Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Avalara Inc's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Avalara Inc

  906 Alaskan Way # 500 Seattle, WA 98104-1010

  
• 

  Avalara Inc

  6465 Greenwood Plaza Blvd Ste 200 Centennial, CO 80111-4910

  
• 

  Avalara Inc

  21 Robert Pitt Dr Ste 310 Monsey, NY 10952

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/30/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company Alavara #1 does not support its products, never could figure out how to use them but besides that I have been trying to cancel my account for 1.5 years. Finally this July I walked through all the hoops they put in place so you can not cancel. I did it. I have emails to show my cancelation was submitted. YET I still keep getting charged ***** a month for 0 usage. And there is no one to get ahold of. I have never in my life filed something like this but run from this company. They just want to sign you up and take your money monthly. With no way to stop it. And maybe the products work. I never saw any benefit.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/07/2023

  *******, thank you for taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention. We understand how unexpected costs would be upsetting, and we apologize for the frustrations you experienced in attempting to cancel. It appears there were issues with the online cancellation form which caused a delay in us getting the request, but we have now submitted the request to concede all outstanding invoices in your account. We appreciate your patience as we worked to resolve these concerns and we wish your business the best in the future.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/07/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/25/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We gave Avalara $400 to help figure out licensing for our new business. We've gotten no information, no help, and no licensing. When you call them you get a voicemail and no one calls you back. I've begged for our money back or just some help to do what they promised they would do and have gotten nothing in over a year.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/28/2023

  ********, thank you for reaching out and giving us the opportunity to assist. In reviewing your complaint, we searched our records and were not able to find an account that is linked to the contact information you provided here. We did notice you may have indicated your company name as B&T Event Rentals'' in a lead form that was submitted on the same day as this complaint, which is an account we have access to. Unfortunately, because we cannot validate you as a verified contact to that account, we cannot share any identifiable details to the matter. However, we can confirm that the account was canceled and refunded in October of 2022 at the request of the account owner. The $399.00 refund check was issued and mailed on 10/28/2022 to the address on file with the account. If you are referencing a different account, please provide the correct details so that we can properly assist. Otherwise, we wish you and your business the best in the future.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/28/2023

   
  Complaint: 20521671
  
  I am rejecting this response because: we never received any check. The account is b&t events under ****************** name. The email is *************************

  Our mailing address is ***********************************************************

  Can you please issue another check?

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/06/2023

  Hi- this is the correct business. Its under ************************** my partners email. No check was ever received. If you did actually send a check you can look back and see it was never cashed. Please issue a new one to our new address **********************************************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/11/2023

  Thank you for providing these details for us. We have confirmed that a replacement refund check for $399.00 was issued and mailed by our accounts payable team on 9/8/2023 to the address you provided. Please allow time for mailing. Thank you and we wish your business the best!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/15/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Signed up for Avalara on 3/29 paid $357.73 for sales tax registration for an additional state. Made multiple phone calls to find out the status and get help along the way with some questionnaires never received any was always told they were opening a ticket someone would contact me in ***** never happened. 4/28 I paid monthly fee of $108.73 same on 5/29. On 5/3 I opened a ticked for still not receiving any help or answers to my questions on 5/4 I received an email stating my ticked was closed still with no help. 5/5 I sent an email asking why my ticket was closed without receiving any help or answers my email was answered on 5/8 stating the case was still open and in the customer verification stage (whatever that meant). 5/12 I sent another email stating I had some questions since 4/27 gave case #******** asked for help to finish the registration process. 5/15 I was sent a email with a generic answer that didn't help as I had specific questions regarding the set up. Tried to push through and just complete the questionnaire on my own out of frustration. On 6/3 received an email that my registration was complete found out later by that state it wasn't and was incorrect. on 6/29 I was billed $520.59 did not know why called Avalara and was told they couldn't tell me only the billing department could do that and they don't communicate by phone only by email but they would open a ticket for me. On 7/4 sent and email regarding my disappointment in customer service and never received the promised call back in ***** hours and needed to speak with someone. 7/6 2 days later I received a response to open a ticket at this point I was beyond frustrated the time I had spent calling, waiting on hold sending emails and never receiving any help was unacceptable paid so far $1115.78 so I called to cancel no one tried to help to keep my business they basically canceled and after that cancellation I received a bill for $1286.32 for a remainder of subscription until 3/ *****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/16/2023

