After Employer.com acquired bankrupt accounting startup Bench in a fire-sale late final yr, CEO Jesse Tinsley pledged on LinkedIn and elsewhere to honor previous buyer funds.
“We’re honoring all prepaid Bench services even though we will not have the revenue from that directly ourselves,” Tinsley mentioned in an interview with founder and investor Julian Weisser.
But some Bench clients say they’re being charged to get books or tax returns they beforehand paid for.
A lawsuit filed on Tuesday by Bench buyer Qorum claims that Bench required it to pay to get its 2023 tax return, regardless of having already paid for the service below Bench’s earlier house owners.
“Defendant Jesse Tinsley made negligent misrepresentations when he falsely stated that Employer.com would honor prepaid Bench services,” the lawsuit alleges.
Another buyer, who requested anonymity, was shocked to be taught they wanted to resume their subscription to get accounting books accomplished once they paid for that service two years in the past, in response to correspondence seen by TechCrunch.
When they questioned this, a Bench consultant advised them that “Bench 2.0” has no affiliation with prior obligations and that Employer.com couldn’t tackle unpaid work.
Employer.com’s CMO Matt Charney strongly disputes that Bench is charging for beforehand paid work. “We have been, and are honoring pre-paid services for our customers,” he mentioned.
Charney additionally mentioned it delivered that tax 2023 return to Qorum with out requiring further fee. But Qorum’s founder Andrew Pietra advised TechCrunch he was required to proceed his subscription to get the return within the first place.
Under its earlier possession, Bench burned by means of $135 million and struggled to get AI to exchange human bookkeepers. That led to lengthy delays and massive piles of books that also wanted to be accomplished, in response to former workers.
Multiple Bench clients beforehand advised TechCrunch that Employer.com had additionally despatched them notices supposed to get them to click on on a consent button that had them foregoing refunds on pay as you go companies.
Many books and returns remained incomplete when Bench abruptly shut down on December 26 final yr. Employer.com, a U.S. firm, introduced plans to purchase the Canadian fintech lower than 72 hours later.
Employer.com purchased Bench for $9 million, chapter filings submitted in Canada present.
The fintech’s abrupt collapse was brought on by an absence of liquidity after its fundamental creditor, the National Bank of Canada, declined to lend it an extra $7.7 million in December 2024. The NBC had already supplied $51 million USD in credit score to the troubled startup, in response to earlier filings.
Ironically, it’s the information of Bench’s sudden shutdown that led to its rescue. The firm had beforehand shopped itself round however didn’t discover a severe purchaser, the filings word.
