline marketing text nor any of the product headers. My best bet is that Intuit wants to scrap the cd/download product, and is side-lining it to kill the sales, to justify scrapping it. All the more reason to switch to some other tax prep software. Or (egads!) hire a cpa to do this mess for me.

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I might try the Tax Advantage deal -- its supposed to have a dedicated support phone line (better than nothing). If this turns out to be the same support phone line they published before, I'm gonna be really annoyed.

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Oh, and once again, no one cares about the error I found.

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N

NCPERSON1

@TomTerrific22 - I suspecft that Intuit makes a lot more money on the online product than the legacy desktop product.

Online is one user and one fee. Desktop is one user who can complete multiple tax returns. So Intuit has a lot more control of the product online. Not surprising the desktop is harder to find the links to.

Also, and there are other articles on this, Intuit is the market leader and been at this longer than any other players, so they have some pricing power. THey are not the cheapest on the market, but you get what you pay for.

What was the bug?