Carpenter & Langford

I cant say enough good things about Mandy at the office. I had a very tight deadline and she got it all done and saved me money! She was very responsive and helpful and went above and beyond.
Feb 28th, 2024

This was an awful experience. I was hopeful that we could hire a professional to help us manage a very complicated aspect of our business & that using a professional would save us money in the long run. Instead, I feel like I know less than when I started, was ignored throughout the process & ended up spending way more than we had originally discussed or would seem to be the going rate. I asked for somebody to discuss this with me & was instead talked down with zero budging on what I felt was an overcharge. I rarely leave reviews, especially negative ones, but feel I have no other recourse. Save your sanity & save your money & look elsewhere.
Dec 11th, 2023

Tried multiple times to talk to someone in charge about a problem I had with my taxes. Left several messages no one will return my call. Been with them almost 8 years File my taxes with him plenty time, but they missed the deadline had to file an extension with no excuse nor compensation.
Jul 4th, 2023

Terrible customer service.  Brett Laine was difficult to communicate with and defensive when I pointed out a mistake he made.  He also wasn't willing to spend time on the phone to understand the issue.  After I emailed him proof I had given him the information he needed, he said it was my responsibility to catch mistakes.  When I tried to complain to someone higher in the organization at Carpenter & Langford, I was told I could only deal with Brett.  Carpenter & Langford must have more business than they can handle, because they had no problem losing a long time customer.
Jul 5th, 2021

My dad had Carpenter and Langford prepare his taxes for over 20 years. After he died I reached out to them to get their help in preparing his taxes. I was hugely disappointed by how unprofessional and downright rude they were. I worked with Shaun Tobin and Joe Langford. Although I contacted them prior to the 2019 filing deadline, they did not get back to me until September 30th when it was no longer possible to file on time. When I was contacted, they addressed me by my dad's name, apparently not remembering that I told them he died. The bigger issue however is that they were negligent in preparing my dad's taxes. After I thought everything was filed smoothly, I got a notice from the IRS that we still owed $56,000 in taxes which included (1) penalties for paying the wrong amount initially, (2) interest, and (3) a $50,000 miscalculation. When I forwarded the penalty notice to Joe and Shaun, they were indifferent, condescending, and rude. They indicated that they didn't file the taxes on time because my dad regularly filed his taxes late (as in they chose to file late). For his part, Shaun defended his miscalculation because he said my dad had an overpayment credit, which he deducted from the amount he told me to pay, but apparently that overpayment credit was refunded. The sound advice would have been to preemptively pay that 50k to avoid the significant penalties in case that overpayment was refunded, as apparently happened here. Shaun responded to my email by saying "Please keep in mind that IRS is a dysfunctional mess and we dont know or control what they do." The only help he offered was saying he could contact the IRS but they wouldn't answer calls (I did call them and was able to get through). When I requested that they help resolve the issues with the IRS, they never replied. After waiting for 3 weeks for a response, I emailed and said that I wasn't interested in working with them and I requested a refund of the preparation fees. This is my most recent email from Shaun: "Im tired of reading all this quasi-legal bulldoggery. If you want to discuss this matter, then call me at the office. If you think you have a case for a civil action, them go ahead and file. " So I would not recommend them. Given their bad advice, I am also reporting their firm to the IRS and the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy.
Jun 15th, 2020