  I have all the email communications that I had between myself and Avalara here is the last one that I sent 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/25/2023

  *******, thank you for bringing this to our attention and giving us the opportunity to assist. We aim to provide the best support, and we are sorry to read you experienced otherwise. We sincerely apologize for the frustration in trying to get your concerns addressed. After receiving your complaint, a member of our Customer Excellence team reached out to provide support. We understand from your conversation with them that you requested credit for the final invoice. Our team has since submitted the refund request for $1,286.32 which is currently pending internal approval. Please follow up with the Customer Excellence Manager directly with further questions regarding this credit.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/30/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/09/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  If I could give negative stars I would. My relationship with Avalara started last year when I was referred to them by another business I work with. As you may know, they are the 400 pound gorilla and sadly have all the tax entities (i.e. state governments) "in bed" with them so they can offer "free" (supposedly) tax services.The first call started in finding out that the tax services are not truly free. Instead they are a 'free add-on' so they will do another state filing (so you can pay that state more sales taxes) if you are already doing filing in your home state (which is not free).Regardless, I needed to do a better job filing sales taxes, so I agreed. We got the original agreement on 2/3/23, but it took until 3/2/23 to get all the "approvals" for the "special pricing" the sales rep wanted to give us. In addition to paying upfront for the first deposit/month/whatever, we started receiving invoices almost immediately, before we even received a welcome email or were able to login. They try to "automate" everything so customer service is gone, as is support. It took until 4/17/23 to actually get a login to the portal but we received invoices anyway.When I reached out after the 5/4 invoice came stating "Why are we being billed? We have not even started using the service?". No reply. I followed up after the 6/3 invoice and again did not receive any reply. I was told by"*********************" (who is their only accounting person, apparently) that "you get billed from the day you sign up, regardless if you use the service". I again followed up on 6/7, 6/13, and 6/29 - with NO RESPONSE. I finally received a response on 7/6 indicating that I should "contact support" if I wasn't satisfied. I filed a support ticket that day, but received no response. I emailed on 7/21 asking for a phone call so we could discuss the situation and come up with a resolution (as I wanted to do business) and received a reply on 7/26. Today 8/9, they canceled my account. Crooks!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/14/2023

  *****, thank you for giving us an opportunity to clarify the series of events. As mentioned in your complaint, we sold our service to you in February 2023 at a discounted rate and with waived activation fees. The initial approval delay youve cited here was caused by the overdue invoices associated with your account from 2020 when you originally signed up for our services and were canceled due to nonpayment. Understanding it was years ago, our team decided to waive the past due invoices in order to reactivate your account, though it took a round of approvals as it was an uncustomary decision. 
  
  Our implementation team contacted you on April 17 asking when youd like to begin and again on April 27 asking if you were ready to begin. We understand from your responses that you were experiencing a delay due to issues with your ERP ConnectWise, and so you were not yet ready for us to activate your services. However, as outlined in your signed agreement, your monthly billing begins at the start of your agreement and is not based on usage. Nevertheless, our team remained ready to support whenever you decided you were ready to begin implementation.

  We recognize that you attempted to contact our finance department on May 4 requesting an explanation for your invoice, and we apologize for the delay in response you experienced. Once our finance team did respond on June 6, they explained the billing terms and sent a copy of the agreement. We understand you were dissatisfied with the response and continued to demand further explanation from our finance team on June 7, June 13, and June 29 to which we sent additional responses on June 29 with more details of the same explanation we had previously issued. It was our understanding that despite your previous agreement to a monthly payment, you did not want to pay for a service you were not yet using, and so on July 6 our finance team directed you to contact support by providing a direct phone number and link to create a support case so that the appropriate team could assist you with your implementation if you were now ready. Though our finance department provided these resources and repeatedly explained they were unable to assist in subscription matters, you continued to insist they join a call. It was not until July 21 that we received a support case that our team began working. Additionally on July 21, our finance team once again received a request for phone conversation to which they obliged and provided you with their direct contact number within the same day. On July 26, Avalara support emailed you with an official case number and update. Recognizing this case was pending further internal review, our finance team also notified you on July 26 that they had in good faith extended the timeline for cancellation/suspension of your account so that the support case would not automatically close due to account cancellation, but your overdue payments were needed by August 4 to maintain the account in active status. We issued a last attempt courtesy reminder on August 9 to which you responded with a request for cancellation. Our team promptly closed the account for nonpayment within the same day.
  
