Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

March 3, 2016
[redacted]
class="MsoNormal">
Dear Mr. [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 after you filed your
taxes, you were notified there was a hold on your account. You did not receive
any explanation for the hold. When you tried calling TPG to inquire about the
hold, you were unable to reach a TPG representative to discuss the status of
your funds.
We experienced extremely large call volumes which correlates
to extremely large funding from the IRS. This unexpected spike in business
caused extreme demand on our resources such as our call center.  We
apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the inability for you
to reach live customer support.
Due to the amount of compromised SSNs along with non-public
personal information (NPPI) throughout the country, we have put controls in
place to prevent identity theft and fraud. TPG feels this is the most prudent
course of action to protect taxpayers given the current environment. TPG is
committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that only you can access your
funds.
Despite your history with us, your account was flagged for
further review. On February 25, TPG was able to verify your information and
release the hold on your account. Your return has been direct deposited into
the account you provided when filing your taxes.
Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our
service did not meet your expectations.  Additionally,
we thank you for your loyalty in using our bank product. 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

April 11, 2016
[redacted]
[redacted]
 
Dear Mr. [redacted],
class="MsoNormal">This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa
Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on April 1,
2016.
In your complaint, you stated that your tax return was
rejected and you were asked to submit information to verify your identity. Your
identity was verified and a check was issued on March 17. You have not received
your check since TPG sent it to you. You have also been unable to speak with a
representative regarding this matter.
We experienced large call volumes which correlated to
extremely large funding from the IRS. This unexpected spike in business caused
an extreme demand on our resources such as our call center. We apologize for
the inconvenience this has caused you and the inability for you to reach live
customer service.
In the scenario you described, TPG placed a hold on your
account because the account you tried to deposit your funds into was frozen.
TPG requested you to upload a form of identification to be verified to allow
TPG to release the hold from your account. On March 16, TPG received your
documents, verified your account and released the hold. The refund was reissued
as a Cashier’s Check to the address on file, but you claimed it has not reached
you.
Please fill out the attached Indemnity Bond and send back
via fax or email. An Indemnity Bond will authorize a stop payment on the first
Cashier’s Check sent to you and allow TPG to reissue a new check. Please note,
you will need to have the Indemnity Bond notarized. Once you submit the
Indemnity Bond back to me, TPG can begin to process a new Cashier’s Check. TPG
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 expectations. If 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, 2016
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
class="MsoNormal">Dear [redacted]
This is in response your complaint filed against Santa
Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on March 4,
2016.
In your complaint, you stated that you filed your tax refund
through [redacted] on February 9 but knew there was going to be an issue due to
a mistake you made during the process. You claim that there were automatic ACH
and bank withdrawal charges that totaled to $237. You are requesting a refund
for this amount.
In this scenario described in your complaint, you have
chosen a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) tax preparation software package through [redacted]. The taxpayer is entirely responsible for the information provided to the
software including the disbursement account where the refund will be deposited.
If a taxpayer enters a bank account that will not accept the
refund deposit, the transaction is rejected by the receiving bank. Often time
this occurs because the taxpayer has entered incorrect bank account information
or the account is closed. TPG has nothing to do with the incorrect account
information entered by the taxpayer or the receiving bank’s decision to reject
the funds. Once TPG receives the rejected refund, the company has the option of
making another attempt to disburse funds to the customer or simply return the
funds to the IRS.
Section 7 of the online agreement clearly establishes the
following:
Note: To
ensure that there are no delays in receiving your refund, please contact your
financial institution to confirm that you are using the correct RTN (routing)
and account number. If you or your
representative enter your account information incorrectly and your deposit is
returned to BANK, the Deposit Account balance minus a $20 returned item
processing fee will be disbursed to you via a cashier’s check mailed to your physical address of
record. The BANK, the Processor and
Intuit are not responsible
for the misapplication of a direct deposit that results from error, negligence
or malfeasance on the part of you or your representative.  In cases where the BANK has received your
federal tax refund but is unable to deliver the funds directly to you, funds
may be held at the BANK until claimed, or returned to the IRS or State of
residency.  Additional return item and
processing fees may be deducted from the Deposit Account for federal tax
refunds that continue to be undeliverable and unclaimed and must be returned to
the IRS or State.  The amount of
additional processing fees will be determined by the efforts required and the
complexity of the transaction but will not exceed $25. Processing fees will be
paid by BANK to Processor.
On February 26, 2016, TPG was able to process your Cashier’s
Check and mail it to the address on record. TPG confirmed that the check
negotiated on March 4, 2016.
TPG is sorry for any inconvenience you may have experienced.
If you have any other questions or complaints, please feel free to contact me
at [redacted], Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm.
 
