According to a Better Business Bureau (BBB) analysis, nearly one-third (32.5 percent) of complaints against tax preparation companies allege that the preparer made an error in the tax return, often requiring the consumer to pay fines or added fees to rectify the problem.

"Few things are as certain as death and taxes, but it's also true that few things are as scary - that's why more than half of the 120 million American taxpayers enlist the help of a tax preparer ever year," said Doug Broten, BBB CEO. "However, many consumers end up being held responsible when their tax preparer makes mistakes or errors on their return, and this can mean fees and fines adding up to thousands of dollars that they owe to Uncle Sam."

In the Central Valley, the BBB processed a total of six complaints against Computax in Fresno and two complaints against 1040 Tax & Financial in Bakersfield in the last 36 months.

While mistakes made up the most common complaint category against tax preparers, the BBB study showed that 19.5 percent of complaints allege the tax preparer was simply unresponsive. Typically, the tax preparer did not return repeated calls or attempts by the complainant to get assistance, answers to questions, or copies of their tax information. Many complainants noted that they were frantic as they faced filing deadlines or audits and were not receiving any help from their tax preparer.

Disputes over billing accounted for 19 percent of complaints to the BBB. Typically consumers were shocked when they received a high bill for having their taxes prepared or felt that they did not receive the level of service they paid for.

Almost 7 percent of complainants say the tax preparation company was rude and 6 percent of complainants say they didn't receive their refund. Perhaps most shocking, 6.3 percent of complainants allege that the tax preparer never filed their tax return at all.

"Consumers looking for trustworthy help filing their taxes should not wait until the last minute - they need to take their time, shop around and find a preparer who is both qualified and has a strong track record of providing customer service," said Broten. "Some consumers who rushed through the process in 2007 are still dealing with the mess their tax preparer made as they head into the 2008 tax season."