Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

This company is the worst not only are they stealing money from our hard working Americans they can't even answer the phones to defend themselves. I'm also a victim of this criminal organization. They have my money and every time I try calling I'm on hold for over an hour. I extremely frustrated with not being able to get a straight answer from this so called business.

SBTPG is a company I will never do business with again along with TurboTax. I understand because the direct deposit number is incorrect on my tax return, the money will not be deposited. No problem. However, it shouldn't take forever to verify my identification. Today is February 18th. I submitted my ID a week ago and still no update. They are literally holding my money at this point. Their website says two days. So last Friday was one day, Monday was President's Day, Tuesday was day 2 and Wednesday was day 3. What is the hold up?? And when I call, they are rude and very disrespectful. I've been laughed at, told to stop calling and just rely on the website and to be patient. How patient can a person be when you've done everything they have asked you to and they won't do their job at all. I know if this isn't resolved soon, I will be looking into legal actions.

My boyfriend filed his taxes like he does every year with the same tax lady, but this year she offered this direct2cash from Walmart (which is Santa Barbara Tax Products Group) we didn't have a bank account so we opted for this choice. She informed us we would be getting a text or email when she money arrived at Walmart ready to be picked up. We never got a text or an email, I had to check the website myself (which I also had many problems trying to do so) and I saw that the money was there on the 17th of Feb....it wasn't until Feb 20th that I had to manually check myself to find out if it had come. We went to three different Walmarts and went back and forth with SBTPG and my tax lady. When my tax lady called SBTPG she was told one thing, and when we called we were told another. Nobody gives us an explanation as to why we cannot get OUR money. Finally, they told us they would have to send the money to my tax lady and she would have to print out a check--this will take 3-5 business days to receive.....ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! This is absolutely ridiculous, and I will NEVER in my life recommend this business to a friend or even my worst enemy, please fix your PROBLEM.

Signed, disappointed and angry victim.

Review: I am supposed to get my tax return, but it went to this company because I had some information incorrect. My check went to this company. I have to change my information. I tried their website sbtpg.com and nothing works. I've called several times and nobody knows anything about the website. They don't even know what it looks like. It shouldn't be this difficult to get MY tax return. People should be knowledgeable and the website should be working.Desired Settlement: I want my income tax check.

Business

Response:

RE: Case

02.24.2015

Dear [redacted],

This is in response to the complaint filed

against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to the Revdex.com on

February 19, 2015 regarding funds never received.

Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer

(RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through [redacted]. On

February 6, 2015 the [redacted] funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay

your [redacted] user fees. The balance was deposited to the account

instructed on [redacted] Refund Processing Agreement. Your

Bank rejected the funds and declared the account an R03 “No account/Unable to

locate account”. The funds were returned to [redacted] on February 10, 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. [redacted] issued a Cashier’s Check on February 23,

2015 and mailed to the address on record. Please allow 10 business days for

receipt of your check.

Please feel free to contact me at

[redacted], Monday through Friday 7 am to 4 pm if you have any further

concerns or questions regarding this complaint.

Respectfully,

Review: I submitted my 2014 taxes via turbotax and was informed by turbotax that my return would be processed by 3/5/14 by Santa Barbara Tax Products. Apparently the direct deposit information provided was incorrect. This prompted Santa Barbara tax product to be concerned with charging me extra processing fees instead of ever asking to authorize the charges (amounting to $49.99), neglecting to inform me the bank didn't accept the payment, neglecting to inform me there would be extra fees, neglecting to inform me a hard copy travelers check would be printed, neglecting to provide a date in which the hard copy check was sent, neglecting to provide a tracking number of the package, and neglecting to provide adequate customer service through email.Desired Settlement: Santa Barbara Tax Products should reimburse the $49.99 fees that were hidden. They never kept me informed through the tax return process, never authorized the chargers and never thought to contact me through the return process.

Business

Response:

TPG emailed the complainant with a resolution and explanation of our process. We are waiting on a response back from Mr. [redacted].

Review: This company is being used solely as a processing service for IRS tax refunds, where tax filers like me, select the option of having their TurboTax fees deducted from the refund. The company is simply a conduit, i.e., the IRS sends them the entire sum of the refund, they are then obliged to issue the full amount, net of turbotax fees, immediately to the ultimate recipient.

