Sarah Watson

1/25/16
23251 Moffit Rd.
Moffit, ND.58560
321.298.2993
Taxpayer Advocate Service
657 Second Ave., N., Room 244,
Stop 1005-FAR, Fargo, ND 58102
701.237.8342
Dear Taxpayer Advocate Service,

I would like to report a rather serious, drawn out problem I am having with
the IRS, and the issue of being put on a proper payment plan. To give you
some background, I (Sarah Watson) have owed the IRS back taxes for a
number of years. I have tried numerous times to work out a payment plan in
the past and issues always arose or I would get a statement and my balance
owed would be double what I started with, in essences throwing money
away. My husband (Casey Watson) and I have filed separately for a number
of years due to the issues I was having with the IRS. I have hired several
CPAs over the years to assist me with my issues and was charged a very
large sum for basically no assistance with the growing problem, my debt
owed. I took a long pause with my back taxes issues because it was just so
overwhelming and I couldnt seem to find a solution.
Sometime had past, and I knew I needed to correct the issue. I filed every
year of taxes my husband and I were lacking with every intention of making
the situation right. We owe our taxes, and they are our responsibility. I again
hired someone to assist me in correcting the issue and was lied to about
what I was being charged for. I had provided Amanda Volk Power of Attorney,
and she changed the years on the forms I allowed her permission to assist
with without my knowledge and broke our agreement. Step one, I filed to
have her removed as Power of Attorney and would like to confirm that she
has been.
No on to the purpose of this letter. I am going to give a detailed description
of the awful experience I have had with the IRS since filing all of our taxes
with the intention of making ourselves right side up with the IRS. Please see
the following timeline, with enclosed copies of corresponding letters received
by the IRS over the last couple of months.

October 7, 2015 I called the IRS customer service department, just a few
weeks after filing the missing tax years and requested that my husband and I
be put on a payment plan, combining all of the monies owed to date. I spent
almost 2 hours on the phone going through every little thing with the agent I
spoke too. We conferenced in my husband, and the 3 of us confirmed the
total amount owed, we gave our bank account information and we were told
that the minimum monthly payment allowed would be in the amount of
$529.00. We agreed to this amount. We agreed to have the amount
automatically withdrawn for our checking account. We were told that we
would be mailed the necessary form to fill out for the automatic withdraw.
We were placed on hold so that she could confirm everything had been
completed, and while on hold, the call was dropped on her end.
I immediately called back, waiting another 45 minutes on hold just to confirm
everything was all set for our payment arrangement. I spoke with a
gentleman that confirmed the amount of the payment arrangement, he
informed me no forms had been scheduled to be mailed by the previous rep
and that he would mail them. The call ended. A couple of weeks later I
received a letter in the mail confirming the Installment Agreement (letter
enclosed). I did not, however, receive the form I was promised to fill out for
the installment agreement. I did receive another letter (letter enclosed),
dated the exact same day saying that the matter has not been resolved but
to continue making the payments. I never received the form promised.
I then received 2 notices with a balance due of $26, 526.46 for myself and a
balance of $6209.34 for Casey. Both notices that stated to please contact
us to be considered for a payment plan. I was completely caught off guard. I
had in hand a letter of agreement from the IRS that already stated the terms
of my payment plan. I immediately called back to customer service on
November 4th and spent another hour on the phone with an agent. She
explained to me that because they never received an installment agreement
form from me that someone looked over my account and decided I needed to
pay more than the original agreement. I explained to her I was never mailed
the form as promised and asked why I was being punished for an error. 2
different people on October 7th promised to send me a form that I never
received and now I had to pay more. She informed me that the new amount
was $627 a month. Her and I walked through every year and the amounts
owed for every single year, my husband and I combined. She told me where
to download the correct 433-D form from the IRS website and provided me
the address PO Box 69, Stop 811, Memphis TN 38101-0069 to mail the form
too and instructed me to make the first payment myself and then the
following payment would be automatically withdrawn.

I did exactly that, I filled out the form and mailed it to the above address,
and on November 15th I made the payment in the amount of $627.00. On
November 23rd I received a letter (enclosed) that explained that the form I
filled out was mailed to the wrong address and they could not help me. They
would forward my form to the correct address. Again, the address I was
provided by an IRS agent, delayed the agreement that had been made. I
then received a Notice to Levy statement (enclosed), dated December 7,
2015. The only thing I can say at this point is.REALLY?!! That notice was
immediately followed with a letter (enclosed) that stated that the IRS had no
idea what the payment I made in the amount of $627 was for!!
At this point I was 5 months pregnant and learned that my unborn child had
died in my womb and I had given birth to a stillborn, so I didnt have time to
respond to the IRS about what I had received in the mail. Not to mention that
I this point I am terrified to even call customer service back because every
time I correspond with the IRS in anyway, the problem gets worse. Now the
icing on the cake, a letter dated December 23 was received (enclosed). This
letter stated that the amount agreed upon for the installment agreement was
not enough and now I am required to pay $725 a month to be considered for
an installment agreement.
The IRS has absolutely no idea what is going on within their own company. I
am trying to make a bad situation right and I am being taken advantage of
and mistreated, and basically lied too. Every time I take another step the
problem is made worse and there is no resolution. I will not pay $723 a
month for a payment installment when the amount is obviously a lie. There
is no way everybody I talk to can come up with a different amount for the
exact same taxes. The fact that is has taken this long and the additional
penalties and interest that would raise the balance since October, we are not
responsible for. I need help coming to an agreeable solution, and I need to
be ensured that the agreement will be honored and followed through. I do
not know if this is a ploy to make things worse for me because some of my
debt will be 10 years old next year and will be uncollectable at that point or if
the IRS is simply incompetent.
This is my last step before hiring a lawyer. Please review the enclosed
documentation and get back to me. I can be reached at 321.298.2993 or
23251 Moffit Rd. Moffit ND 58260
Sincerely,
Sarah Watson

Casey Watson
3