  We are sorry that you were not able to get your services connected in a timely manner, despite our teams best efforts to support. We simply cannot continue to spend time and resources on an unpaid account. However, we wish you and your business the best in the future.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 20447817
  
  I am rejecting this response because this is an unsatisfactory answer.  You can use whatever "excuse" you want but the bottom line is that we SHOULD NOT have been billed while your team was "figuring out" the accounting issue from 2020.  The simple fact that the issue existed in the first place was because your team did not do what they said they would in the first place way back in 2020.  That is a testament to the poor and unprofessional way your business is run.  
  

  NOW instead of working with a customer to create a satisfactory result that benefits both of us (as you promised me on the phone, which was absolutely a lie), you are instead providing me another "excuse" and focused on the fact that there is a balance due for services that were never received, rather than focusing on how to work with us and make this a positive outcome.  The way this case has been handled is an example of the culture at Avalara and the failure therein.  It is apparent that the culture is about "making money" more than "customer service" and I sincerely hope to see that Avalara fails and goes bankrupt - you will reap what you so and running your business in this unprofessional manner (focused on profits instead of people) will eventually catch up.  
  

  My hope for you personally is that you "figure it out" and "run far away" before the company implodes on itself.

  I should have know that you were not able to actually provide anything ********************* when you reached out last week.
  I put my faith in a process that did not exist instead of trusting the complaints and failures to resolve them that were already on the BBB website.

  I will as i said focus my efforts on making sure that EVERY SINGLE BUSINESS owner I know understands how you run your company and encourage them not to do business with you.
  Case in point, I had a conversation yesterday with a customer who recently signed up with you and I told them I would let them know how this goes.  I'm sure after I circle back, you will be losing TWO customers due to your inability to pull your head out of your **** and resolve an issue.

   

  As I said, nothing against you personally, I just hope you figure out that you are on a sinking ship sooner than later.

  As for the business at Avalara - I sincerely hope it fails!
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/24/2023

  So essentially "screw you?"

  My "case" now shows as "resolved" and I am unable to file a review so others know to stay far away from this company.
  That is a pretty sad way to do business, even for the BBB!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/26/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  they withhold from my account MORE THEN $8000 to pay *** tax, but by the end, I got a letter from the state that the tax is not paid so I was content than and they told me to pay and they will give me back the money but since then I running around and no one can answer me tell me what's with the money I JUST NEED SOMEONE TO SPEAK WITH AND MAKE SURE THET I GOT MY MONEY ****

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/06/2023

  Nuta, thank you for giving us the opportunity to assist. We apologize for the frustration and we understand how unexpected costs would be upsetting. Following your complaint, a member of our Customer Excellence team reached out to provide the options of crediting. We understand from this conversation that we will be reimbursing you for this balance by reducing your July 2023 amount due. As our team shared, you should see the amount we debit on August 12th will be $8,047.27 short of the amount due called out in your AvaTax console. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. Should you have any further questions, please follow up with the Customer Excellence manager directly.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/24/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On March 27, 2023, LegalZoom completed LLC paperwork for my LLC in **. Upon completion, the company directed me to Business Licenses by Avalara to complete all of the appropriate filings for taxes in DC.I discovered in June that Avalara may not have actually completed all of the required tax filings for **. Since June, I have called and emailed both LegalZoom and Avalara requesting assistance to clarify that I have the appropriate licenses and filings. LegalZoom has responded to my calls but keeps giving me the run around in connecting me with Avalara. They have since stopped responded to my repeated request for assistance to communicate with their vendor. Avalara has not been responsive to any emails I have sent. Their team does not appear to have a phone number I can call. I have tried to email multiple times.I am at a loss for what to do. I paid $497 for LegalZoom and $399 for Avalara. My understanding from both companies was that they would set up my LLC with all of the appropriate licensing and tax filings. That does not appear to be the case since, when I called **, I do not appear to have the appropriate franchise license. I need assistance from the ********************** to be able to speak to a representative from both companies since neither is responsive. I would like to resolve so I can ensure my DC taxes are in order. I have filed a separate complaint against LegalZoom since this is their vendor.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/01/2023

