Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Dear [redacted], This letter is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 22, 2017. To give you some background information and help you appreciate our role in your complaint, we would like to explain...

TPG’s relationship with [redacted] Bank. TPG, on behalf of [redacted] Bank (Bank), offers tax related financial products through a network of independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providers. These products provide the taxpayer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any upfront fees. When your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax, you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) product. When the taxpayer selects an RT, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the Bank. When the Bank receives the IRS refund, the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank fee. The balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayer. In the complaint received, it was stated that, on February 8, 2017, you received an email from Turbo Tax confirming a refund was transferred to TPG. After waiting 7 days for the refund to be deposited, you emailed TPG inquiring why the funds have not been sent, although notified it would take 2 days. TPG replied, “Your request is being reviewed by our support staff.” On February 14, 2017, TPG sent an email requesting ID verification, due to unusual activity on your account. Reluctant to do so, you uploaded your identification for the second time. After many attempts in contacting a customer service representative, you kept receiving automated responses. To address your complaint, we have listed the timeline of the events below: According to our records, on January 31, 2017, TPG received your electronic filing record from [redacted].com. This means that you used [redacted].com software to prepare your tax return and elected to utilize a “Refund Transfer” (RT) to pay for your software fees. On February 7, 2017, due to certain fraud filters, your account was flagged for unusual activity, in a non­interest bearing account for additional verification. At that time, TPG notified you that a hold had been placed on your account via the email address provided upon filing this year’s tax return. To remove an account hold, we ask customers to simply provide us a copy of their unexpired government issued identification, such as a driver’s license or passport. This allows us to verify your identity and remove the hold from your account. The verification process can take up to 7 business days to review the ID. The enhanced due diligence is part of routine audits we undertake in cooperation with the IRS, funds are held in order to verify the identity of each record holder and request the necessary documentation to confirm the tax return in question before releasing any funds.  These controls are in place to protect our customers from identity theft and fraud. Many companies, including most banks, feel that tax refunds with suspicious account attributes are high risk and rather than trying to perform additional due diligence they simply return the funds to the IRS.  TPG feels a better option for their valued customers is to try to perform additional steps to validate accounts and release the holds.  We understand that 7 business days is inconvenient, but we feel confident that a minor inconvenience of seven days is much superior to a 10 - 12 week delay, which is what the customers would be facing if the funds are returned to the IRS. On February 7, 2017, your refund was approved by the IRS and payment was made to TPG, but remained on hold. Unfortunately, the identification documentation you sent to TPG was unsuccessful to release the hold and you were asked to re-authenticate on February 14, 2017.   On February 23, 2017, TPG was able to validate your identification and released the account hold. On that same day, TPG deducted the fees related to your Refund Transfer and made a payment in the amount of $[redacted] to the account designated on your return. Please refer to the client letter mailed to the address on file for the tracking details. We are very sorry for any inconvenience you have experienced. Please understand that with the heightened fraud in the tax industry, TPG is required to set up processes to protect our clients and help limit identity theft. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact TPG directly at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

March 17, 2017 [redacted]
[redacted] Dear Mr. [redacted], We are writing in response to a complaint filed through the Revdex.com against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) on March 15, 2017. Please allow me to explain the role of TPG in this matter. TPG, on...

