Anyone else have issues with Lacerte's horrible phone customer service?

[Sarah]

I tried calling this morning, the week before deadline and Lacerte is not open at 7:30 a.m. Central. Then I called back at 8:00. There are so many prompts to get to a real live person that each time you call it's just ridiculous. On my 3rd time calling, I get a person that I can hear--in between her chomping on her gum or eating food or whatever. Then she has me go through the exact same steps that I have already done. Then she tells that what I'm trying to do, can't be done. I'm trying to e-file an OK return that keeps saying "Failed Transmission" due to needing to have a Federal return efiled and accepted. The Federal return has already been filed and accepted but the system is not recognizing it. She tried to have me unlink it--that doesn't' work for OK. Then she tells me that OK can't be sent without the Federal. I have sent OK alone after the Federal has been accepted. So frustrating. 

[PhoebeRoberts]

The Oklahoma issue is not fixable. That return is going to have to go on paper. In order to file Oklahoma after federal, as opposed to with federal, you need to be using exactly the same client file, and maybe also need to have not made any changes (including trivial ones) to the client file between the Federal transmission and the Oklahoma transmission. Program updates are fine; user edits aren't.

[jerry]

yes.

I called yesterday at 5 pm Pacific time, and waited 20 minutes after I selected "help with entering a K-1."  I was hoping it would be a K-1 specialist.

When the agent answered, it sounded like her first day on the job, and she clearly had no training in enunciation.  I told her that I needed to enter a Partnership K-1 amount from Box 15, Code AE (credits for small biz pension plan).   She wanted me to share Lacerte (which doesn't work for me because Smartlook doesn't support a high resolution screen like I have).  I told her that it wouldn't matter, because the problem was there was no place to enter the Code AE amount, but she persisted that that was the only way she could continue (I guess it says that in her manual).  So I share, and guess what, she can't see 75% of my screen.  So I send her the file for her to load.

She doesn't know the difference between Code AE and code A and E (she tells me to enter both...).  Then I'm on hold for 25 minutes while she tries to ask her manager for advice.   He apparently says for me to pretend it's the taxpayers own small business and find out how many employees the partnership has.  I refuse.

It then takes 10 more minutes for her to prepare an escalation ticket to Development, which I can't track.  She says they will call me, but no commitment on when because "they're really busy"

90 minutes totally wasted.

Anyone here know how to enter Box 15 AE from a partnership K-1?

[PhoebeRoberts]

It's right there in the K-1 input screen?

[jerry]

OK, this is REALLY weird.

Yes, it's there today.

I swear it wasn't there yesterday.  Nor could the Lacerte agent find it.  It went from AD to AG; AE and AF were not there.

But there have been no program updates in the last couple of days.

Thanks for the pointer.  5 more days.

[PhoebeRoberts]

Computer gremlins. Obviously they stole and then returned it. Happens to me all the time!