  ***, thank you for raising your concerns and giving us the opportunity to assist. We apologize for the frustration you experienced in trying to obtain your business licenses. Upon receiving your complaint, we had a member of our Customer Excellence team reach out to get connected with your team, and we understand there is a meeting scheduled for Thursday Aug 8 to resolve the confusion. We remain committed to supporting you and are looking forward to connecting with you soon.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/08/2023

   
  Complaint: 20366968
  
  I am rejecting this response because the response is still incomplete. Avalara is still updating my registration after their admitted mistake. I will not be accepting a response to close this until the work has been completed. Overall, this has been a very frustrating experience and I would not recommend Avalara or LegalZoom. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/18/2023

  ***, thank you for your patience as we work to resolve this. We understand you were able to meet with our Customer Excellence team on August 3 where we agreed to have our senior filer refile for you to include the franchise tax in **. Our filer has alerted ** that there is a delay with your local registration as our attempt to start the refiling process prompted an alert that your email was already in the system. We understand that you are currently working with the filer to recover the logins needed to proceed. As we mentioned before, we are committed to supporting you and will continue to do so until this issue is resolved.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/28/2023

   
  Complaint: 20366968
  
  I am rejecting this response because I dont trust Avalara to be responsive until the case is finally closed. I have been in touch with their agent and she is being helpful. She discovered that there was an error in my initial filing and made the correction. But I cannot receive a Clean Hands certificate until I make a property tax filing. 

  I have been advised by an accountant that I need to hire an attorney to ensure that all of my licensing and filings are accurate before first making this tax payment. Once I do that, then I may still need help from Avalara with the Clean Hands certificate. But, given that it took this complaint for me to be able to receive a response from Avalara - as well as threatening to file a consumer complaint with the ** ************************* I am afraid that, by closing out the complaint, I will no longer receive responses from Avalara. 

  I am also frustrated that I will need to pay for an attorney and accountant to check on the poor quality of work originally done by LegalZoom and Avalara. I would like a refund given the time and money that this experience has cost me to date.

  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/18/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Until 2 years ago I only needed to deal with Avalara (AV) once a year. But in ************************************* as well as WI. ** started ** at monthly filings so AV told me I needed to purchase 12 filings in advance. Then in 2022 ** changed me to annual filings so I then asked for and was refunded for 3 filings I would not need. But at renewal in April 22, instead of charging me for 2 annual returns for 4/2022 - 4/2023, AV went ahead and charged me for 12 filings when they knew I only needed 2. They finally refunded me for the unused filings. This year ** changed my filing frequency to quarterly. I made that change on my AV acct. But when AV sent my renewal info in March for service period 4/2023 - 4/2024, it was for 2 annual filings. I contacted them and they confirmed they were aware of the change. I assumed they would change my acct accordingly. On April 17 they sent an email saying they were charging my CC that day for 2 annual filings at $128. That same day an AV rep emailed to say they need to change my account to 5 filings. He sends quotes, but I decide to check into other services before agreeing to these. I decide to switch to another service eff. May 1, which will save my company hundreds. I contact the rep and he sent me a link of where to cancel. However, in order to cancel I need to agree to their "terms". This is the FIRST I've seen these terms. I open a support ticket to ask questions about the terms and request a refund of the $128 since AV will not be doing these filings for me. No response. I call a month later and a CS rep says he will escalate my request. Still no response. A couple weeks later I call and am told I need to cancel in order to get a response! So I cancel and then do get a response that said that since they gave a refund on the previous service period as a "courtesy" in order to "retain your business" they would not refund me for this service period, and basically said case closed. (Note: this is just a brief summary)