For some unclear reason, they have taken it upon themselves to start "verifying" recipients details before issuing this refund, claiming they are required to perform KYC/AML type checks. Why, if the IRS is sending me my refund? Why if they have simply an instruction to route money to me? As a result of my recent relocation, and that new address listed on the tax return "not matching public records check", they simply block the refund issuance - without providing any reason, without notification, call, mail, email, or anything else to indicate that they have blocked the refund, and what needs to be done.

If this is not unlawful, at the very least it is a highly questionable practice.

Bottom line, the funds were stuck for 10 days, and had I not called several times, it could have been weeks before it was self-discovered, all the while funds sitting on hold in their accounts are potentially collecting interest, while the recipients are losing out on that interest.Desired Settlement: 1) Adjust policies and procedures to stop TPG from performing "checks" which they are neither required to nor entitled to perform

2) Alternatively, if indeed some regulatory requirement exists, and is verified by outside counsel, TPG must implement a process to notify immediately affected recipients of any holds being placed on their refunds, detail exactly what is required to be provided in order to release the funds, and provide a timeline for completion

3) TPG must setup an appropriate customer service infrastructure to handle adequately requests, complaints, and processing. Currently, their "Compliance Risk" department number has auto recording 24/7, asking clients to remain on the line, despite apparently outside of business hours; regular fax was not received multiple times, only email fax worked, etc. A rather amateur setup for something as important and large scale as IRS refund processing would suggest.

Business

Response:

RE:

Case [redacted]

04.14.2015

Dear

[redacted],

This

letter is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products

Group to the Revdex.com of San Diego on April 9, 2015 regarding held funds and

customer service issues.

As

part of routine audits we undertake in cooperation with the IRS, if a record is

flagged funds are held in order to verify the identity of each record holder.

These controls are in place to protect our customers from identity theft and

fraud.

As

a third party processor for Sunrise Banks, N.A., our regulators require that we

follow identification procedures, which are part of the statute of the USA

Patriot Act, by requesting and processing copies of your unexpired

government-issued picture ID, Social Security card and other supporting

documentation. Thank you for your cooperation in forwarding the required

documents, we realize this is a sensitive issue with the rise in ID theft and

fraud. Please note that all confidential information is handled securely. Once

you were verified as the lawful owner of the funds, your refund was released on

April 9, 2015.

Thank

you for the inquiry and the opportunity to resolve the issue. If you have any

further concerns or questions regarding this complaint please feel free to

contact me at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday 7 am to 3 pm.

Respectfully,

Compliance

Analyst

Consumer

Response:

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,

Holding my tax refund. IRS and Turbo Tax state it was deposited with This company. Have tried calling 161 times. Forwarded to risk management unit, on hold 6 hours! Uploaded ID over a week ago.

Review: The IRS released my tax refund on 10/20 and I initially had a set up to go into my checking account but since I did my taxes, that account has been closed. I was pro-active and called the tax office prior to the refund being released to notify them of the situation. I called the office everyday from 10/20-present. I was finally told on 10/26 that a check was mailed to me via USPS on 10/26 and that I should allow 10 business days for delivery. It is now 11/10 and I still have not received it. I called this company and asked what can be done. They told me to call the tax office and have them fill out a paper to put a stop pymt on the check. I asked if the new check can be overnighted and they said no. This is a very large check and I need it as quickly as possible. I even asked if it can be direct depoisted into a different account and they said no. I dont think it is fair for me to wait another 10 business days for something that wasnt my fault and especially since I have been in contact with them daily.Desired Settlement: I am requesting that a new check be issued and that it is overnighted to my address. I think it is only fair since the company did take a portion of my check for some type of fee that I did not agree to.

Business

Response:

[redacted]th Street,

*rd Floor

[redacted]

Re: Case [redacted]

November 16, 2015

Dear Ms. [redacted],

This letter is in response to the complaint filed against

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) to the Revdex.com on November

11/10/2015 regarding your funds.

Upon review of your record, when your taxes were prepared

through Jackson Hewitt, you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) product. When a taxpayer

selects an RT, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary

account. When the IRS refund is received, deductions are taken from the refund

to pay the tax preparation fees and RT fee. The balance of the refund is then

disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the

taxpayer, in your case, into a personal bank account.