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Compliance Analyst

[redacted]

size="3">
[redacted] [redacted]
 
03.11.2015
 
Re: Case [redacted]
 
Dear [redacted],
 
This is in response to the complaint filed against Santa
Barbara Tax Products Group to the Revdex.com of San Diego on
February 26, 2015 regarding your refund direct deposit.
 
Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was
chosen when your taxes were prepared through [redacted]. On January 30, 2015 the
FMS/Treasury Offset Division of IRS funded your federal return; your Bank
rejected the funds and declared the account an R03 “no account/unable to locate
account” and the funds were returned to TPG on February 4, 2015. 
 
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 Act. Once you were verified as the
lawful owner of the funds, your refund was released on February 27, 2015 and
mailed to the address on record. Please allow 10 business days for receipt of
your check.
 
Let me reassure you that this breach did not occur at [redacted] or your online tax provider and unfortunately it is likely that the breach
occurred through one of the large national data breaches that has been
publicized in the past 12months or through a phishing scheme directed to one of
your personal devices.  It is recommended
you take additional measures to enhance the security of your confidential
personal information in all areas. 
 
Please feel free to contact me at ###-###-####, Monday
through Friday 7 am to 3 pm, if you have any further questions or concerns
regarding this complaint.
 
Respectfully,
 
[redacted]
Compliance Analyst

0in 0in 0pt;">[redacted]
 
RE:
         Case [redacted]
 
03.03.2015
 
Dear
[redacted],
 
This
is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group
to the Revdex.com on February 28, 2015 regarding billing or
collection issues.
 
When
your taxes were prepared through [redacted] and Tax Services, you chose
to deduct your fees from your refund. When the taxpayer selects our bank
product, 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. When we spoke on
the phone you acknowledged you signed and agreed to these terms. As a courtesy,
we will remit your fee for a total of $34.95 via Cashier’s Check in order for
you to return all monies back to the IRS.
 
If
you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint, please
feel free to contact me at [redacted], Monday through Friday 7 am to 3 pm
PST.
 
Respectfully,
 
 
[redacted]
Compliance
Analyst

March 1, 2016
 
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]...

[redacted]
Dear [redacted],
This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa
Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February
20, 2016.
Your complaint stated that after filing your taxes with
[redacted], your refund was sent back to TPG after being rejected. Once you
learned this information, you were asked to upload your identification and that
the process would take 2 days. After over a week, you were still unable to have
your account released from the hold. You also stated you were unable to locate
TPG’s contact information which made it difficult for you to contact TPG to
inquire regarding the status of your refund.
TPG’s website, [redacted]
contains a Contact Us page.  You can find
our contact information by clicking “For Taxpayers” on our homepage and then
click “NEED HELP?” on the following page. 
You have a number of options on this page: 1) you may submit a request
by clicking the button at the top right of the page titled “Submit a request”
or 2) click on “Contact Information” to get live support by using the
appropriate support departments listed on the page.  Our hours of operation are also listed on the
Contact Information page. If using our website to submit a request, you simply
provide TPG with your email address, subject title, description of your
inquiry, and choose whether you are a taxpayer or tax professional. You are
also able to provide any attachments associated with your inquiry.
Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was
chosen when your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax.  On February 9, 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]
Refund Processing Agreement.  Your
financial institution rejected the funds and declared the account an R03/ “No Account
– Unable to Locate Account”.  You may
contact the ACH Department for Security Service Federal Credit Union at
[redacted] and provide them with trace number: [redacted], date of
disbursement and amount for further
details regarding the rejection of funds. The funds were returned to TPG on February
11, 2016.
If a taxpayer enters a bank account that will not accept the
refund deposit, the transaction is rejected by the receiving bank. Often times
this occurs because the taxpayer has entered the incorrect bank account
information or the account is closed. In these cases, the receiving bank
“rejects” the transaction and returns the funds to the sender, in this case,
TPG. TPG has nothing to do with the incorrect account information entered by
the taxpayer or the receiving bank’s decision to reject the funds. Once TPG
receives the 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 fraud. TPG verified your information and released the hold from your
account. On February 22, TPG was issued your tax refund as a check and mailed
it to you the same day. Your account confirms that the check cleared on March
1, 2016.
Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our
service did not meet your expectations. 
We hope that the points above addressed your needs and provided the best
solution available to resolve your issue. In addition, we will further evaluate
how we can enhance our processes to avert this problem from occurring again in
the near future. 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 2, 2016
Dear Ms. [redacted],
This is in response to your rebuttal filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 19, 2016.
Thank you for taking the time to clarify and 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. We hope you will find that the points below offer a fair solution.
We offer our sincere apologies, the timeframes you were given should have been consistent. Due to the feedback we’ve received, TPG has modified the timeframe advertised on our website to allow more time for processing. Unfortunately, we experienced large call volumes which correlated to extremely large funding schedules from the IRS. This unexpected spike in business caused extreme demand on our resources which crossed over into our processing times.