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/27/2023

  *******, thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We strive to offer the best service possible and we are sorry to read that was not your experience with us. After reviewing your account, we understand that you requested a downgrade and refund after your term renewal which was signed for in your initial agreement. Though it is uncustomary, our team decided to honor the $540 refund and downgrade in good faith. We understand that you decided to switch compliance providers, and are now requesting an additional refund. Hoping to bring this matter to an end, our team has submitted the additional refund request for $182.00 for the two unused pre-paid returns and the returns overage fee. A member of our team reached out earlier today with this update. We wish your business the best in the future.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/02/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/24/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am writing to file a formal complaint against Avalara Inc. regarding their breach of agreement and misleading billing practices. The details of the complaint are outlined below:Background Information:I entered into an agreement with Avalara Inc. on 1st March, 2023 for their services, specifically the provision of 500 entries per month. This verbal commitment was later confirmed in writing through the agreement, which clearly states the inclusion of a "500 tier monthly" service.Change of Tier:To my surprise, I received a charge at the beginning of the month for a change in tier, which contradicts the original agreement. Upon contacting Avalara Inc. to address this issue, I was informed that my tier was actually annual and not monthly, despite the clear indication in the agreement and the initial verbal commitment.Misleading Billing Practices:Avalara Inc.'s actions are in violation of fair business practices and demonstrate a lack of transparency. Their billing practices are misleading and contradict the terms agreed upon in the original agreement. I believe this constitutes a breach of contract and an unfair attempt to extract additional fees from me.Attempts to Resolve the Issue:I have made several attempts to resolve this matter with Avalara Inc. by contacting their customer service department. However, I have not received a satisfactory response or any resolution to the problem. They have failed to address the discrepancy between the original agreement and their billing practices, leaving me no choice but to escalate the matter.Desired Resolution:I request the following actions to resolve this issue:a) An immediate refund of the additional charges incurred due to the change in tier.b) Confirmation from Avalara Inc. that the agreement will be honored, providing us with the agreed-upon 500 monthly entries.c) Assurance from Avalara Inc. that their billing practices will be reviewed and revised to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/03/2023

  Hi ******, thank you for taking the time to bring this to our attention. We strive to offer the best service possible for our customers and the billing frustrations youve described are not what we want. We apologize that pricing expectations were not clearly expressed and we understand how unexpected costs would be upsetting. Following your complaint, a member of our team reached out to discuss the details of tiered pricing. We understand from that conversation that you were given a list of actions to help lower API calls for WooCommerce. Our team has also offered to refund the upgrade fee of $411.86. Our team remains committed to working towards finding the best tier options for your account, and so we are continuing to find solutions for your business. Please continue to follow up directly with the team members so they can best support.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/18/2023

  I would like to respond to the business's message and provide an official response along with any relevant attachments or documents. While I appreciate the business's initial response and their promises to address the billing frustrations I expressed, I must clarify that I have not received any further communication or the promised refund from them as of the time of writing this email.

  I remain committed to finding a resolution and working towards the best tier options for my account, as mentioned by the business. However, it is essential that the business follows through on its commitments and provides the necessary support.

  Please let me know if you need any thing else in this regard.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/31/2023

  ******, thank you for giving us the opportunity to clarify our resolution. We apologize that the process for approving the refund has taken longer than expected, and we are happy to say that the credit has now been approved. Our team has sent you an update regarding this refund. As we mentioned in our last response, we are committed to working towards a resolution and we appreciate your patience in this matter.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/03/2023

   
  Complaint: 20230907
  I accept their response partially due to the fact that they have refunded me the amount of overage charges charged by them.
  I am rejecting this response because partial action has been taken and they have committed to make a better monthly package as compared to their competitor i am still waiting for that resolution as well and as the time given is of 7 days i am rejecting it so the case remains open till i receive an appropriate response to the satisfaction of both the party.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/14/2023

  ******, we appreciate your patience during this matter as our team works to find the best solution for you. As our team explained, we are not able to offer **** transactions at $78/month, but because of the inflated API calls we do not know your true usage just yet. Therefore, we have put your account back to the original tier at your original monthly rate, and we have placed a usage cap on your account so no overages or auto upgrades can happen once the threshold for your current tier is reached. Come renewal time, well be able to give you a more accurate estimate of your usage and what we can offer. Please continue to direct all questions regarding this update to the Customer Excellence Manager you have been in communication with. We look forward to continuing our partnership and refining our services to best support you and your business.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/16/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/14/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We have been paying Avalara for well over a year, including onboarding fees and monthly fees for service. Avalara has delivered exactly ZERO of the services we have engaged them to perform. Further, when trying to work with the assigned persons (***************************, onboarding specialist and ***************************, Account manager), they are unresponsive for weeks at a time and then not providing meaningful resolution to issues brought to their attention. The ONLY thing Avalara has done in a timely manner is bill and collect fees.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/22/2023

