Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Recently I shared my review regarding TPG and I haven't received my 2022 Amended Tax check. I would like to let everyone know that I did receive my check on 04/07/2023. They will send your check to your updated address once the Ideminity Bond is notarized. I am still giving them a 1 rating because I have been going back and forth with them regarding this issue.

TOG sent a check ti an ild address I didn’t receive it. I filled out the Ideminity Bond for them to disburse another check. At first they told me they didnt get the firm until I calked them out and stated CS dept escalated and stated it has been over 5 days and they did receive it. They finally emailed me and stated that my check was mailed on 3/10 and here is 3/17. It doesnt take a check that long to be mailed unless they didnt mail it on the day they stated. This is ridiculous that TOG does this too people. Tax pepareres really need to stop using this bank. This is disgusting about how their Reps lie. I just want my money!

I was paid out way less then my tax refund should have been. Turbo Tax and Santa Barbara Tax Products Group are a total SCAM!

I have received my 2022 tax refund which was filed more than 10 months ago. The IRS processed and funded my refund and somehow my bank returned it. Over the course of 10 months I’ve filed Form 3911 with two different IRS agents. Completed Indemnity Bond forms for TPG with notary. TPG took 6 months to return the funds to the IRS and gave me a Green DOT yet the IRS still hasn’t received any funds from them what so ever. The IRS has submitted the case to BFS for an investigation. At years end “2022” TPG website no longer shows my refund on the site. TPG stated they’ve mailed a refund check which was never received. Website stated funds were direct deposited which my account shows it was rejected and sent back to TPG. Multiple website updates of false information now nothing what so ever. No to mention the hours of waiting on hold to speak to some incompetent agent with no answers.

I am very disappointed with what is happening. Tpg has not issued checks of almost 20 Clients whose refunds were confirmed paid by the IRS. It’s been over 2 months some of our clients are still waiting on us to print their checks how ever the system is not even cooperating. We can’t access the checks or even see our reports. As tax prepares we should be able to print checks for clients but TPG has refused access and has not given us any reason. We are all in a state of confusion

BBB CASE#: 40062726
*** We are waiting for the business to respond. They have until February 28, 2022 to respond to this complaint.

If you have information you would like to provide regarding this complaint or need to upload a document, click here. ***

Attached documents, if there are any, can be found in the "Complaint Status" area under the various links. Or they can be found below in the section called "All attachments for this complaint."

Complaint filed by:
Christopher Bennett (More)
Complaint filed against:
Civista Bank (More)
Complaint status:
Activity
Date
Activity
Description
02/14/2022 Notify Business of Dispute
02/14/2022 Send Acknowledgement to Consumer
02/14/2022 Case Reviewed by BBB
02/12/2022 Case Received by BBB
(Less)
Case Description:
I filed my state taxes for 2021 separately through freetaxusa. I confirmed ith CA FTB that My refund was approved and sent on Feb 1 to a Civistia bank acct not my bank account. This I assume was to pay the $40 fees. My software provider keeps referring me to contact Santa barbara tpg website but there is no information of an account in their system. I also contacted civistia bank who also assure me they do not have my refund.I usually receive this within 3 days and this organization along with TPG seemed to be promoting a suitable service to tax software providers and mishandling peoples deposits with no sense of ownership or ability to properly execute and streamline transactions or so they can assist taxpayers with solving issues like this. I need my refund.!
(Less)
BBB Designated Category:
Customer Service Issues
Case opened date:
02/14/2022
Case closed date:

Desired Resolution:
Refund: Refund... (More)

Optional: You may download a copy of this complaint so you can print it for your records
Once you have submitted your response, you can download a copy of this complaint including your response by clicking the link above.