We are evaluating how we can enhance training for our agents and processes to avert this problem from occurring again in the future. I reviewed your case with the Manager and Lead team in order to clarify procedures and provide further training. The Manager will also be determining what corrective action needs to be taken for the agent involved in your claim.
We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the manner in which your inquiry was handled by our Customer Service agents. All the customer agents involved have been reminded of their obligation to always process customer inquiries in a respectful manner.

We appreciate you bringing this to our attention and thank you for your input and feedback. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted], Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Senior Compliance Analyst

March 21, 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 March 16, 2016.
Please allow me to explain the role of TPG in this
matter and clarify the information provided to you by the IRS. 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. When the Bank
receives the IRS refund (usually less than 21 days from the filing date), the
Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank
fees. The balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way
of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayer.  
Due to the amount of compromised SSNs along with non-public
personal information (NPPI) throughout the country, we have put controls in
place to prevent identity theft and fraud. TPG feels this is the most prudent
course of action to protect taxpayers given the current environment. TPG is
committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that only you can access your
funds.
Despite your history with us, your account was flagged for
further review. On March 16, TPG was able to verify your information and
released the hold on your account. Your refund and RT fee have been direct
deposited into the account you provided when filing your taxes.  The RT fee was refunded on March 21, 2016.  
Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our
service did not meet your expectations and the additional feedback to serve our
customers notification of these holds to provide better service. We are
currently evaluating how we can enhance our process and avert this problem from
occurring again in the future. 
If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel
free to contact me at [redacted], Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Senior Compliance Analyst

April 18, 2016
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
Dear Mr. [redacted],
On behalf of Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG), we do
apologize for the extended timeframe it took to verify your identification and
release the hold on your account.
TPG experienced an unexpected spike in business which had
caused extreme demand on our resources and unfortunate delays in our
verification process.  Please note, TPG
retracted the standard two business day SLA and extended the review period to
seven business days. 
TPG apologizes for the inconvenience this may have caused
you with receiving your refund.
Sincerely,
Melissa Gaines
Compliance Analyst

February 26, 2016
[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
17, 2016.
You stated that you expected your tax refund to be deposited
into your account on February 10 but found out that your account was placed on
hold. After going online and following the procedures to release the hold you
were unable to receive the information you wanted regarding your account. We
apologize for the differing information provided to you by customer service. I
can assure you we are taking appropriate steps to ensure this does not happen
to our valued customers in the future.
If a taxpayer enters a bank account that is closed or
incorrect, the transaction is generally rejected by the receiving bank.  When this occurs, the receiving bank returns
the funds back to the sender, in this case, TPG. TPG has nothing to do with
incorrect account information entered by the taxpayer or the receiving bank’s decision
to reject the funds. When a refund is rejected back to TPG, the funds can
either be sent back to the IRS or an attempt can be made to validate the
taxpayer’s identity so that the funds can be released to the customer. TPG
requested that you upload your current, valid government-issued photo
identification through our website and it appears that this was not completely
correctly. After emailing your identification on 2/17, the hold was released the
following day.
TPG processed your tax return as a check on February 18.
Please allow up to 7 days for the check to reach your address on file.
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