On behalf of TPG, I would like to formally apologize for any

trouble or confusion that was caused with receiving your refund. On October 20,

2015, the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your tax

preparation fees and an additional RT fee. Due to the account being closed, the

funds were sent to you as a Cashier’s Check to the address on record. On Thursday, November 12, 2015, TPG received

and processed your Indemnity Bond. TPG issued the cashier’s check on Friday,

November 13, and it was overnighted for your convenience. The check should

arrive on Monday, November 16.

We hope this satisfies your inquiry. If you have any

questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 877[redacted], Monday

through Friday, 7am to 4pm.

Respectfully,

Compliance Analyst

Well let's see I sent in a picture i.d to prove it was me on the 16th.. that first I didn't know anyone had any kind of hold on my refund... (no one contacted me) might I add!!!!! So now here I am 9 days after the irs released my refund I was told I have to wait for my money!!! Now jackson hewitt has got paid... the bank got paid back the loan yet I haven't received my money yet!!!!! I keep getting the run around no one will let me get any contact information to get in touch with someone higher to talk to... I'm losing my house where me and 4 kids live because no one had the Decency to let me know on the 10th that there was a hold on my refund

Review: I FILED DISPUTES WITH THIS COMPANY THAT I HAD MY TAX REFUND SET UP TO GO ON THIS CARD AND THE DISPUTE FOR ALL OF THE UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES WERE NOT CREDITING BACK TO MY ACCOUNT. I CALLED AND INFORMED THE COMPANY THAT MY PURSE HAD BEEN STOLEN AND MY CARD WAS IN MY PURSE AT THE TIME OF THE OFFENSE ALONG WITH MY SOCIAL SECURITY CARD AND ALL OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION. WHEN YOU CALL IN THEIR PHONE SYSTEM ALLOWS A PERSON TO RETRIEVE THE PIN NUMBER OF THE CARD IF YOU HAVE THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. THAT INFORMATION IS VERY PERSONAL AND THE PIN NUMBER SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN OUT OVER THE PHONE WITH THAT INFORMATION. THE DATE OF THE INCIDENT IN QUESTION IS 03/13/2014 AND THEY STILL HAVE NOT REIMBURSED MY HARD EARNED MONEY ON. THE TRANSACTIONS THAT WERE DONE WERE DONE AT A ATM WHICH MEANS THAT THE THEY HAD TO CALL THE CARD AND REQUSET THE PIN NUMBER BY PHONE. NOTE THAT I WAS AT WORK WHEN THIS TOOK PLACE AND MY FIANCE TRIED TO CALL IN FIRST AND PUT A HOLD AND THE CARD AND WAS INFORMED THAT HE COULD NOT DO IT. SO WHEN HE CONTACTED ME AND INFORMED ME OF THIS I THEN CALLED AN HAD THE CARD ON HOLD, AT THAT POINT TRANSACTIONS WERE ALREADY PENDING FOR SEVERAL ATM WITHDRAWALS, AND STORE PURCHASES TOTALING ABOUT 1800.00. AT THIS POINT I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH DOING BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY ANY LONGER AND ANYTHING IN THE FUTURE. ALL I WANT AT THIS TIME IS FOR MY HARD EARNED MONEY TO BE REFUNDED BACK TO ME. I WOULD NOT GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS IF IT WAS NOT IMPORTANT TO ME AND MY FAMILY.Desired Settlement: ALL I WANT IS FOR THEM TO REFUND MY MONEY TO ME REIMBURSING THOSE FRAUDULANT CHARGES. I KNOW THAT ANY OTHER BANK WOULD DO THAT WITHOUT ANY QUESTIONS BEING ASKED. THEY VALUE THEIR CUSTOMERS AND WANT TO CONTINUE DOING BUSINESS WITH THEM. BUT THIS COMPANY I AM NOT SURE ABOUT.

Business

Response:

Review: I filed my tax return through Taxslayer and am owed a refund. My refund is going through Santa Barbara Tax Products so they can retrieve their fee for filing. My tax refund was released to this company on May 7th. When I did not receive my refund I called this company -- repeatedly I have called. They told me that my refund was on a "security hold" and that I needed to fax them my social security card, drivers license as well as my W-2. This makes me very nervous (due to identity theft) but I did as they asked because that is the only way to get my tax refund.

