Bench is charging people for services they already paid for, some customers say

After Employer.com acquired bankrupt accounting startup Bench in a fire-sale late last year, CEO Jesse Tinsley pledged on LinkedIn and elsewhere to honor past customer payments. “We’re honoring all prepaid Bench services even though we will not have the revenue from that directly ourselves,” Tinsley said in an interview with founder and investor Julian Weisser. But some Bench customers say they’re being charged to get books or tax returns they previously paid for. A lawsuit filed on Tuesday by Bench customer Qorum claims that Bench required it to pay to get its 2023 tax return, despite having already paid for the service under Bench’s previous owners. “Defendant Jesse Tinsley made negligent misrepresentations when he falsely stated that Employer.com would honor prepaid Bench services,” the lawsuit alleges. Another customer, who requested anonymity, was shocked to learn they needed to renew their subscription to get accounting books completed when they paid for that service two yea ... Read full article.