Refusing to engage with pain in the neck clients

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#1
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If a new customer calls and is already being confrontational and difficult - and he or she is not even a client yet - is it legal to refuse service specifically based on their attitude alone?

I read so many conflicting opinions on the 'Net.

Sources to research this?
 

#2
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Do you have an onerous state/local law that you have to comply with?

If a prospect was being difficult and confrontational, I would just send a short, vague email that I won't be able to provide services and attach a pdf non-engagement letter to the email.

You don't have to give a reason, and probably shouldn't.
 

#3
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I avoid angry and abrasive people in my business and personal life. I would not take on that client as people like that are always looking to blame everyone else for their problems.

I agree with MVT. I would not accept that client nor would I give a specific reason.
 

#4
ATSMAN  
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Where is this new customer coming from?

If it is a referral from a good client, I would be polite and professional but at the end may decline engagement.

If it is off the street or ads. I will basically tell them that I am not a good fit for their business. I will offer to give them the phone # and address of the nearest competitor. Have done that many times last season.

Just a FYI. Some people believe being difficult at first because they are on a power trip and later mellow out. I have two clients like that. I offered to end my engagement with one after the first year and then he "begged" me to stay on and admitted he was just being a "jerk"!
 

#5
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I love this topic. When I first joined this forum, I learned some valuable advice from a couple of members here regarding the types of clients you accept, keep, and also fire.

I had never thought about the concept of "firing" bad clients until this place and I'm so glad I did. I have completely changed my mindset about this and it has been an absolute game change for my practice.

I am very fortunate to be in the position to be selective about the type of clients I take on. When a prospective client, whether through referral or "off the street", is a pain in the _______, I simply tell them that I am "not a good fit" or that I am not currently accepting any new clients at this time.

If a current client is too much to deal with, I "Fire" them and disengage.

I have had my share of super pushy "Potential" clients who were up my __________ from the get go, without even starting a formal relationship with me. I've had 1 client basically harass me with multiple phone calls after I stated that I would/could not take her on as a client, bc she wanted to "know exactly why".
 

#6
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Pure Peace wrote:I've had 1 client basically harass me with multiple phone calls after I stated that I would/could not take her on as a client, bc she wanted to "know exactly why".


I had a guy do this to me. His tax return was amazingly fraudulent for the prior year I examined, and probably years before that as well. I decided not engage him and pulled the plug.

He wanted me to give him feedback on his situation (I think he was probing for a reason I wasn't taking him on). First email I ignored. Second email I responded. I quoted my non-engagement letter where it's mentioned that I won't be providing advice, opinion, etc and then reiterated that I won't be giving him feedback as that could be construed to be advice, and wished him all the best in the future.

Haven't heard back from him since.
 

#7
ATSMAN  
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I've had 1 client basically harass me with multiple phone calls after I stated that I would/could not take her on as a client, bc she wanted to "know exactly why".


These are dangerous people IMHO. I will only answer a few question from potential clients in the very generic terms. If they insist more granular answer then they must make an appointment and sign an engagement with retainer. I am not the IRS customer support line for free answers.

Some people have the galls to call and say something like this: " Hi I know you do taxes, can you please answer this question, I know I am not your client but I am considering a new tax preparer". When you press for more answers they turn out to be DIY stuck or confused doing it online!
 

#8
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ItDepends wrote:If a new customer calls and is already being confrontational and difficult - and he or she is not even a client yet - is it legal to refuse service specifically based on their attitude alone?


I'd like to comment on the base implication here.

I'm assuming you have no contract (implied or explicit) with this person. He or she has simply made known to you a desire to receive your services.

On that basis, you need have NO reason or EVERY reason to decline to provide them services. The only possible legal hangups are for protected classes (i.e. race, religion, sex, etc.). Being a jerk will never be a protected class.

That said, I will usually provide a reason as most have offered above: It's not a good fit.
If pressed, I might elaborate to share: "From the information you've provided, I don't feel I can deliver you good value for the services you need."
Only once have I been pushed to elaborate past that and actually given in, I explained: As a client of mine, you will take up a certain place in my brain. It is my job to think about opportunities for you throughout the year and evaluate changes in the regulatory environment to your situation. Because of the dynamics of our relationship, you're bringing me nothing but stress when I think about you. Due to that, I don't want to think about you. That doesn't allow me to do the job you're asking me to do and I won't commit to a job I can't do well.
~Captcook
 

#9
Webster  
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Is that expanded explanation copyrighted, Captain? I like it!
 

#10
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You can send me a royalty check annually.
Don't forget to 1099 me for the $2.06!
~Captcook
 

#11
Raellic  
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I've definitely been in this situation before. I've also had the opposite problem: clients who seem totally reasonable and rational at the beginning, but then turn into Freddy Kreuger. In this age of Yelp reviews and call-out culture where anyone can post a screed about you that other people will see, you have to tread really carefully. Despite this, I am very direct with people and I don't avoid confronting them when I feel like there is a problem.

With people who are jerks at the beginning, I typically tell them that I only represent rational individuals who take reasonable positions regarding their case, and our conversations so far have led me to believe that I am not the guy for them. I also specifically tell those potentials that I do not take cases where there is merely a technical defense or a technical claim, without actual merit. This filters out 90% of the problematic cases, such as vexatious litigants who only want a lawyer to rubber-stamp their bizarre self-prepared pleadings.