February 29, 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
19, 2016.
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
7 days. After 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, 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]
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 funds. The funds
were returned to TPG on February 5, 2016.
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 bank. In
these cases, the receiving bank “rejects” the transaction, and returns the
funds to the sender, in this case, TPG. TPG has nothing to do with the incorrect
account information entered by the taxpayer or the receiving bank’s decision to
reject the funds. Once 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 fraud. TPG was able to verify your
information and release the hold from your account. On February 8th,
TPG processed your tax refund as a check and mailed it to you on or around the
same date. Your account confirms that the check was received and cashed on
February 25, 2016.
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 Mr.
[redacted],
This
email is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products
Group to the Revdex.com...

on March 11, 2014 regarding service issues. 
In
accordance with your contract, a temporary account was opened to receive and
process your income tax refund and pay your tax preparation fees from your
refund.  Our Risk Department felt your
return to be a suspicious or fraudulent filing and funds were placed on a hold
for further review. 
On
February 7, 11, and 14 our Risk Department called the phone number on your
record to verify the return.  On March 7,
2014, you spoke with TPG and you were made aware of the actions on your
account. Our Risk Analysis Department requested documentation to validate your
identity and the tax return in order to release the held funds for which you
refused to provide us with the requested information.  Because we were unable to obtain the personal
information from you in order to verify your identity, we couldn’t proceed any
further in our efforts.  A determination
was made to continue the hold on the funds and contact the Criminal
Investigation Department of the IRS. 
TPG has
begun the process of returning your funds to the IRS, which includes the TPG
fee which you requested to be reimbursed. 
On March 13, 2014, TPG received an IRS request for the return of your
funds.  You should know that once we have
returned funds to the IRS it can be several weeks before they acknowledge
receipt and post to your account. It is recommended that you contact the IRS at
800-829-1040. You may contact our Risk Analysis Department at (800) 814-0401
between 8am and 4pm PST if you would like to discuss this matter with a
representative.  Please understand it is
our obligation to investigate these matters thoroughly to ensure the money is
forwarded to the lawful owner.
My
sincere apologies for the manner in which you were spoken to and treated, I
agree that this should not have happened.  I appreciate you bringing this
to my attention and thank you for your input and feedback.  This complaint
has been forwarded to the Risk Manager. 
We thank
you for the inquiry. If you have any further concerns or questions regarding
this complaint, please feel free to contact me at 877-908-7228, Monday through
Friday 8 am to 4 pm PST.   
Respectfully,
[redacted]
Compliance
Assistant
Santa
Barbara Tax Products Group

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.I have yet to receive my funds from Santa Barbara tax products . And referring to my account they claim to have "attempted" to deposit funds ..that is my correct acct # and information as verified and according to my bank there has never been a such deposit refused. As for the breach in they're online system it was indeed done thru they're system which has a VERY poor security system. I was told by they're leads [redacted] and [redacted] that my funds would be sent overnight delivery which was not obviouslyvapproved and was sent with normal delivery . I was also charged 90.00 total for these horrible unprofessional services .In regards to intuit ([redacted]) I am well aware they forwarded all the correct information and the errors and breaches of security indeed happened at Santa Barbara tax products group. As I stated my funds were released as of the 2nd of Febuary and I have not yet recieced my funds . I was told by the 10th and now after calling again I was told the 16th. I am still awaiting my refund . In regards to the breach in system it was confirmed by the Santa Barbara group that it was I indeed done through they're system and fixed the errors in the address again. I also was thrown back and forth thru many representatives and leads that just passed the ball back and forth and as I stated I am still awaiting my refund . I asked them to please refund my money thru my account that I would send a motorized fax of all bank information I.D and S.S for a faster process and after being told they would send the forms for such process no emails were received after 3 days and at this time is when they finally sent a new check to the correct and original address on file before the breach took place . Thank you for your attention to this matter. I will be in touch as soon as I receive my funds . 
Regards,
[redacted]