behalf of [redacted] (Bank), offers tax related financial products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providers. These products provide the taxpayer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any upfront fees. When your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax, you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) product. When the taxpayer selects an RT, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the Bank (Please reference the RT Application enclosed in your personal letter). No interest is earned on your deposit and it is not being used by any financial institution during the processing of your refund. When the Bank receives the IRS refund, the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees. The balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayer. According to our records, on February 4, 2017, TPG received your electronic filing record from Turbo Tax. This means that you utilized tax software to prepare your tax return and elected to initiate a Refund Transfer to pay your software fees. TPG received the data file and no monies were transferred. Due to certain fraud filters, your account was placed on hold in a non­interest bearing account for additional verification. On February 22, 2017 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your Turbo Tax user fees. To remove an account hold, we ask customers to simply provide us a copy of their unexpired government issued identification, such as a driver’s license or passport. This allows us to verify your identity and remove the hold from your account. On March 16, 2017, TPG was able to validate your identification and released the account hold. Your account was placed through enhanced due diligence at TPG to protect your account from fraud.  Please understand that as a financial services business we are required to perform reasonable monitoring procedures to ensure fraud, such as ID theft, has not occurred through our business processes.  Certain factors in your tax return caused your account to be flagged as potentially suspicious. It is the industry standard to reject transactions which cannot be authenticated and return them to the originator, in this case the IRS. If the funds were returned directly to the IRS, the refund would be delayed for an extended period of time. Please understand that when TPG places a hold on the account it is for the benefit of the customer as it allows TPG to verify their identity, remove the hold from the account and release the funds to the lawful owner. TPG notifies the customer, through email, before funding, in order to process authentication and allow the refund to be deposited into the account once it is funded by the IRS without any further delays. We do apologize if you did not receive this email.   We are very sorry for any inconvenience you may have experienced, but please understand that with the heightened fraud in the tax industry, TPG is required to set up processes to protect our clients and help limit identity theft. TPG did not charge any fees for our service, and therefore, is unable to refund any fees. It is recommended that you contact the online software provider for further assistance related to the reimbursement of your tax preparation fees. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact TPG at 877-­908-­7228, Monday through Friday between 7:00am to 4:00pm (PST), or you may utilize our live customer support chat by logging onto https://help.sbtpg.com/hc/en-us/requests/new, Monday through Friday between 6:00am to 6:00pm (PST).   Respectfully,Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

August 19, 2016 [redacted]   Dear Ms. [redacted], This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on August 8, 2016. Your complaint stated that you applied to use TPG’s...

Refund Transfer (RT) product for the sole purpose to have fees deducted electronically. You were not notified that TPG received your funds nor were you notified there was a hold placed on your funds. After conducting your own investigation, you learned of the hold placed on your account. You called TPG and a representative notified you of our verification procedure in order to release your refund. TPG explained that it would take 7-10 days to verify and release the hold once your identification was received. Additionally, you were informed that if you did not send your identification within a timely manner, your refund would be sent back to the IRS and you would have to wait another 2 months to receive your refund. To address your complaint while still protecting your identity, we have written you a detailed letter with specific information related to your account. Our letter outlines the timeline of events and referenced specific dollar amounts. To respond to your Revdex.com complaint, we still summarize the events, but please reference the letter we sent you for additional details. On March 18, 2016, TPG received your electronic filing record from Turbo Tax. This means that you used tax software to prepare your own tax return and you elected to utilize a Refund Transfer to pay your software fees. TPG received the data file and no monies were transferred. On August 2, 2016, your refund was approved by the IRS and payment was made to TPG. Due to certain fraud filters, the transaction was placed on hold in a non-interest bearing account for additional verification. As stated in the [redacted] Bank Refund Processing Agreement you received on the Turbo Tax website, when TPG opens a Deposit Account for you for the purpose of receiving your IRS federal tax refund or if you apply for one of our products, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask for your driver’s license information or information from other identifying documents of yours. You electronically agreed to these governing terms and conditions through the software application. On August 11, 2016, you submitted your identification to TPG in order to release the hold on your account. On August 12, 2016, TPG’s Risk Department was able to successfully verify your identity and release the hold on your account. On the same day, TPG deposited your refund into the account you designated when you filed your tax return. TPG sent you an email that informed you that your refund was released and successfully deposited into your account. Please understand that with the heightened fraud in the tax industry, we are required to set up procedures to protect our clients from identity theft. We understand your frustration and apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact TPG at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm. Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

March 10, 2016
[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 February
29, 2016.
In your complaint, you...

stated that you called TPG after
learning there was an issue with your account which caused your funds to reject
back to TPG. When you were able to speak to a representative, you were told
that there were two options you could do, either have your refund sent back to
the IRS or have your identification verified through TPG and receive a check
within 10 days. After sending in your identification, you waited two weeks and
haven’t received your refund.
We experienced extremely large call volumes which correlated
to extremely large funding from the IRS. This unexpected spike in business
caused extreme demands on our resources such as our call center. We apologize
for the inconvenience this has caused you and the difficulty in reaching a customer
service agent.
Controls are in place to protect our customers from identity
theft and fraud. On February 26, TPG was able to verify your identity and
released the hold on the account. The refund was reissued as a Cashier’s Check
and mailed it to your address on record. TPG confirmed that the check was
negotiated on March 5, 2016.
Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our
service did not meet your expectations. 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