With people who seem normal at the beginning but who turn into monsters, I very carefully explain that they are not meeting my expectations in terms of the representation, and so either they need to improve or I have to drop them. I will tell them the actual reason, such as them taking up too much time compared to what they are paying, harassing me on the phone, behaving erratically, not getting me information, or otherwise.

My life got a lot less stressful when I started turning down cases where it wasn't the right fit, and my life further improved when I started dropping problematic people as clients. The fact is, problematic people are more likely to be involved in litigation, so difficult personalities are over-represented among the inquiries I get. It's therefore doubly important to filter out jerks and seemingly kind monsters so that I can focus on the people who would benefit most from my services: people who got screwed and have legitimate claims and defenses.
 

#12
ATSMAN  
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>> My life got a lot less stressful when I started turning down cases where it wasn't the right fit, and my life further improved when I started dropping problematic people as clients.

Yesterday I had a similar situation. Long time client booked his mother's appointment twice and both times she failed to show up. Finally I called and demanded an explanation from this woman and truth came out. She had a neighbor do her return for $50 but it got rejected! I told her I am not able to fix other preparer's shoddy work.
 

#13
smtcpa  
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Hard to believe not being able to choose who to accept as clients is even a thing. I understand the race or sexual preference issues which are protected by law, but who would think you have to take any jerk who walks in the door? IMHO, nothing to research. I'd reject that prospect in a heartbeat.

ItDepends wrote:is it legal to refuse service specifically based on their attitude alone?

I read so many conflicting opinions on the 'Net.

Sources to research this?
 

#14
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Most agree that refusing to serve rude and non-compliant clients is the key to a happy life as a practitioner.

But I still worry very much about the legality of refusing service to customers.

Yeah, yeah, we all know that "being a jerk is not a protected class". And you can be in a protected class, but we're not refusing service because the client is in a protected class, but because the client is a jerk.

I've heard the argument.

But is the law really that simple?

Many legal blogs I read say that your reason (and it's argument) must be good enough to hold up in court - such as:

a) The client's behavior impacts the safety and well being you or of other clients
b) The client is being hostile, belligerent, drunk, etc
c) The room they would occupy if served would become over-capacity
d) Their hygiene causes other customers to leave

There's lists of examples of when you can legally refuse service to a client, but nowhere do I see:

a) I don't like them
b) They rub me the wrong way
c) They are a pain in the neck
d) They are rude
e) They don't file on time

I guess you could argue that a client who doesn't file on time is willfully braking the law. But then what if you then filed someone else's late return(s)? Now it's discriminatory, right?

Of course, this reading I've been doing is mostly in the context of restaurants and sometimes retail. Can we argue that if a client makes us uneasy when we serve them that there is a conflict of interest and we can't practice under their best interest?

Anyway this really worries me. What does the law REALLY say about this?

How can we KNOW that we will not lose a lawsuit if we disengage with a client just because they are a headache?

Would E&O even cover the legal fees and damages?

Is it worth paying a couple of lawyers in my state for their opinions?
 

#15
novacpa  
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Or you can quote a fee range:
$500 for a well organized and fully documented set of tax returns; or up to $10,000 (payable in advance) for a poorly organized, piecemeal, late, last-minute undocumented tax mess.
Make them pay for the add difficulty they bring to you.
 

#16
makbo  
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ItDepends wrote:How can we KNOW that we will not lose a lawsuit if we disengage with a client just because they are a headache?

You can't, so stop worrying about it.

I do a few things:

1) I engage for only one tax year at a time by default. So I can always just refuse to engage the following year, which is easier than dis-engaging (but perhaps something a client would still try to sue you over).

2) I think you can often disengage based on a) your workload is such that you are not able to ensure completion by filing deadline, or b) the client's tax situation is beyond your capabilities to handle, if they have anything at all complicated with their return.

The sooner you cut them off, and the more professionally you do it (written disengagement spelling out current status, and actions the former client needs to take to meet filing deadlines), the less likely they are to cause a fuss. After all, if you think they are a PITA, doesn't it seem likely they have the same opinion of you?
 

#17
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novacpa wrote:Or you can quote a fee range:
$500 for a well organized and fully documented set of tax returns; or up to $10,000 (payable in advance) for a poorly organized, piecemeal, late, last-minute undocumented tax mess.
Make them pay for the add difficulty they bring to you.


I agree 100% that this is a great way to handle this and it is already in my client service agreement that I can charge by the hour for my time, additional bookkeeping, additional data organization, etc.

I need to start implementing this more often, as appropriate.

Though I would add, "let's make it reasonable" like $350 per hour (I'm in an expensive area).

makbo wrote:
You can't, so stop worrying about it.

The client's tax situation is beyond your capabilities to handle, if they have anything at all complicated with their return.

if you think they are a PITA, doesn't it seem likely they have the same opinion of you?


Outstanding advice, thank you. Your entire response was helpful, but I especially liked these.

Based on these responses, I think I will look not to disengage so much but manage my clients' behavior and my billing "better".

But when a client's work is too complicated, I feel like this is a very reasonable reason to formally disengage.

So helpful - this group is the best - send me your bills.
 


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