I am interested in filing a class suit against Santa Barbara Tax Payer Group for mishandling customer tax refunds, holding my refund without cause and many other deceitful things I think they are doing with people's refunds such and, not forwarding refunds from the irs and state tax board in timely manner. My CA state taxes were filed online through freetaxusa.com on 1.24 22 and approved and issued for direct deposit Feb. 1 and elected to defer the $14.99 filing fee and a $19 processing fee from my state refund instead of paying up front . The refund was to be deposited into my account within 10 days. It usually only takes 3 or 4 days. I verified that the CA state tax board sent my tax refund direct deposit to the temporary sbtpg bank account on Feb. 1st and they said it should have been deposited into my regular bank within 2 days after sbtpg deducts their filing fees.
Many customers are complaining all over the BBB website and other forums about the unfair tactics of this bank and major tax preparer software companies like TurboTax using unscrupulous practices to swindle customers mon

and increase their profit by injecting hidden fees and failing electronic deposit transfers to implement alternative check printing charges that customers aren't agreeing to when we file our taxes through these tax software provider companies. SBTPG purposely holding tax refunds amd issuing checks instead of direct deposit amd lying about it. Causing people with finamcial burden to deal with long delays im receiving tax refunds, some customers complained of 5 to 6 month delays on top of the delays proprietary to the IRS and state processing the returns first. The agencies aren't available by phone and don't respond to customer emails, I've sent several. Customers are left in the dark for long periods of time wondering where our refund is and who actually has it. It took me nearly two weeks to speak to someone and I had to deceive the phone system to do so. Apparently SBTPG has a track record of not pushing the deposits to the customers bank accounts like are suppose to, instead sending out cashier checks so they are able to charge additional fees for the processes. They tell custimers this was necessary due to the customer bank rejecting the deposits but the customer banks show no record of deposit attempts. I believe this is what I am currently experiencing and I still have dont know where my refund is. AND why sbtpg is instructing me that my refund is holding awaiting my federal refund to be received when I absolutely did not elect to have my federal refund go through them. My federal taxes were filed separately and gave nothing to do with this refund transfer for my state refund, nor should my state refund be held based on the PAYH ACT which only applies to federal returns. How dare SBTPG advertise speedy refund transfers without delay in the refund turn around time. Judging by all the horrible reviews all over the internet, I can't help but wonder if this company is trying to undermind customers who file their ststw into refunds to get their hands on a cut if our federal refunds somehow. I plan to sue and I have already began my search for legal representation for a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against them their affiliate entities and the software tax prep companies who use their services at the expense of us poor, desperate taxpayers who hVe no idea of what we're getting ourselves into when we check that little box that makes it sound like we're getting a swift refund and paying a small fee when we don't afford to pay the $20 upfront to file our taxes.

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.As per my last complaint this matter has not been closed I wish to have email contact information from Natalina Reda who responded to my complaintI now have tried to contact SBTGP via phone and prompts lead me to a wrong information and refer to website which is unhelpful, with no option to speak with customer serviceAs of today the Mrs Harris at the IRS as not received my tax refund of $Per the repose letter there is no time frame of when or how long this refund process can takeLast response stated it could take at least days on 04/10/We are close to one monthOriginal refund from IRS was paid to SBTGp on 3/29/My goal is only to receive email from SBTGP Natalina Reda to resolve status on my refund I appreciate any and all assistance in this matterAs per internet I am not the only person who has these issues with SBTGP, including the complaints on Revdex.com website alone, and many more : https://www.google.com/search?q=santa+barbara+ [redacted] Kindly, [redacted] ***Regards, [redacted] ***

[redacted] N Maxwell St Apt Allentown PA Re: Case Dear [redacted] , This is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) to the Revdex.com of San Diego on May 18, regarding service issues We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the manner in which your inquiry was handled by our Customer Service agents Customer courtesy is an extreme priority for us and our obligation is to always process customer inquiries in a respectful manner In the scenario described in your complaint you have chosen a do-it-yourself tax preparation software package such as Turbo Tax The taxpayer is entirely responsible for the information provided to the software including the disbursement account where the refund will be deposited Turbo Tax software requires that the taxpayer identify a bank account number where they want the refund depositedOn February 13, the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your Turbo Tax user fees and an additional bank deposit product feeThe balance was deposited to the account instructed on The Citizens Banking Company Refund Processing AgreementThe routing number used belongs to a prepaid card; however they rejected the funds and declared your account R“No Account/Unable to Locate Account” Delays of up to five or six business days may occur before the Bank receives back the rejected transaction New funds cannot be re-disbursed until the rejected transaction is returned to the BankThe funds were returned to TPG on February 18, TPG notifies the customer, through e-mail, at the time of funding, that the refund has been received and will be deposited into the bank account The customer is given thr TPG website and phone contact information if they have any questions or problems TPG allows taxpayers the opportunity to correct their initial mistake and avoid reprocessing until the item is reprocessed, which may be several days or several weeks TPG offers a website where customers can change their account information TPG’s customer service efforts are highly successful as customers each year utilize the Web to change account information prior to IRS funding Because your attempt to change your account information failed we were unable to obtain the personal information from you in order to verify your identity and to make the applicable changes needed to correct your account informationFunds returned to the IRS on March 18, Please allow approximately 10-weeks from March for the IRS to acknowledge receipt of funds Please feel free to contact me at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday am to pm, if you have any further questions or concerns regarding this complaint Respectfully, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