Dear [redacted], This letter is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group through the Revdex.com on April 28, 2017. Please allow me to explain the role of TPG in this matter. TPG, on behalf of Green Dot Bank (Bank), offers tax related financial...

products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providers. These products provide the taxpayer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any upfront fees. This service is optional. When your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax, you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) product. When the Bank receives the IRS refund, the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees. The balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayer. To help you understand our process we have listed out the events associated with your account as follows:  ·        According to our records, on March 13, 2017, TPG received your electronic filing record from the online software provider, TurboTax.com. This means that you elected to initiate a Refund Transfer to pay your tax preparation fees. ·        On March 21, 2017, TPG received payment related to your 2016 federal tax refund. TPG deducted the fees related to your tax software fees and Refund Transfer. Please refer to the detailed client letter mailed to the address on record regarding the deposit transaction. ·        On March 23, 2017, the funds were returned to TPG due to the financial institution rejecting the deposit and declaring the account an R03/“No Account/Unable to Locate Account”. Please refer to the detailed client letter mailed to the address on record for the tracking information regarding the rejection of funds. ·        Note that once TPG receives the rejected refund, we have the option of making another attempt to disburse funds to the customer. TPG delivered your refund through an alternative delivery method, which was a paper check mailed to the address of record.  ·        On March 24, 2017, TPG issued a check and mailed it to the address on record. ·        On April 7, 2017, the check was returned to TPG as undeliverable. TPG could not proceed any further in our efforts after the two failed attempts in disbursing your refund. For your protection, TPG is obligated to return the funds back to the IRS, specifically the RICS/IVO Division of the IRS in Fresno, California. ·        On April 17, 2017, you called TPG inquiring about the status of your refund. You were advised, due to two unsuccessful attempts in delivering your refund, the funds will be sent back to the IRS. On April 26, 2017 TPG began the process of electronically returning funds to the IRS. This process can take at least 15 business days. The IRS must approve the return of funds before Green Dot/TPG may complete the process. TPG expects the IRS to accept the funds by May 12, 2017.This accounts for the timeframe between when your check was returned to TPG and when the funds are received by the IRS. Please be advised that once the funds have been returned to the IRS, it can be several weeks before they acknowledge receipt and post to your account. TPG understands your frustration in not being able to contact a representative. We are very sorry for any inconvenience you may have experienced. Please understand, due to increased security measures to protect our customers personal information, TPG has controls in place to minimize potential fraudulent tax returns. These controls do not allow us to change bank routing/account information once it has been submitted. If you have any additional concerns, you may contact TPG at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday between 7:00 am to 4:00 pm (PST).  Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

March 8, 2017 Dear [redacted], This letter is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on March 1, 2017. Please allow me to explain the role of TPG in this matter. TPG, on behalf of [redacted] Bank (Bank),...

offers taxrelated financial products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providers. These products provide the tax payer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any upfront fees. When you prepared your taxes through [redacted], you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) product. When the tax payer selects an RT, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the Bank. When the Bank receives the IRS refund, the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank fee. The balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the tax payer. In your complaint, you stated that at no point did Intuit disclose that TPG would process your return, nor did we reveal the purchase price for the tax filing service that was to be taken out of the return.  To address your complaint we have listed detailed information below: On January 23, 2017, TPG received your electronic filing record from [redacted]. This means that you utilized tax software to prepare your tax return and elected to initiate a Refund Transfer to pay your software fees.  On February 22, 2017, TPG received payment related to your 2016 federal tax refund. TPG deducted the fees related to your tax software fees and the RT fee and made payment to the account indicated on your tax return. Your financial institution rejected the funds and declared the account an R03 / “No Account/Unable to Locate Account”. You may contact [redacted] and provide them with trace number for further details regarding the rejection of funds. The funds were returned to TPG on February 24, 2016.     The SAMPLE screen shots and RT paperwork provided in the client letter mailed to you directly will establish that our fees and references to the Bank are adequately displayed on the [redacted] website as required by banking regulations. We have enclosed a copy of your Refund Transfer Application and Agreement for your review and personal files. You electronically agreed to these governing terms and conditions through the software application. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact TPG at [redacted], Monday through Friday between 7:00am to 4:00pm (PST). Sincerely, [redacted]Program Operations Manager

Dear Ms. [redacted],   This letter is in response to a complaint filed through the Revdex.com against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) on February 23, 2018. In the complaint received, it is stated that although you expected a return of $8424.00, TPG only deposited $480.07. On...