I sent the fax -- and called again -- and all I keep getting told is that I have to wait 72 hours and call back before they can even tell me if they received my fax. They also say that once they get the fax it takes 72 more hours after that to process. I am a young person recently laid off from my job, I am owed my tax refund - and I am very worried that I will never receive it. I am worried if this company is legitimate and I am at a loss for what to do now. I am also very worried about who may have my information that I faxed. They tell me they can't even check to see if my fax has been received because they are dealing with "volume" of faxes.Desired Settlement: I want my tax refund processed and sent to me -- I have been waiting almost a month now and this refund is rightfully mine. I would also like a refund of any fees this company has taken out of my check. When I didn't receive my tax refund, they didn't even contact me asking for more information. Had I not been able to track them down, I would have never known what happened to my money.

Business

Response:

May 29, 2014

Review: this group has now had my federal return with them for over 3 weeks. They have an email adress on file and neglect to send an email over any additional information that may be needed to get my federal return in the ammount over 1,000 dollars. I spoke to the highest person I could and was told they needed my id socail secuirty card my w2s and a proof of residency. after speaking to this genetlmen I faxed all information that was needed. This bussiness will not notify you of anything even though they are provided an email adress and telephone number. I keep getting the run around about where my check is... Last I knew anything over 500 dollars is a federal offense.Desired Settlement: I would like my federal return check to be here in less than a week since they have had my money at their office for over 3 weeks now and keep tacking on fees how many people is this happening to?

Business

Response:

Dear Mr.

[redacted],

This

email is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products

Group to the Revdex.com on February 27, 2014 regarding customer service

issues.

Upon

review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was chosen when your taxes were

prepared through Turbo Tax. On February 7,

2014 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your online

user fees and an additional Bank processing fee. The balance was deposited to the account

instructed on the Sunrise Banks N.A. Refund Processing Agreement. Bancorp Bank

rejected the funds and declared the account an R17/“File Record Edit

Criteria”. You may contact Bancorp Bank

and provide them with trace number: [redacted] for further details

regarding the rejection of funds. The

funds were returned to TPG on February 10, 2014.

As part

of routine audits we undertake in cooperation with the IRS, rejected

transactions are held in order to verify the identity of each record

holder. These controls are in place to

protect our customers from identity theft and fraud. 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, by requesting and

processing copies of your unexpired government-issued picture ID, Social

Security card and other supporting documents to verify your identity. Once you were verified as the lawful owner of

the funds, your refund was released. TPG

issued a Cashier’s Check on February 28, 2014 and mailed it to the address on

record. Please allow 10 business days

for receipt of your check.

We

apologize if our attempts at obtaining your personal information were perceived

as rude, but please understand it is our obligation to investigate these

matters thoroughly to ensure the money is forwarded to the lawful owner.

We thank

you for the inquiry. If you have any further concerns or questions regarding

this complaint, please feel free to contact me directly at ###-###-####, Monday

through Friday 8 am to 4 pm PST.

Respectfully,

Compliance

Assistant

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Review: Review: The IRS deposited my tax refundto my account at Santa barbara tax product group on the 7/23/13 I contacted santa barbara tax product group one of their representative about two months ago about my change of address and account information they told me to faxed the change of information form along with my drivers license, account information and social security I did all what they said on and I called them the next day they told me my information is correct and they will deposit my refund the into my checking account when they recieved my refund. I called several times to make sure they had my new information and they informed me they did so re fax it. I had to do this like four times. I check with them a month ago and they told me everything was correct. I checked my infomration on their website and they had the same old information. I called Santa Barbara Tax group and they told them could not do anything about sincethey did not have anything on record for the change. I spent many hours on the phone dealing with me. II called them again yesterday and they told that they have mailed me a check am so confused I need help my refund. I would like my refund deposited to my correct account without having to deal with the issue of faxing my personal information again. Identity thief is something that worries me.

My customer id is [redacted].Desired Settlement: I would like my refund deposit to my account and that my fees be wavied. I do not want to deal with someone that will keep me going back and forth.

