“Ghosted by DC Office of Tax and Revenue?”

“Dear PoPville,

I’m in the middle of a very frustrating back and forth (well, pretty one-sided at this point) with the DC Office of Tax and Revenue, and I’m wondering if anyone has any insights or avenues we could pursue, because I feel like I’ve exhausted our options at this point.

At the end of June, OTR returned my tax return via email, citing that there was an error that needed to be corrected and re-processed. However, it was unclear what the error was so I contacted the name of the customer service tax specialist provided via email and voicemail for clarification and never received a response.

I couldn’t get through the main customer service line (endless hold times) and no information shows up for me under the refund status portal on their website, so I asked them for help on Twitter. I received a prompt call from a different tax specialist, who was initially very helpful and responsive, and after reviewing my returns, they did not identify any errors and resubmitted my return for processing.

Unfortunately, it’s been radio silence in the weeks since then and they’ve stopped responding to my emails and Tweets (still can’t get through the main phone line and they are also ignoring my husband’s inquiries). The refund in question is a significant amount, and I can’t afford to just let this go. I completely understand that the refunds process can take time, and I’m sure that the OTR staff are all swamped, but I’m getting pretty discouraged and frustrated by the lack of communication at this point.

Has anyone else experienced this with the DC OTR? Are there any other contacts or options worth exploring? Grateful for any and all suggestions!”