February 22, 2018, you received a notification from TurboTax that the refund would be deposited to your [redacted] on that date. You checked your [redacted] account and discovered that the deposit amount was less than the expected amount. After contacting TPG and hearing that there were no offsets, you are not sure where the remaining balance is, and therefore you would like TPG to release your funds. To give you some background information and help you appreciate our role in your complaint, we would like to explain TPG’s relationship with [redacted] ([redacted]). TPG is a third-party processor for the [redacted]. Through this relationship, [redacted] can offer tax products which are sold through TPG through independent tax professionals and online tax preparation services. The product you have used through TPG, called a “Refund Transfer”, allowed you to pay for your tax preparation fees and RT processing fee directly out of your tax refund. According to our records, TPG received your electronic filing record from TurboTax on January 23, 2018. This means that you used tax software to prepare your own tax return and you elected to utilize a Refund Transfer to pay your software fees. In the meantime, for purposes unknown to TPG, the Financial Management Service (FMS) intercepted your refund before it was received at TPG. FMS offsets taxpayers’ refunds through the Treasury Offset Program to pay off past-due federal agency non-tax debts such as child support, student loans, and state income tax obligations. On February 21, 2018, your refund was approved by the FMS and payment was made to TPG. On that same date, TPG deducted the software fee and the RT processing fee and deposited the remaining balance to the [redacted] account indicated on your tax return. Please reference the detailed letter mailed to the address on record for funding and fee amounts. Neither TPG nor the IRS is provided with the specific information of your debt. It is advised that you contact the Treasury Offset Program at (800) 304-3107 for further details regarding the government debt. The FMS will send a notice in the mail informing you of any government offset that was made. You may also utilize the “Where’s My Refund” tool at the IRS to check on the status of your refund including any notices of refund reductions (https://www.irs.gov/refunds). If you have any questions or concerns, please, do not hesitate to contact TPG directly at 858-550-5072, Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm PST.   Respectfully, [redacted] Program Operations Analyst

Dear Mr. [redacted],   This letter is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on November 17, 2017.   In the complaint received, you state that there were issues surrounding your 2014 tax refund. Your refund was...

placed on a [redacted] card; however, you never received the card. You attempted to contact TPG, but were unable to speak to a live representative. To solve this issue, you want assistance in locating and retrieving your refund.   First and foremost, we would like to apologize for not being able to reach a live customer service agent during your call. We take this complaint very seriously and are committed to providing you a positive experience with our company.   To give you some background information and help you appreciate our role in your complaint, we would like to explain TPG’s relationship with [redacted]. TPG was a third party processor for the Bank. Through this relationship, Sunrise is able to offer tax products which are sold through TPG through independent tax professionals and online tax preparation services. The product you have used through TPG, called a “Refund Transfer”, allowed you to pay for your tax preparation fees and RT processing fee directly out of your tax refund. This service is optional. This saved you the difficulty of paying these fees upfront to the software provider.   To address your complaint, we have listed the timeline of events below: According to our records, on February 17, 2014, TPG received your electronic filing record from the online service provider, Turbo Tax. This means that you used tax software to prepare your own tax return and you elected to utilize a Refund Transfer to pay your RT processing fee. TPG received the data file and no monies were transferred.On February 24, 2014, your refund was approved by the IRS and payment was made to TPG in the amount of $114.On February 24, 2014, TPG deducted fees related to your software fee and RT processing fee. The remaining balance was deposited into the account indicated on your tax return. Please reference the detailed client letter mailed to the address on regard for details regarding your account information. On November 17, 2017, you first emailed TPG Customer Service regarding your refund. On that same date, a customer service representative replied and informed you that your refund –  minus software and RT Processing fees – was issued through the disbursement method indicated on your return.On November 20, 2017, you contacted TPG again regarding your return. At your request, TPG provided you with a Letter of Research (LOR) regarding the details associated with your refund.On November 21, 2017, TPG received a formal complaint regarding your outstanding refund. TPG contacted [redacted] Bank on your behalf and confirmed funds related to your 2014 refund was in fact deposited and disbursed to you as indicated on your return. Unfortunately, TPG is unable to get specific details regarding your disbursement from [redacted] Bank with you on the line. We have attempted to contact you via phone in order to conference in the Bank, but were unable to get through due to a busy dial tone. Please provide a number we can reach you directly in order to resolve your issue.  TPG is very sorry for any inconvenience you have experienced. If you have any questions or concerns, please, do not hesitate to contact TPG directly at [redacted], Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm.   Sincerely,       [redacted] Program Operations Analyst