Business

Response:

July 30, 2013

Review: This group used my tax refund to pay for the services provided by [redacted]. The deposit from the IRS was on February 9 and supposedly this group deposited the money into my account but this is not the case. I have contacted my bank and no notice of any amount has been issued to my account. When I try to contact the Tax group via their phone service no one picks up and just stays on hold, I have tried for what totals up to one hour and thirty minutes.Desired Settlement: All I am seeking out of this is to be contacted by the company to receive my tax refund back to me.

Business

Response:

February 26, 2016

Dear Mr. [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 using [redacted] to file your

taxes, you expected your refund to be deposited by February 9. Once you contacted

your bank, you were told to contact TPG. Unfortunately, you were unable to get

in contact with a representative at TPG to learn more about your account.

TPG contacted the receiving bank, [redacted] and spoke to a representative, who confirmed that the saving

accounts changed from letter specific (SX) to a different account number as of

September 2015. He stated that all

account holders were notified in writing of this change.

When your funds were directed to this account they should

have been immediately rejected, however per your TPG account status, no funds

have been received back at TPG. [redacted] representative, requested

that you personally call the Bank to locate your funds. Please contact your

Bank’s ACH Department at [redacted] and follow the prompts to reach a live

agent to receive resolution. Use

tracking number: [redacted], deposit date of 2/9/16, and amount $2534.19

to help assist them in locating the ACH deposit. If you are having an issue

resolving your case directly with your bank, please feel free to contact me so

that I can assist in providing any additional details they may need via conference

call with all three parties.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel

free to contact me at [redacted], Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm.

Sincerely,

Compliance Analyst

Review: I used their service of Refund Transfer for direct deposit tax refund. The IRS "Where's My Refund" page shows that the refund was deposited to their bank on February 10th, 2014 with an projected date of no later than February 15th. Upon checking the status on the Santa Barbara Tax Products Group website, it still shows that they have not received a refund. The refund was deducted due to student loans owed. When we contacted the representative by phone and told them the same information, we were spoken to in a condescending manner as we apparently do not understand the concept of a projected date. Stating that the IRS showed a "deposited" date as opposed to a "projected" date, the representative would still check no further on the refund status. Speaking to a supervisor lead to similar results. Selecting the Refund Transfer option stated that the refund may be delayed 1-2 businesses days for direct deposit, I assumed that it would be delayed only 1-2 business days and has now been over a week in comparison to coworkers that filed after we did and have already received their refund.Desired Settlement: I want my tax refund to be deposited to my account and I believe the service fees associated with the Refund Transfer should be eliminated for false representation of services.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr.

[redacted],

Upon

researching your claim of your missing refund, I contacted Financial Management

Services (FMS) at ###-###-####. This is

a treasury offset program and it appears they intercepted your refund before it

was deposited at Santa Barbara Tax Products Group. Your refund was applied to the U.S.

Department of Education. You may contact

FMS at the number listed above or they also provided the following number for

you to contact for further details of the delinquent debt they collected on:

U.S. Department of Education at ###-###-####.

We hope this helps to clarify where your funds are located.

On

behalf of the bank and all customer service agents involved, I apologize for

the lack of customer service provided to you.

Customer courtesy is an extreme priority for us and in this case we

apparently failed you. Their manager was

provided a copy of this complaint and will be addressing those issues directly

with them.

If you

have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint please feel

free to contact me at ###-###-####, Monday through Friday 8 am to 4 pm

PST.

Respectfully,

Compliance

Assistant

Santa

Barbara Tax Products Group

Consumer

Response:

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. I received notification from the IRS after submitting this complaint and realize that the issue (other than customer service complaints) was due to misinformation at the time from the IRS and the department that received the offset. Thank you for looking into the issue and have a good day.

Regards,

Below is "my story;" from what I can find on the Internet, I am not alone. I am a 30-year technology professional, so I can tell you that from my observation, Tax Products Group (TPG) has a serious mess on it's hands. It appears to me and a number of customers who are posting online in recent weeks that TPG does not intend to help it's customers accurately track the status of refunds or to assist when something goes wrong.

So, here's my story...