February 15, 2016
[redacted]
class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">[redacted]
Dear Ms. [redacted],
This is in response to your complaint filed
against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) with the Revdex.com
on February 10, 2016.
You contacted TPG’s customer service regarding an error with
your direct deposit account number. Your complaint stated that [redacted] had a
numerical error and dropped the last digit from the account number during the
filing process.
On February 9, 2016, TPG processing on behalf of Civista
Bank disbursed your tax related Refund Transfer (RT) proceeds to the account
directed by you in your electronic application. Funds in the amount of
$3,820.03 were sent out via ACH to RTN: [redacted] and DAN: [redacted] as
directed by the RT application from [redacted]. The deposit to the above account
was confirmed by the outgoing trace#[redacted]. The routing number in your
record belongs to ** [redacted] and the ACH Department can be reached at
[redacted].  Please use trace number
[redacted] and work with them directly to recover your funds. 
If
a taxpayer enters a bank account that will not accept the refund deposit, the
transaction is rejected by the receiving bank. In these cases the receiving
bank “rejects” the transaction, and returns the funds to the sender, in this
case TPG. TPG will then re-disburse your funds via check.
New funds cannot be re-disbursed until the rejected
transaction is returned to the Bank. At this time, no funds have been
rejected back to TPG.  If funds are not
available or the bank refuses to return the funds, TPG cannot compel the bank
to do so.  The case may then become a
civil matter between you and the financial institution and/or the owner of the
account into which the funds were deposited. 
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 Mr. [redacted],
 
This email is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to the Revdex.com on March 18, 2014 regarding service issues. 
 
When your taxes were prepared through...

Turbo Tax, you chose to deduct your fees from your refund.  When the taxpayer selects our bank product, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the Bank. When the Bank receives the IRS refund (usually 10 to 21 days from the filing date), 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 (either a personal bank account or prepaid card). 
 
Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax.  On March 6, 2014 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your Turbo Tax user fees of $27.99 and an additional Bank processing fee of $29.99 for the RT.  The balance was deposited to the account instructed on The Citizens Banking Company Refund Processing Agreement.  St. Anne’s Credit Union rejected the funds and declared the account an R03/“No Account/Unable to Locate Account”.  You may contact your bank and provide them with trace number: [redacted] for further details regarding the rejection of funds.  The funds were returned to TPG on March 10, 2014.  According to your contract, TPG issued a Cashier’s Check on March 10, 2014 and mailed it to the address on record which you state is in your possession.
 
TPG has nothing to with the receiving bank’s decision to reject the funds.  Once TPG receives the rejected refund, our company has the option of making another attempt to disburse funds to the customer or simply returning the funds to the IRS.  When the rejected refund was returned, TPG made a good faith attempt to deliver the refund to you through an alternative delivery method, which was a Cashier’s check.  TPG charges a commercially reasonable processing fee to cover the expenses associated with reprocessing these items.  Most banks typically charge between $25 and $35 for return item fees. In this case, you were charged a $20.00 reprocessing fee for the rejection of funds.  This fee is disclosed in your online agreement; please review the sample application attached for details.      
 
The SAMPLE screen shots provided will establish that our fees and references to the Bank are adequately displayed on the Turbo Tax application for 2014 as required by banking regulations.  Our fee is located in five (5) different webpages ensuring the customer if fully aware of all bank fees.  The customer authorizes the deduction of fees upon selecting “I Agree” to the Refund Transfer Application and Agreement.  If the customer changes their mind, they may select the “Back” or “I Don’t Agree” button to return to the payment options page.  The customer is not obligated to select the bank product; they may choose to pay via credit card.  You may refer to the screen shots for clarification.
 
As a courtesy, the reprocessing fee of $20.00 will be remitted via Cashier’s check to your address on record since it appears it was an error on your part to input the correct account information.  For future reference, please verify your banking information for the deposit of your refund.  For direct deposit, the taxpayer’s name must be on the account.  For a joint return, some banks require both names on the account. 
 
You stated in your complaint that you “can’t even cash the check because they have stipulations on the back of it stating that if I endorse it, I am agreeing to their terms and conditions”.  This check is a negotiable instrument and you may cash it at any participating financial institution.  The terms and conditions you are referring to have already been agreed to when you accepted and electronically signed the Refund Transfer Application and Agreement through Turbo Tax.     
 
 
We thank you for the inquiry. If you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint, please feel free to contact me at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday 8 am to 4 pm PST.  
 