April 7, 2016
[redacted]
Dear [redacted],
On behalf of Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) we do
apologize for not notifying you regarding the status of your refund.
TPG has a strict policy regarding our reprocessing
procedures. When a taxpayer’s refund is rejected by their bank, TPG will place
a hold on the account until the taxpayer’s identity is verified. Once TPG
verifies your identity, TPG will only reprocess your refund as a Cashier’s
Check to ensure that it will reach you within a timely manner. This procedure
also ensures that there will not be any more issues after sending your refund
as a direct deposit again to the incorrect account.
TPG experienced an unexpected spike in business which had
caused extreme demand on our resources and unfortunate delays in our
verification process. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.
TPG apologizes for any inconvenience you have experienced
when receiving your tax return. As a courtesy, TPG will refund you the $20
processing fee you incurred.
 Sincerely,
[redacted]
Compliance Analyst

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. 
Regards,
[redacted]

[redacted]
RE: Case [redacted]
October 7,
Dear
[redacted],
My
sincere apologies, we should have contacted you with the FedEx trace
number
Customer courtesy is an extreme priority for us and in this case, we apparently
failed you. All the customer agents
involved have been reminded of their obligation to follow through on special
requests and communicate the tracking details with the customer
Controls are in
place to protect our customers from identity theft and fraudOur regulators
require that we follow Customer Identification Program (CIP) and Know Your
Customer (KYC) proceduresPlease understand it is our obligation to
investigate these matters thoroughly to ensure the money is forwarded to the
lawful ownerOnce you were verified as the lawful owner of the funds, a refund
check was released on October 6, and as a gesture of goodwill mailed the
check FedEx to the address on record with a tracking number of [redacted]
Thank
you for your valuable input and recommendations which will be addressed in our
annual reviewRegular assessments such as these ensure our ability to continue
to deliver quality service.
Please
feel free to contact me at 877-9[redacted] Monday through Friday am to pm if
you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint
Respectfully,
[redacted]
Compliance
Analyst

Dear [redacted], This letter is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 22, 2017. Please allow me to explain the role of TPG in this matter. Tax Products Group (TPG) has multiple fraud filters aimed to detect and prevent fraud.  Transactions that meet specific criteria are placed on hold until the taxpayer can authenticate their identity. Due to industry requirements and company policy, if an account is flagged for unusual activity we are required to perform additional account due diligence in order to authenticate the identity of the taxpayer. As we previously explained, On February 7, 2017, your account was placed through enhanced due diligence at TPG to protect your account from fraud. Please understand that as a financial services business we are required to perform reasonable monitoring procedures to ensure fraud, such as ID theft, has not occurred through our business processes. Certain factors in your tax return caused your account to be flagged as potentially suspicious. Once the necessary steps of ID upload were completed, TPG notified you that the hold on your account would be released. No interest is earned on your deposit and your deposit is not being used by any financial institution during the processing of your refund. The accounts held at TPG are not accruing interest, but instead placed on hold until verification is complete. Please note that TPG uses the same process of many other financial institutions for the uploading and verification of identity documentation.     Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

March 3, 2017 [redacted]
Dear Mr. [redacted], We are writing in response to a complaint filed through the Revdex.com against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) on February 24, 2017. Please allow me to explain the role of TPG in this matter....

