Buckingham Advisors

"Buckingham blew VIP investment contribution deadlines preventing me and my family from contributing to an HSA and 529 plan, and blew a tax filing deadline that they had reassured me for months was on their radar. I own a law firm and my husband owns a construction business, and we had used Buckingham for a couple of years. In November 2021 we had a call with Buckingham where we specifically confirmed that they would handle our personal and business returns for the 2021 year, and where we specifically discuss that we wanted to take advantage of all tax-savings investment opportunities. Buckingham assured us during that call, and again in December, and again in early 2022, that my family and business needs were on their radar and they would handle these important issues. Late March or early April 2022, after hearing nothing from Buckingham, I reached out and said just to confirm you are handling these matters. Someone who we did not know, who was brand new with Buckingham, responded very rudely and threw together last-minute business filings for one of our businesses only. When I receive that draft finally, I reminded Buckingham that we needed our personal returns filed and that there were investment strategies we wanted to take advantage of before the tax filing deadline. Buckingham said that they would not be able to meet their commitment because they needed additional information from me in order to meet these deadlines. I asked them why they didn’t tell me what they needed before, and they responded that I should’ve known to send them the information that they needed— this despite the fact that I am not a tax professional and that I had confirmed with them specifically multiple times going back to November of the previous year that they would handle all of these issues for us. Never once did they tell us that they needed additional information to meet their commitments. Regardless, I told Buckingham that it was very important to me that we meet the tax filing deadlines, and offered to get them whatever they needed in the several weeks leading up to the deadline. They ignored multiple emails and slow played it putting me and my needs to the back burner, and force this into taking the extension. Before the filing deadline passed, I reminded them, oh by the way, we want to take advantage of all tax shelter investment deadlines. Buckingham told me that because I was taking an extension on our personal returns, that the deadline to fund those types of accounts would be extended as well. They told me that there was no need to try to find those investment accounts before the tax filing deadlines. Fast forward to now when I’m working with a new CPA firm, and I learned that Buckingham gave me completely incorrect advice when they said back in November 2021 that I could find a 529 by the tax filing deadline of April. Turns out you have to fund a 529 by the end of the year. So they blew that all the way back to November. Now it’s too late for me to fund that investment vehicle. Buckingham was also wrong when they told me that the deadline to fund an HSA would be extended along with my personal filing deadline. Turns out regardless of a personal extension, to fund an HSA I would’ve had to have done so by the tax filing deadline of this year. Thanks to Buckingham‘s bad advice, we missed out on that opportunity as well. Completely in accurate advice aside, Buckingham clearly cannot manage important deadlines for its clients. The customer service is horrible. When Buckingham decided to tell me at the last minute that all of a sudden they were not going to be able to meet their commitment to me, the two people with whom I had the relationship with Buckingham essentially disappeared, ghosting me and my firm, leaving this brand-new person with whom we had no relationship to be rude to us and blame us for Buckinghams failure to meet their commitments to us. Horrible experience that cost us significantly in the end. Go with somebody who knows what they’re doing and who can actually manage deadlines and treat clients as deserved."