Bench customers are feeling pressured to share their data or risk losing it, according to reports

Following the unexpected closure of accounting startup Bench on December 27 and its subsequent acquisition by Employer.com, customers are facing challenges in retrieving their financial data. Some customers are expressing dissatisfaction with the situation, as reported by TechCrunch.

Bench, a Canadian startup that raised significant funding, left many businesses without access to their accounting and tax documents upon its closure. The acquisition by Employer.com, a San Francisco-based HR tech company specializing in payroll and onboarding, raised concerns due to its lack of expertise in accounting and tax services.

Despite claims of profitability, some Bench customers are wary of Employer.com’s capabilities in handling their financial data. One customer mentioned encountering difficulties in obtaining refunds and criticized the company’s handling of the situation.

In another instance, a long-time Bench customer shared his experience of being pressured into accepting updated terms in order to access and transfer his data to Employer.com. This forced agreement raised suspicions among users regarding the transparency of the process.

Amidst these challenges, customers like Michelle Gayle are exploring alternative providers due to concerns about Employer.com’s suitability in managing their financial information.

“They have concealed the fact that this new ‘acknowledgement’ is the same as the previous ‘consent’ and it is backed up by a privacy policy that is not adequate for the financial services that Bench.com provides,” she said. ”Additionally, they are offering discounts on recruitment services which seem tone deaf and inappropriate given this situation.”

She went on to describe Employer.com’s privacy policy as laughable.

“This policy has absolutely nothing to do with safeguarding financial data and when I tried to email legal@employer.com about this woefully inadequate policy, I received a bounce-back message,” she added.

The above complaints are echoed on a Reddit thread full of comments of disappointed former customers.

For its part, Employer.com says customers can access their data by providing consent, which authorizes Employer.com “to make their data available for download.”

“After consenting, customers can manage their data, including downloading, deleting, or continuing services on the platform,” Employer.com’s Charney told TechCrunch. “Once consent is given, they can choose to continue with the same contract and pricing as before or cancel their service.”

As for customers seeking refunds for advance payments they made that covered future services that the defunct Bench will no longer deliver, Charney said they will need to contact the bankruptcy trustee for Bench Accounting Inc. or attempt to request a refund through Stripe.

Post-publication, Charney provided the following quote regarding the consent around customer data: “Simply put, the only way that they can get their data at all is to opt into giving Employer.com permission to access their data, because the only other entity that currently has that data to begin with no longer exists and is in active bankruptcy proceedings. So if they don’t consent to give Employer.com access, then they’re not going to get that data at all. It’s really the only way we can make sure that any Bench customer, whether or not they choose to remain one, can access those records. We will delete all data of any user who chooses to opt out immediately after they download the data, and will not retain any of their information at all.”