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I attempt never to post online anything I do not want the world to see.

I will not make the payments for my clients. I efile their payroll or sales tax returns and my client's then have to make an ACH payment if required. I don't want anything to do with their bank accounts.

As I am reading this thread, I got a text from my cell provider telling me my payment will be automatically charged today. But I have it set up to charge my credit card, not my debit card, because credit cards are easier to dispute than debit charges. I learned this the hard way about 10 years ago, when I wanted to dispute an automatic charge on my account from a vendor I had terminated service with. The vendor would not remove the charge so I called the bank to dispute the charge. They would not allow me to dispute because I did not initiate the dispute within 24 hours of it appearing. They said because I have a business banking account with electronic access, they only have to give me 24 hours to dispute, where a consumer account has 7 days after the statement date to dispute a charge. Sounded like bull$hit so I fired the bank and got a new one, only to find out that it is the rule for business banking. Oh well...what are you going to do? You need a bank. Now, I only use my AMEX for autocharges. They seem to be the very best at customer service when it comes to disputes. Banks, on the other hand, not so helpful. Tom Modesto, CA

cbslee, I like your title "Too Big to Fail". From my point of view, "Too Big to Fail" should be synonymous with "Too Big to Exist."

I miss the banter we had with William. He helped us more than support did.

The New York Times has a long detailed article about the evolution of Equifax. I encourage everyone to read it ! Several things that caught my attention: 1. Equifax is totally focused on the marketing of their data brokerage services ! 2. On a daily basis they data mine all of our social media interactions i.e. Facebook, Twitter etc, match that up with everyone's credit information and sell that information. 3. Almost all of the large employers like Walmart, Kroger etc give Equifax all of their payroll information which is then matched with everyone's credit info and sold ! 4. They currently have the payroll info of 50 % of all the employees in the U S, which they market to human resource departments. 5. With the exception of a few credit union officials, no one from a good sized financial institution of any kind will comment. 6. Pete Mills,a senior vice president at the Mortgage Bankers Association said, "We don't really have a choice to opt out of the credit reporting system." After all Equifax likes to refer to itself as "Trusted stewards of Data" I think I will have reread "Brave New World" and "Animal Farm"

This forum is public, and can be mined. The private forum is not (at least as easily) public. Not that I post anything I would not mind my customers reading.

Hmm! Did anyone ever sign off allowing Equifax or any other credit reporting agency to sell our personal info? Of course, not because there is a loophole in Fair Credit Reporting Act which allows them to do so. Although, it won't help with the hacked information, you can stop any further dissemination of your info at the following web site. https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t, It can be done electronically for 5 years, but if you want it to be permanent it has to be mailed in. (This smells like some political compromise that was made in drafting the legislation.

Today I put freezes on the credit histories of both me and my husb. No problems at all--all three major sites worked smoothly and no delays (haven't done Innovis yet--got weary of the process; tomorrow is another day). So for anyone who hasn't done so yet, the overload problems seem to have been corrected. I also contacted our Senator, who has been a dedicated consumer watchdog for decades and seems to have carried on as such in the US Senate. Asked him where he was in all this--it's his bailiwick after all. Also asked him to encourage IRS to issue IP PINs to everyone who requests one because to date Equifax still has not notified those who were victims and tax season is just a few months away. The website that is supposed to tell people if they're among the victims is not functional but gives random answers. Asked him to demand that they notify actual victims because everyone is sitting on pins and needles. Oh, and to see what he can do to put the company out of business. Surely they've broken enough laws to forfeit the right to operate. I delayed instituting the freezes because we were shopping our auto and home insurances. One place I called was highly rated Amica. I asked which credit reporting bureau they used and they said Equifax. I said I wouldn't do business with a company that pays Equifax to not take security of our data seriously. Perhaps this is the only way to take them down--encourage their customers to leave. I read today that hackers are targeting SIM cards in phones. Once they get that they can have emails and two-factor identification notices sent to them, so these supposed extra layers of security can be useless. The internet as we know it has got to change....

The international accounting firm Deloitte announced today that they discovered back in March that their email system had been hacked back in the fall of 2016. They reassured everyone that no client's confidential information had been affected. My question is, how would they know ?

Apparently they have reviewed all of the emails since they discovered the hack SIX MONTHS AGO. The real question to be asked is "why did it take six months for them to disclose a hack that had taken place six months before the discovery?" But then, I know of smaller practitioners whose emails have been hacked. I wonder if they informed their client base of the breach. And to your question, how would they know if client info had been affected?

Credit cards are another good way to deal with auto-charges. Although you then have a zillion logins or phone calls to make when your number gets stolen and you need to change it. Or even just card expiration date comes along and it's time to put in the new information.

If taxation made sense, we would be out of work. Not that I prefer complication...

I agree. Too big to fail is becoming too big NOT to fail.

Catherine, FINALLY a gal after my own heart!! I can just hear them whine and whine about not getting a free pass into your bank account. And a free pass is exactly what it is! I'm not opposed to receiving an e-mail with a notice due, and then sending an ACH payment. That way I remain in control. Let's face it -- there is a savings in postage, printing, mailing, labor involved, etc. that the vendors are bailing out of. And they have no intention of passing any of this savings on to the customer. So it's not asking too much that they send an e-mail notice due instead of insisting on sucking whatever money they wish out of the bank. Yes, I know if they are reputable they will make amends in case of an error. However that will not include possible collateral damage or disputed amounts, and the bank will not stop them from taking whatever they want if it has been pre-authorized. If you think the bank is going to police your account, better think again.

@cbslee , if this NY Times article is available online, would you mind posting a link here or sending it to me in a PM. Thanks.

I forgot to mention that they also have pretty complete databases of public information like birth records, death records, drivers license info etc, which they match with our credit info and you guessed it they sell it.

Hacking is NEVER ending. Literally never. They will always find vulnerabilities in online accessible software. The US Government (not to be political) literally installs malware on every new computer sold with Apple or MSFT operating systems unless you build it yourself.

This problem has been ongoing almost constantly the entire tax season. My contacts with tech support have gone unanswered. Everyone I have talked to at ATX has said it is not a problem.......does anyone have an email address to upper management. I too am considering changing to another tax program for 2017

I had a chihuahua pup that entertained herself while we were out one afternoon by grabbing the end hanging down and ran with it out through the house. She even turned some corners with it and it held together. Fun times!

Cats prefer it coming over the top . . .

"In God we trust. All others pay with cash, check or credit card BEFORE delivery of the completed tax return." Raise your fees 5%, then check out Square for accepting CC. They charge from 2.75-3.25%