[Interactions with Intuit; verification at IRS.gov]

- I filed taxes using TurboTax Deluxe on 2/7/2016

- I received emails from Intuit on 2/7 & 2/8 indicating tax returns had been accepted

- I received email from Intuit on 2/18/2016 saying to expect a direct deposit in 1-2 business days.

- I checked and found the IRS website indicated my funds were deposited on 2/18/2016

- Intuit's email on 2/18/16 said to email the "Tax Products Group" (TPG) for help; I have done so but have not received an acknowledgement from Tax Products Group that they have received my inquiry

- Intuit's email on 2/18/16 also indicated that I could reach TPG by phone at 800-717-7228, which I have called with the following results:

[Interactions with Tax Products Group (TPG)]

+ TPG's phone system directed me to enter my SSN# and then told me to call the "Risk Assessment Group" at 800-814-0401

+ I called the 800-814-0401 number, a recording told me to call 877-908-7228

+ I called the 877-908-7228 number and my phone call was dropped

+ When I enter my SSN# and refund amount, TPG's website says (per the attached "TPG Taxpayer Dashboard.pdf") that "For security purposes, we are unable to process your refund. Please contact the IRS at (800) 829-1040 or irs.gov. Allow a minimum of 12 weeks for the IRS to process your refund."

So, it seems that:

= Thousands of dollars of money due to me are not available to me for nearly four months for reasons not clearly explained to me

= Intuit does not provide any meaningful assistance with the last and most important step of filing taxes: receiving the refund!

= I was lied to by Intuit as to the status of my refund; it was not direct deposited

= I was never / will never be notified by TPG or Intuit about the true status of my refund, but if I am willing to run a gauntlet of 800 numbers and login to a third-party website without any reason to trust that site, I can read a terse message suggesting risk to me or my refund ("security purposes") has resulted in my refund taking a MINIMUM of roughly TEN TIMES longer than originally expected.

= I have been charged for direct deposits that have not occurred and I have no recourse to recover those charges

At least that's how it seems.

Filed my Income Tax using the TurboTax Online program like I have for the past 6 years or so. Received information that it had been reviewed, accepted and approved on January 28, 2016. Next information I received from TurboTax by email AND text was that it was to be deposited into my bank account by Direct Deposit on February 10, 2016. It is now February 26 and nothing. Checked with my Bank and they advised me that nothing has ever been sent. I called and spoke to an IRS representative and was advised that my Income Tax information had been received, reviewed and approved and they had sent my refund to TurboTax's bank, Santa Barbara Tax Products which was bought out and owned by [redacted], where they would take out their fees, then forward it on to my bank to be direct deposited. I finally spoke to a human with TurboTax after getting the run around and forwarded to 15+ numbers to call, being put on hold so many times I lost count, then to be disconnected and was finally told that a hold had been placed on MY MONEY because of some "suspicious activity" on my account. I was then directed to fax or upload my DRIVER'S LICENSE (front and back) to show proof of my identity.

Well SANTA BARBARA TAX GROUP is sitting like proud [redacted] peacocks, gaining interest on my hard earned money and will not release it to be deposited into my account.

This company ALONG with TurboTax is a scam, fraud, thieves and I will NEVER do business with this company again.

I WARN all to be aware of this scamming company and go elsewhere if you WANT your money!!!!!

Review: Santa Barbara tax group/TPG is handling my federal tax return that which I file E-file. I, [redacted] have called on numerous occasions to retrieve my $804.00 federal return bask on February 11th and I keep getting different answers. It was sent back, wrong account numbers etc.Desired Settlement: I want my refund $804 minus the $19.00 they charge for E-filing.

Business

Response:

[redacted] Rd

[redacted]

Re: Case [redacted]

April 16, 2015

Dear [redacted],

This email is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to the Revdex.com of San Diego on April 9, 2015 relating to not receiving your tax return refund.

Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax. On February 10, 2015 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your Turbo Tax user fees and an additional bank deposit product fee. The balance was deposited to the account instructed on The Citizens Banking Company Refund Processing Agreement. Your Bank rejected the funds and declared the account an R03 “No Account/Unable to Locate Account”. The funds were returned to TPG on February 12, 2015. Please feel free to use trace number [redacted] to discuss the rejection issue directly with your bank.