TPG, on behalf of [redacted] (Bank), offers tax related financial products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providers. These products provide the taxpayer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any upfront fees. This service is optional. When your taxes were prepared through [redacted], you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) product. When the taxpayer selects an RT, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the Bank (please see enclosed TPG and [redacted] Bank Refund Processing Agreement). When the Bank receives the IRS refund, the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank fee. The balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayer. In the complaint received, it was stated that there were problems surrounding the receipt of your tax refund as well as issues contacting customer service at TPG. According to our records, on January 29, 2017, TPG received your electronic filing record from [redacted]. This means that you utilized tax software to prepare your tax return and elected to initiate a Refund Transfer to pay your software fees. TPG received the data file and no monies were transferred. Due to certain fraud filters, your account was placed on hold in a non­interest bearing account for additional verification. At that time, TPG notified you that a hold had been placed on your account via the email address provided upon filing this year’s tax return. On February 14, 2017 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your [redacted] user fees and an additional Bank processing fee for the RT. To remove an account hold, we ask customers to simply provide us a copy of their unexpired government issued identification, such as a driver’s license or passport. This allows us to verify your identity and remove the hold from your account. TPG’s verification process can take up to 7 business days to review the ID. On March 2, 2017, TPG completed their review and released the account hold. The enhanced due diligence is part of routine audits we undertake in cooperation with the IRS, funds are held in order to verify the identity of each record holder and request the necessary documentation to confirm the tax return in question before releasing any funds. We are unable to discuss with taxpayers the particular filters TPG has in place to prevent fraudulent activities as it could compromise the protection we have for our clients, including yourself. It is the industry standard to reject transactions which cannot be authenticated and return them to the originator, in this case the IRS. If the funds were returned directly to the IRS, the refund would be delayed for an extended period of time. Please understand that when TPG places a hold on the account it is for the benefit of the customer as it allows TPG to verify their identity, remove the hold from the account and release the funds to the lawful owner. TPG notifies the customer, through email, before funding, in order to process authentication and allow the refund to be deposited into the account once it is funded by the IRS without any further delays. We do apologize if you did not receive this email. We are very sorry for any inconvenience you may have experienced, but please understand that with the heightened fraud in the tax industry, TPG is required to set up processes to protect our clients and help limit identity theft. Please also note that, due to the PATH Act, we are experiencing an influx in call volumes which correlates to extremely large funding from the IRS. This unexpected spike in business has caused extreme demand on our resources and call center. We are already seeing the volume subside and trend back to normal, however this may have caused the difficulty in reaching a live customer service agent. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact TPG at [redacted], Monday through Friday between 7:00am to 4:00pm (PST), or you may utilize our live customer support chat by logging onto https://help.sbtpg.com/hc/en-us/requests/new, Monday through Friday between 6:00am to 6:00pm (PST).   Respectfully,Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Dear Mr. [redacted], We are writing in response to a complaint filed through the Revdex.com against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) on February 27, 2017. Please allow me to explain the role of TPG in this matter. TPG, on behalf of [redacted] (Bank), offers tax related financial...

products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providers. These products provide the taxpayer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any upfront fees. When your taxes were prepared through [redacted], you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) product. When the taxpayer selects an RT, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the Bank. When the Bank receives the IRS refund, the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank fee. The balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayer. In the complaint filed with Revdex.com, it was stated that there were problems surrounding the receipt of your tax refund and that you were treated poorly by a TPG employee.  Specifically, you stated that you did not receive an email notifying you that your refund was placed on hold and that you needed to submit an unexpired government issued photo identification in order to release the funds.  You stated that TPG operator [redacted] was disrespectful and unprofessional to you when you called to inquire about your account. I want to address both portions of your complaint, but would like to first and foremost apologize for your negative experience with a TPG employee.  We take this complaint very seriously and are taking immediate internal action regarding your claims against our internal employee.  We appreciate you as a customer and want your experience to be positive.  We value your business and are truly sorry to hear you have had this experience.  To help you understand our hold process we have listed out the events associated to your account as follows:  ·        According to our records, on February 4, 2017, TPG received your electronic filing record from [redacted]. This means that you utilized tax software to prepare your tax return and elected to initiate a Refund Transfer to pay your software fees. The following occurred on February 4, 2017: ·        Your account was placed through enhanced due diligence at TPG to protect your account from fraud.  Please understand that as a financial services business we are required to perform reasonable monitoring procedures to ensure fraud, such as ID theft, has not occurred through our business processes.  Certain factors in your tax return caused your account to be flagged as potentially suspicious. Please note: Rather than rejecting the funds received by the IRS, which can delay your refund up to 12 weeks, we allow our customers to submit an unexpired government issued photo ID go through ID authentication.  Once we can validate that you are the taxpayer associated with the tax return filed, we release all funds received by the government agency. Funds are held in a non-interest bearing account while we are waiting for the customer to respond to our enhanced due diligence request.  If the customer does not respond to our request within a timely manner, we return the funds to the IRS. ·        You were sent an email to the address noted in your tax return to inform you of the account hold and instruct you on how to release the hold.  TPG notified you that once the identification is uploaded it can take up to seven business days to release the hold.·        On February 22, 2017, TPG received payment related to your 2016 federal tax refund; fees were deducted to pay your [redacted] user fees and an additional Bank processing fee for the RT.·        On February 26, 2017, you called TPG to inquire about the account hold.  You stated that you uploaded your ID.  We reminded you to please allow up to seven business days for your identification to be reviewed.·        On February 27, 2017 TPG authenticated your account and released your funds. It is industry standard to reject transactions which cannot be authenticated and return them to the originator, in this case the IRS, when account activity is flagged for possible fraud.  If the funds were returned directly to the IRS, the refund would be delayed for an extended period of time. Please understand that when TPG places a hold on the account it is for the benefit of the customer as it allows TPG to verify the customers identity, remove the hold from the account and release the funds to the lawful owner.  As we explained, if we did not allow for this authentication, your funds would be returned to the IRS and you would have to wait weeks in order to receive your refund.  TPG notifies the customer via email on how to release the hold.  We notify the customer before funds are received from the IRS to allow the customer enough time to upload an ID before the money is received from the IRS.  In most cases, customers are able to release their account hold before any funds are received from the IRS and they have no delay to receipt of their funds.  We do apologize if you did not receive this email. Please understand that with the heightened fraud in the tax industry, we are required to set up processes to protect our clients from identity theft. We understand your frustration and apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact TPG at [redacted], Monday through Friday between 7:00am to 4:00pm (PST). Respectfully, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