February 29, [redacted] Dear Ms [redacted] , This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 19, Your complaint stated that after learning your refund was directed to TPG on February 2nd, you were told that instead of a direct deposit, TPG was going to send you the check via mail, which would take daysAfter two weeks, you still have not received your check Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax On February 2, the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your Turbo Tax user fees and an additional Bank processing fee for the RT The balance was deposited to the account instructed on the [redacted] Refund Processing Agreement Your financial institution rejected the funds and declared the account an R04/“Invalid Account Number”You may contact your financial institution and provide them with trace number: [redacted] for further details regarding the rejection of fundsThe funds were returned to TPG on February 5, If a taxpayer enters a bank account that is closed, incorrect, or associated with other issues at the financial institution, the transaction is rejected by the receiving bankIn these cases, the receiving bank “rejects” the transaction, and returns the funds to the sender, in this case, TPGTPG has nothing to do with the incorrect account information entered by the taxpayer or the receiving bank’s decision to reject the fundsOnce TPG receives the rejected refund, the company has the option of making another attempt to disburse the funds to the customer or simply returning the funds to the IRS Controls are in place to protect our customers from identity theft and fraudTPG was able to verify your information and release the hold from your accountOn February 8th, TPG processed your tax refund as a check and mailed it to you on or around the same dateYour account confirms that the check was received and cashed on February 25, If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted] , Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

March 15, [redacted] Dear Ms [redacted] , This is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on March 7, According to your complaint, you filed your tax return; however, the account number was entered incorrectly and your refund was sent back to TPG by your financial institutionYou stated days passed since you uploaded your ID and have yet to resolve this matter Upon review of your record, an RT was chosen when you taxes were prepared through Turbo TaxOn February 23, the IRS funded the federal return; fees were deducted to pay the Turbo Tax user fees and an additional Bank processing fee for the RTThe balance was deposited to the account instructed on the [redacted] Bank Refund Processing AgreementThe financial institution rejected the fundsPlease note, as a risk control, rejected transactions are placed on hold until TPG can verify the taxpayer’s identity, at which time a Cashier’s Check is issued On March 1, 2016, you contacted TPG to inform TPG that you sent the appropriate documents to identify yourself as the account holder You were advised it would take up to seven business days to verify your informationPlease note, due to the volume during the same time frame, TPG extended the review period On March 8, 2016, TPG was able to verify your information and released the hold on the account The refund was reissued as a Cashier’s Check on March 8, TPG confirmed that the check was verified on March 14, Based on the USA Patriot Act, TPG is required to take reasonable steps to ensure it is sending a check to the appropriate person to ensure that the process is not part of a fraudulent scheme Asking for identification is a reasonable and necessary step to limit identity theft It is unfortunate that it does take several days for the process but most taxpayers appreciate knowing that reasonable safeguards are in place to prevent someone from committing identity theft and stealing a taxpayer’s refund in this manner TPG is sorry for any inconvenience that you may have experiencedIf you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at [redacted] , Monday through Friday 7:am to 3:pmRespectfully, [redacted] Senior Compliance Analyst, SBTPG