  Hi ***, we appreciate you taking the time to bring this to our attention. We aim to provide the best support possible for our customers, and were sorry for the frustration and lack of responsiveness youve experienced during the implementation process. We understand there has been a delay in the set up of your *************** due to some inaccuracies in the historical data that was transferred to our team, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. After receiving your complaint, members of our onboarding team met with your account manager to outline next steps in your onboarding process, and we have since contacted you with a meeting request to discuss these steps. Our team remains committed to supporting you. We ask that you follow up directly with your account manager so that we can continue working towards getting your services live.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/14/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We had Avalara services for a year (2022) and during that time we decided to cancel the service as we didnt have enough state compliance to warrant the expense of Avalaras service. So we reached out in Mid-March to cancel our contract. The only way to get in contact with someone is through your account rep. **** takes at least a week to ******* to any email or phone call. When he did ******* to our request for cancellation, he stated to our account had automatically renewed for a full year the week prior. We stated we didnt know it was on auto renewal and he stated that we were sent an email. He showed us an email that was sent on his screen. We then asked him to see if that email had been read, and it had not. Thats because we never received it. We asked if that contract could be canceled since it only happened the week prior. We stated that we would pay for the months that we had used (January, February, March), but after that, asked for contract to be canceled. We have paid for those 3 months, but they are still trying to bill us for another full year of service, even though we have not used them since March. After 2 months of waiting for our account rep to get back to us, he finally said his boss gave us a good faith offer of cutting the contract in half. What?? Pay almost $4,000 for a service were not using and that we canceled 1 week after it auto-renewed without our knowledge or permission? Weve paid for what weve used - now were just asking for the auto-renewed contract to be canceled as we are no longer using the service and have no intention to. How are you supposed to work with a company when you cant get customer service to *******, nor will your account rep ******* within a reasonable amount of time? And, practices like this are stealing from small businesses. If youre a small business trying to keep up with tax compliance in multiple states, stay away from Avalara.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/20/2023

  *****, thank you for taking the time to bring this to us.We understand your frustration with the renewal and we are more than willing to expand on the concerns youve listed here. Per our terms and conditions, each annual subscription will automatically renew at the end of the then-current subscription term unless the customer provides written notice of non-renewal to Avalara on or before the expiration date of the then-current subscription term.We recognize that our customers cannot always anticipate the subscription expiration, by which we send renewal notices ahead of the term ending. In checking our records, we understand these renewal notice emails were sent and opened by your team on January 31 and February 7 (please see attached image).Your previous subscription term ended on March 16 whereas your cancellation was submitted on April 4. Following the cancellation, our team was made aware of your dissatisfaction with the continued ******** tied to the renewal and made a good-faith decision to offer a 50% concession which is above and beyond what is customary or required.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/20/2023

   
  Complaint: 20184364
  
  I am rejecting this response because: despite what your system says, we did not receive or open a renewal notification email. When we asked our service rep whether the emails were opened, he stated they were not. Now you're conveniently telling us they were opened?  Opens are often counted by CRMs using Apple Privacy Opens, which indicates an open even if there wasn't one. We use Apple for our emails, so your system may be counting an open when there wasn't one. Emails Opens are notoriously non-reliable and the whole email industry knows this. We did not receive a renewal notification, either by email or by written notification. 

  Not knowing this was going to auto-renew and not being notified, we reached out 1 week after the auto-renewal went through. As such, we made a reasonable request for the auto-renewal to be waived. We continued to pay for the months of the service we actually used. What we're asking for is to not pay for a service which we canceled and which we are not using. To continue to charge us for something we canceled just one week after an auto-renewal that we weren't aware of and which we will not use is not fair to us as a consumer.

  We are requesting that you cancel the contract and dismiss the remaining "balance" as we are not using your services. This is a reasonable request. Should you not provide that, we'll go ahead and leave reviews stating exactly what happened here on all of available review sites to warn other customers about this egregious behavior from your company.

  
  ********************************************