February 16, 2016
[redacted]
[redacted]
[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, 2016.
In your complaint, you...

stated that your account was locked
and you tried speaking to our customer service about this matter. You wanted to
change the routing number and direct account number because there was an error
with the first account numbers you provided.
We are experiencing extremely large call volumes which
correlates to an extremely large, and unexpected, funding from IRS. This
unexpected spike in business has caused extreme demand on our resources. 
We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the manner in which
your inquiry was handled by our Customer Service agents.  All customer service agents involved have
been reminded of their obligation to always process customer inquiries in a
respectful manner.
TPG spoke to your tax preparer and we were advised that they
were able to assist in resolving the issue. 
Our records show they issued a Cashier’s Check on February 11, 2016 and
they verbally confirmed it was disbursed to you.
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

Dear [redacted], This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 26, 2016.You complaint stated that you were told that your funds were rejected by your bank and advised to send your identification in...

order for TPG to release your refund. Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax. On February 23, 2016 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] Bank Refund Processing Agreement. Your financial institution rejected the funds and declared the account an R04 / “Invalid Account Number”. You may contact the ACH Department for [redacted] at [redacted] and provide them with trace number: [redacted], amount: $7,430.23, disbursement date: 2-23-2016 for further details regarding the rejection of funds. The funds were returned to TPG on February 25, 2016.Controls are in place to protect our customers from identity theft and fraud. On February 29, TPG was able to verify your information, released the hold from your account and as contracted, mailed a check to your address on record. Our records show that your check was verified on March 3, 2016. Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our service did not meet your expectations. We have every desire to address your needs and provide the best solution available to resolve your issue as soon as possible. We hope the points listed above offered a fair explanation and solution.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

February 15, 2016
[redacted]
[redacted]
[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 12, 2016.
In your complaint, you stated that...

were not
satisfied with the amount you received with your refund. You expected to be
refunded more than what was given to you.
For purposes unknown to TPG, the Financial Management Service (FMS) intercepted your refund before it was received at
TPG.  FMS offsets taxpayers’ refunds
through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) to pay off past-due child support,
federal agency non-tax debts such as student loans and state income tax
obligations. Offsets to non-tax debts occur after the IRS has certified the
refunds to FMS for payment but before FMS makes the Direct Deposits or issues
the paper checks. Refund offsets reduce the amount of the expected Direct
Deposit or paper check but they do not delay the issuance of the remaining
refund (if any) after offset. If taxpayers owe non-tax debts they may contact
the agency they owe, prior to filing their returns, to determine if the agency
submitted their debts for refund offset. FMS sends taxpayers offset notices if
it applies any part of their refund to non-tax debts. Taxpayers should contact
the agencies identified in the FMS offset notice when offsets occur if they
dispute the non-tax debts or have questions about the offsets. If taxpayers
need further clarification, they may call the Treasury Offset Program Call
Center at [redacted].
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