Respectfully,
[redacted]

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.This financial institution failed to document. I refused to send in any information via mail because this institution asks for a social security card, which I did not have in my possession at the time. I remember explaining that to your CSR. Businesses would benefit if they acknowledge the deficiency in their procedures rather than placing blame on its customers. Furthermore, the funds were supposed to be returned nearly two months ago, per your CSR. However, your company is just now returning them to the IRS. This is a case of providing false and misleading info to a customer who is at your mercy for funds. Acknowledging, apologizing and ensuring that my funds make it back to IRS's custody is the best way to remedy this situation. 
Regards,
[redacted]

April 26, 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 April 18, 2016. In your complaint you stated that since February 18, TPG has been holding your refund. You stated that TPG mailed your check on March 17 but you never received your check. After calling multiple times, you were asked to fill out an Indemnity Bond. You were told it would be sent within 72 hours, but never received it. After a week, you called and requested it to be sent again. You receive the Indemnity Bond on April 12, sent it back, but was told TPG did not receive it. Upon review of your account, your refund was rejected by your bank because the account number you submitted to Taxslayer.com was an invalid account number. In the scenario described in your complaint you have chosen a do-it-yourself (DIY) tax preparation software package.  The taxpayer is entirely responsible for the information provided to the software including the disbursement account where the refund will be deposited. If a taxpayer enters a bank account that will not accept the refund deposit, the transaction is rejected by the receiving bank.  Often times this occurs because the taxpayer has entered incorrect bank account information or the account is closed.  In these cases the receiving bank “rejects” the transaction, and returns the funds to the sender, in this case TPG.  TPG has nothing to with incorrect account information entered by the taxpayer or the receiving bank’s decision to reject the funds. Once you were verified,  TPG  mailed your refund as a Cashier’s Check on March 17, but you informed TPG you never received it. TPG requested that you fill out an Indemnity Bond to allow TPG to cancel your first check and reissue a new one. On April 21, TPG was able to process and approve your completed Indemnity Bond. Your refund was reissued as a Cashier’s Check and mailed to you on April 21. TPG confirmed that the check was negotiated on April 25, 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 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm.  
Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

April 25, 2016 [redacted]   Dear Mr. [redacted], This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com...

on April 16, 2016. In your complaint, you stated that after you filed your tax return through [redacted] Tax, you learned TPG placed a hold on your account and you needed to send in a copy of your identification. You state that you will not send in your identification due to ID fraud. Upon review of your account, a Refund Transfer (RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through [redacted] Tax. On April 2, your funds were placed on an automatic hold due to risk control triggered by information transmitted in your return. TPG initiated an identity verification process to ensure it was submitting funds to the appropriate person. On April 8, the IRS funded your federal return. As the bank’s processor, we are required to take reasonable steps to ensure we are sending funds to the lawful owner 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. In order for TPG to release the hold on your account, you were asked to submit a valid form of identification to be verified through our website, www.sbtpg.com. To date, TPG has not received any documents from you to verify your identity. In this case, a manual review was conducted and your funds were released via the disbursement option you originally requested through [redacted] Tax. Please allow up to 48 hours to post to your financial institution. 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 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm.  
Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

Dear [redacted],
I write to acknowledge receipt of Mr. [redacted]’ complaint with reference to billing issues.  We want to point out that this is not a consumer issue; rather we have had a business-to-business relationship with Mr. [redacted]’ company, OnePriceTaxes.com.  This company processes income tax returns.  Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, LLC (“TPG”) processes certain financial transactions for OnePriceTaxes.com.  Regardless of that background, we want to address all complaints regardless of whether they involve ultimate consumers.    
On July 7, 2014, EfileTaxReturns.com contacted us to request a number of reports.   TPG provided the reports to Mr. [redacted]’ partner company.   In fact, Mr. [redacted]’ phone call on July 11 confirms that the reports assisted in reconciling the accounts in question and that this matter has been resolved. 
Based upon our prior responses to Mr. [redacted] and his voicemail message, this matter has been fully resolved.
If you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint, please feel free to contact me, Monday through Friday 8 am to 4 pm PST.
Respectfully,
[redacted]
Compliance Assistant
Cc: [redacted] J. [redacted]