[redacted] RE: Case [redacted] October 26, Dear [redacted] ***, This is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) to the Better Business Bureau of San Diego on October 19, regarding service issues TPG, on behalf of our Bank, offers tax related financial products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providersThese products provide the taxpayer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any out-of-pocket costsWhen you prepared your tax return through Turbo Tax, you chose to deduct fees from your refundWhen the taxpayer selects our bank product, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the BankWhen the Bank receives the IRS refund (usually less than days from the filing date), the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank fee In your complaint you asked why TPG never contacted youTPG notifies the customer, through e-mail, at the time of funding, that the refund has been receivedThe customer is given the TPG website and phone contact information if they have any questions or problems Controls are in place to protect our customers from identity theft and fraud in cooperation with the IRSAccording to the contract, funds are held to allow the customer ample time to contact us regarding their refund and to verify their identity in order to release the funds through another disbursement methodSince the funds went unclaimed, TPG is obligated to forward monies back to the IRSTPG has returned funds associated with your tax return filing back to the Internal Revenue Service, specifically the RICS/IVO Division of the IRS in Fresno, on October 9, The funds were sent back electronically via the FMS ACH Credit Gateway processPlease allow approximately 10-weeks from the date for the IRS to acknowledge receipt of funds Please feel free to contact me at 877- [redacted] , Monday through Friday am to pm if you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint Respectfully, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

[redacted] size="3"> [redacted] RE: Case [redacted] Dear [redacted] , This is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to the Revdex.com on February 18, regarding funds never received Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through [redacted] ***On February 5, the [redacted] funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your Turbo Tax user feesThe balance was deposited to the account instructed on the [redacted] ***, N.ARefund Processing AgreementYour Bank rejected the funds and declared the account an R“No account/Unable to locate account”The funds were returned to [redacted] on February 6, Our regulators require that we follow Customer Identification Program (CIP) and Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, which are part of the statute of the USA Patriot ActOnce you were verified as the lawful owner of the funds, your refund was released [redacted] issued a Cashier’s Check on February 21, and mailed to the address on record Please allow business days for receipt of your check Please feel free to contact me at [redacted] , Monday through Friday am to pm if you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint Respectfully, [redacted]

February 10, [redacted] ***> Dear Ms***, This is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) to the Revdex.com on February 8, You have stated within your complaint that you requested TPG to send your refund via direct deposit, but the direct deposit was rejected by your bank because it exceeded the daily allowanceUnfortunately, TPF has no control over your bank’s decision to reject the depositTPG made another attempt to disburse funds to youYour refund was converted into a Cashier’s Check and was mailed to your on 2/6/Please allow 5-business days for the check to reach youOn behalf of TPG, I would like to formally apologize for any trouble or inconvenience this may have caused youIf you have any questions or have not received your refund, please contact me at [redacted] , Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pmSincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

February 17, [redacted] Dear Ms [redacted] , This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 11, You contacted TPG’s customer service regarding your IRS tax return refundYou stated that the phone lines did not work and our phones hung up on you at times while trying to inquire about refund Upon review of your record, TPG has not received your tax refund from the IRS to dateAdditionally, TPG has contacted your online tax software provider and it was confirmed that your federal return was accepted on January but no funds were received from the IRSAs of now, neither TPG nor your tax preparer received funding from the IRS related to your tax return There are a number of reasons this may occur, but in order for TPG to locate your refund, we will need you to personally go through the IRS website to file a trace requestA trace request is the process the IRS uses to track your refundYou can call the IRS Refund Hotline at [redacted] and use the automated system or speak with an employee for a walk-throughBelow, I have outlined the steps needed to correctly file a trace request First, you will need to access the IRS.gov website and click the “Refunds” option at the top of the pageThere is a button located in the middle of the page, “Where’s my refund”, that you will need to clickYou will be asked to submit specific information to the IRS in order to access the trace request pageThe option for a trace request will ask you to provide more information regarding your returnOnce you provide the correct information, the IRS will send you a trace number that can be used to locate your refund Please submit this trace number to TPG and we will use that information to locate your funds with [redacted] *** We are expecting extremely large call volumes which correlates to an extremely large, and unexpected, funding from the IRSThis unexpected spike in business has caused extreme demand on our resources and unfortunate delays in processingWe apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the manner in which your inquiry was handled by our Customer Service agents If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted] , Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