March 3, 2016
 
[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
23, 2016.
Your complaint...

stated that you filed your taxes with [redacted] and were notified on February 12 that your funds were rejected by your
bank. By February 15, you had submitted your identification twice for
verification. You spoke with TPG’s customer service and given different time
frames when the verification process would be completed.
Controls are in place to protect our customers from identity
theft and fraud. On February 25, TPG was able to verify your information,
released the hold from your account and as contracted, mailed a check to your
address on record. Our records show that your check was cashed on March 3,
2016.
Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our
service did not meet your expectations. 
We have every desire to address your needs and provide the best solution
available to resolve your issue as soon as possible.  We hope the points listed above offered a
fair solution.
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

May 5, 2016 [redacted]
[redacted]   Dear Ms. [redacted], We are writing in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) on April 21, 2016. To give you some background and help you appreciate our role in your complaint, we would like to...

explain TPG’s relationship with [redacted] (Bank). [redacted] is a third party processor for the Bank. Through this relationship, [redacted] is able to offer tax products which are sold through [redacted] through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation services. The product you have used through TPG, called the “Refund Transfer”, allowed you to pay for your tax software or your tax preparation fees directly out of your tax refund. This saved you the difficulty of paying these fees upfront to your tax preparer or Software Company. Your complaint stated that [redacted] would not send your refund.  You requested that [redacted] send your refund. To address your complaint while still protecting your identity, we have written you a detailed letter with specific information related to your account. Our letter outlined the timeline of events and referenced specific dollar amounts and account information. To respond to your Revdex.com complaint, we will summarize the events, but please reference the letter we sent you for additional details. In summary, on February 8, 2016, [redacted] received your electronic filing record from [redacted] Tax. This means that you used [redacted] Tax software to prepare your own tax return and you elected to utilize a Refund Transfer to pay for your software fees. [redacted] received the data file and no monies were transferred.  The IRS funded your return on April 5, 2016 and [redacted] submitted payment to the account you stated on your tax return. On April 12, 2016, you called [redacted] to inquire about the status of your refund.  A [redacted] representative explained that your funds were deposited to the account you had listed on your tax return on April 5, 2016.  [redacted] provided you a trace number and confirmed payment was sent to the account number from your tax return.  To help you, [redacted] sent a “Letter of Research” to [redacted].  This letter was sent on April 12, 2016 and requested detailed information regarding the payment [redacted] had made to your account.  On April 12, 2016, [redacted] responded that your account was closed.  On April 19, 2016, your bank rejected payment and your funds were received at [redacted] because the account was closed. Due to heightened fraud within the tax industry and to help protect our customers, [redacted] requires that all accounts with a rejected bank payment are placed through additional verification before funds can be released.  Due to this requirement your transaction was placed on hold on April 19, 2016 in a non-interest bearing account for additional verification.  In order to provide us comfort that your transaction is not fraudulent, we ask that you submit an unexpired government identification, such as a driver’s license or passport, to validate your identity.  You were sent an email with instructions on how to release the account hold. [redacted] received your identification on April 21, 2016.  You were told that it would take up to 7 days to review your documents and validate your account.  As a courtesy to you, [redacted] escalated the risk review.  Your refund, was sent as a Cashier’s Check on April 25, 2016.  According to our records, this check cleared on May 4, 2016. Please understand that with the heightened fraud in the tax industry, we are required to set up processes to protect our clients from identity theft. We understand your frustration and apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced. Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

February 18, 2016
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
class="MsoNormal">
Dear Ms. [redacted],
This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa
Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February
15, 2016.
Your complaint stated that you tried numerous times
uploading your identification in order to release the hold on your account. You
contacted TPG’s customer service to inquire the length of time it will take for
the hold to be released, but was given a different answer each time.
Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was
chosen when your taxes were prepared through [redacted].  On February 9, 2016 the IRS funded your
federal return. Your bank rejected the funds and declared the account
“R02/Account Closed”.  You may contact
your bank and provide them with trace number: [redacted] for further
details regarding the rejection of funds. TPG has nothing to do with incorrect
account information entered by the taxpayer or the receiving bank’s decision to
reject the funds.  
On February 17, 2016 the rejected funds were reprocessed and
converted into a check. The check will be issued within the next 24 hours.
Please allow up to 7 days for the check to be received at your address of
record. Please reference the attached online agreement for terms and conditions
related to rejected transactions. 
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