Kobe David H & Associates

David did my taxes in the past. One positive thing I can say is that the final return packet is nice and well organized.
That said, I didn’t like his customer service at all. He made mistakes and couldn’t as much as apologize. You can see examples of this smug attitude, where he refuses to solve problems and just blames customers in his responses to some of these reviews. Needless to say, I will not be returning.

I’ve used David Kobe as my tax accountant for a decade and more. When I left California to work on the east coast several years ago. I switched to more than one Virginia firm. While there I quickly learned that David’s approach to customer service was more personal and efficient and less costly than those firms. His fees are very reasonable. He works quickly, gets the information he needs to complete my returns and answers any questions i have in a diligent and responsible manner. When i returned to California, I happily returned to David Kobe & Associates.

I would give zero stars if I could.
I was quoted a fairly reasonable charge for having my personal and corp taxes done. I confirmed the quote twice and asked for an engagement letter, which was not provided.
In the end, my filings were held hostage before an important deadline for almost double the initial quotes on my personal and about 250% for my corporated taxes.
Do not do business with David Kobe.

I’ve used David Kobe as my tax guy now for 3 years. In the past, his service has been good, but this year that wasn’t the case. In a nutshell, I polled several of my peers about how much they pay for their tax returns (they all have very similar situations to me), and they all pay about ½ what David charges.
Another way that I know that what he charged me was excessive? I sat in his office for 20 minutes while he did my taxes– he did everything but print them out. He told me exactly how much I would owe for both state and federal returns. Even assuming he did spend another 40 minutes printing the forms after I left (highly doubt it), that would mean that I spent $ 500 on just one hour of his time.
Completely ridiculous.
—-
UPDATE: 11.16.12
David is misrepresenting the facts in his response, I’m not even going to get into the details because it’s not public information. Just know that his response is not accurate, he is trying to whitewash the facts, and think about that before you hire him.

This firm is great. I don’t know why I haven’t written a review before, because my guy there, Harold Tisdale, has been doing my taxes for nearly fifteen years, and he’s a true pleasure, and by the way, a genius. He has turned my fiscal life into sheer simplicity. He’s also a great friend to me (and my dog); the office is convenient, they provide easy paperwork to smooth the way, plus a newsletter with tips, and they’ve been quick to respond when I ask for little extras, calculations about future investments, etc.
Use this firm for your accounting!