April 14, [redacted] Dear Ms [redacted] , This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Better Business Bureau on April 7, In your complaint you stated that you were given a wrong timeframe for when to expect your refundYou were told TPG would send your refund as check via mailSince February you have been waiting to receive your refund as a check Upon review of your account, your financial institution rejected the funds because the specified account number was invalid Please note, as a risk control, rejected transactions are placed on hold until TPG can verify the taxpayer’s identity, at which time a Cashier’s Check is issued On February 16, TPG was able to verify your identity and release the hold on your accountTPG sent your refund as a Cashier’s Check via regular mail on February Since then, you claimed that you could no longer receive mail at the address on record but had mail forwarding completed at USPSYou confirmed you have not received your check Please fill out the attached Indemnity Bond and send back via fax or emailPlease note, you will need to have the Indemnity Bond notarizedOnce you submit the Indemnity Bond back to me, TPG can begin to process a new Cashier’s CheckTPG Compliance will provide you the form and instructions via email Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our service did not meet your expectationsIf you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

March 14, [redacted] , [redacted] [redacted] Dear Mr [redacted] , This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on March 4, In your complaint, you stated that you filed your taxes through [redacted] ***Under unfortunate circumstances, your wife passed away and TPG required you to send your identification and her death certificateYou have not heard about your refund since you sent TPG your information Thank you for forwarding your information to TPGOn March 9, 2016, TPG was able to verify the information you provided and released the hold on the accountThe refund was reissued as a Cashier’s Check on March 10, As a courtesy, TPG also remitted the processing fee via checkThe refund is currently processing and is in pending statusPlease allow up to days for the check to reach your address on record Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our service did not meet your expectationsWe hope we were able to offer a fair solution to your complaintIf you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted] , Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

Santa Barbra Tax Group is saying that they contacted me about my account being on holdThis is falseI never got an email from themI had the IRS trace were the check was sent toAll my identity was verified with the IRS and Turbo TaxThis is hold of the Federal Return check is happening to just not me They hold up the money to collect interestedSBTG is only suppose to take the Turbo Tax Fee

May 6, [redacted] Chicago, IL Dear [redacted] ***, We are writing in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) on April 26, Your complaint stated when you filed your taxes, you elected to have your tax software fees deducted from your tax refund On February 10, 2016, you received notification indicating that your refund was paid You contacted TPG to tell them that your bank closed your account and asked that your refund be returned to you or to the IRS You were not informed that you needed to send in your identification in order to allow TPG to release your refund to youOn March 31, 2016, you received an email stating your refund was returned to the IRSAfter speaking an agent at the IRS, you were informed that they haven’t received your refund nor was there an attempt made by TPG until April 19, To address your complaint while protecting your identity we have written you a detailed letter with specific information regarding your accountPlease refer to tracking number [redacted] *** Our letter outlines the timeline of events and referenced specific dollar amountsTo respond to your Revdex.com complaint, we will summarize the events, but please reference the letter we sent you for additional detailsIn summary, on January 19, 2016, TPG received your electronic filing record from Turbo TaxThis means that you used tax software to prepare your own tax return and you elected to utilize a Refund Transfer (RT) to pay your software feesTPG received the data file and no monies were transferred On February 9, 2016, your refund was approved by the IRS and payment was made to TPG On February 9, 2016, TPG made payment to the bank you indicated on your tax returnUnfortunately, the account you designated your refund to be deposited into was closed which caused your bank, The Fifth Third Bank, to reject the transaction on February 12, Your return was sent back to TPG and placed on hold in a non-interest bearing accountOn February 25, 2016, you called TPG inquiring about your refund statusA TPG representative informed you that your account was placed on a hold and provided you instructions to remove the hold You requested that your funds be returned to the IRSTPG sent your refund, back to the IRS, as per your request Please understand that due to heightened fraud in the tax industry we need to have validation procedures in place to verify the identity of transactions that meet certain criteriaSince your payment was rejected from your bank, we require that you help us validate your account by providing identification We understand your frustration and apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experiencedSincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

The issue was resolvedI am sorry, I did not know how to let you know [redacted]