TPG allows taxpayers the opportunity to correct mistakes in their account information and avoid reprocessing until the item is received, which may be several days or several weeks. TPG offers a Web site where customers can change their account information. TPG also notifies the customer, through e-mail, at the time of funding, that the refund has been received and will be deposited into the bank account.

Because your attempts to change your account information failed we were unable to obtain the personal information from you in order to verify your identity and to make the applicable changes needed to correct your account information. Funds returned to the IRS on March 18, 2015. The IRS can take several weeks before they acknowledge receipt and post to your account. We apologize for this inconvenience, but please understand it is our obligation to follow these procedures to ensure the money is forwarded to the lawful owner.

Please contact Turbo Tax directly for the reimbursement of the e-filing fee of $19.99.

Thank you for your inquiry. Please feel free to contact me at [redacted], Monday through Friday 8 am to 4 pm, if you have any further questions or concerns regarding this complaint.

Respectfully,

[redacted] Senior Compliance Analyst

Review: I filed my tax return with turbotax and opted to have their fees be taken directly out of my return. When I realized the IRS had sent my return, it was sent to a third party sbtpg. I then saw that the turbotax system had apparently left out one digit from my account number for direct deposit. I immediately called sbtpg on February 9th when they received it, to inform them of the error to have it corrected. They advised me that it had already been sent to my direct deposit the same day within hours of them receiving it and I would have to wait for it to be rejected and sent back to them. I then called again on February 10th to see if they had information about the rejection. Sbtpg representative told me that it would take 48hrs and they gave me a tracing number to give my direct deposit bank which is Netspend. I then called netspend and spoke to a representative who tried to trace the number I was provided by sbtpg and verified with rep from sbtpg 3 times over the phone. The netspend rep told me it was a invalid trace number and they could not track it. I then explained to her that the account number was missing one number and that's why I expect they would reject it and send it back to sbtpg. She then told me that there was no way possible for it to even go through as an attempt to direct deposit, if the account didn't exist and they cannot reject something that would have never been able to be sent to them. She then advised me to call in a conference call with sbtpg, because she wanted to verify with them what information they were saying to me, because she was confused as to why sbtpg were not informed right away that the deposit could not have even been attempted. This got me really worried now, seeing so many people have had nothing but negative things happening to them, similar to mine. I can't afford to have this happen to me right now. I was informed by sbtpg that I would have to get a check in mail. I spoke to turbo rep who informed me they can correct it.Desired Settlement: I would like to know how a professional company who all they do is refunds and deal with banks wouldn't be able to know right away that they could not transfer my funds. I tried conference call with netspend rep, but wasn't able to reach anyone at sbtpg. Please tell me where is my refund of 7,905 and when will I receive it? I am getting scared with sbtpg, it sounds like I am being tricked. Can they correct the account number for direct deposit like was told to me by the same people(turbotax) who suppose to work with them or an exact date of when I will receive a check since they still have my money. Please help. Need a resolution soon.

Business

Response:

February 16, 2016

Dear Ms. [redacted],

This is in response to the complaint you 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 in

your direct deposit number. Your complaint stated that [redacted] had a

numerical error and dropped the last digit from the account number during the

filing process.

If a taxpayer enters a bank account that will not accept the

refund deposit, the transaction is rejected to 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.

After speaking with our compliance department, you were

notified that your funds were released from the hold which allows TPG to process

a cashier’s check. On February 12, 2016, TPG mailed your refund check to your

address of record. Allow up to 7 business days to receive the check, please

note that Monday was a holiday.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to

contact me at [redacted], Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm.

Sincerely,

Compliance Analyst

Consumer

Response:

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. When I have received the check in the mail as noted. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. Thank you for your response in a timely manner. [redacted] was so helpful and prompt with her response I appreciate it greatly. I am confident with this company and their promise.

Regards,

I will never be using there services again. Please be warned that this company is fraud. They hold your funds and pretend like they don't have it to collect interest. If you are really unlucky they will make you prove your identity by sending in all this paper work just for you to have to wait forever to receive a check. They are just holding my money and taking their precious time. This isn't fair being that they charge us so much just to process the money. This is the worst institution ever. Whenever I call they are rude and don't want to provide answers. I will be letting everyone know of this horrible customer service this company has. Turbotax needs to affiliate with a different bank.