Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Review: Tax Products Group is responsible for deducting [redacted] fees and depositing the remaining [redacted] refund into my checking account. The [redacted] released my refund on February 11th, but when I still didn't have my return, I reached out to [redacted] on February 13th. They told me that my account may have been compromised, and I needed to send over proof of identity and an account change form so they could then release my funds. I was told it would take 24-72 hours to update my information. I called back on February 16th, and the representative told me that some of what I sent didn't go through, so sent everything again. She advised me to keep logging in to their web site to see if my information was updated, but I should give it until Thursday, February 19th. When I contacted them today, I was told they had everything they needed and it was "in processing." At this point, I told them I wanted to speak to a supervisor because I didn't understand why it was taking so long for them to release my funds. I was then told they no longer had my money, that I was a victim of identity theft. However, in checking with [redacted] and reviewing my return, all the information is correct in regards to my bank. It appears as thought [redacted] mistakenly transferred my return to someone else's account, and will not resolve the issue by reissuing my refund. [redacted] has documentation in their electronic filing engine that the money was sent to the correct account, and that [redacted] has signed off on the receipt of my refund.Desired Settlement: Please deposit my refund. Acknowledge bank error.

Business

Response:

RE: Case [redacted]

02.24.2015

Dear

[redacted],

This

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

Group to the Revdex.com on February 19, 2015 regarding service

issues.

We

realize that you personal confidential information has been compromised and

your tax refund, in effect, has been stolen. Be assured that the IRS has

a process available to provide restitution for taxpayers who have had their

identity compromised and their refund stolen. We will help you as a

victim get restitution from the IRS. Unfortunately this process will take

some time and restitution won’t be immediate. We will supply some forms

and information to help you initiate the process. Additionally, you

should take measures to enhance the security of your confidential personal

information in all areas. We have performed analytics and are confident

that this breach did not occur at TPG 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.

We

are working with you to help you resolve this issue in a more timely

manner. [redacted] with our office has

contacted you with a suggestion that we believe will resolve your issue

completely. If you are not satisfied

with Mr. [redacted]’s suggestion, please let us know.

As

a victim of identity theft, you should take immediate steps to protect your

personal information.

File a report with the local police.File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission or the FTC

Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-438-4338 or TTY 1-866-653-4261.Contact one of the three major credit bureaus to place a ‘fraud

alert’ on your credit records: Equifax, 1-800-525-6285Experian, 1-888-397-3742TransUnion, 1-800-680-7289Close any accounts opened without your permission or tampered

with. It is recommended you take

these additional steps:

Respond immediately to any IRS notice; call the number provided.Complete IRS Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit. Use a fill-able

form at IRS.gov, print, then mail or fax according to their instructions. For your

convenience, I have also included a copy of this form.Continue to pay your taxes and file your tax return, even if you

must do so by paper.If you previously contacted the IRS and did not have a

resolution, contact the Identity Protection Specialized Unit at

1-800-908-4490. Respectfully,[redacted]Compliance

Analyst cc: Revdex.com

Business

Response:

RE: Case [redacted]

02.24.2015

Dear

[redacted],

This

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

Group to the Revdex.com on February 19, 2015 regarding service

issues.

We

realize that you personal confidential information has been compromised and

your tax refund, in effect, has been stolen. Be assured that the [redacted] has

a process available to provide restitution for taxpayers who have had their

identity compromised and their refund stolen. We will help you as a

victim get restitution from the [redacted]. Unfortunately this process will take

some time and restitution won’t be immediate. We will supply some forms

and information to help you initiate the process. Additionally, you

should take measures to enhance the security of your confidential personal

information in all areas. We have performed analytics and are confident

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.

We

are working with you to help you resolve this issue in a more timely

manner. [redacted] with our office has

contacted you with a suggestion that we believe will resolve your issue

completely. If you are not satisfied

with Mr. [redacted]’s suggestion, please let us know.

As

a victim of identity theft, you should take immediate steps to protect your

personal information.

File a report with the local police.File a complaint with the [redacted] or the [redacted] at [redacted] or TTY [redacted].Contact one of the three major credit bureaus to place a ‘fraud

alert’ on your credit records: [redacted]Close any accounts opened without your permission or tampered

with. It is recommended you take

these additional steps:

Respond immediately to any [redacted] notice; call the number provided.Complete [redacted] Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit. Use a fill-able

form at [redacted].gov, print, then mail or fax according to their instructions. For your

convenience, I have also included a copy of this form.Continue to pay your taxes and file your tax return, even if you

must do so by paper.If you previously contacted the [redacted] and did not have a

resolution, contact the [redacted] at [redacted]. Respectfully,[redacted]Compliance

Analyst cc: Revdex.com

Review: Please see attached complaint against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, LLC.Desired Settlement: Please see attached complaint against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, LLC.

Business

Response:

June 23, 2014

This Company should be SHUT DOWN. They are either completely incompetent or just plain dishonest. We consumers need to start a class action lawsuit against them.

They are a TurboTax partner, and illegally holding on to taxpayers' IRS refunds. I received an email from TurboTax stating that my substantial refund would be deposited immediately by SBPPG--that was over a week ago. When I try to contact them by phone, I'm put into a phone loop where I'm told my info isn't available, a recording then asks me to call the very same number I just called, and then they hang up. I then called TurboTax and they brushed me off by telling me to keep calling SBPPG.

After reading other reviews about this company I realize they are putting other tax payers through this very same scam. SBPPG has held some consumers' money for up to a month. How is it that they can get away with this! How are they still in business?

In the future I'll use [redacted] online tax program.

Review: I am filing a complaint against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group today because of issues with my tax return refund they refuse to release. They have had my refund since February 6,2015 and have been giving me the runaround ever since. My refund was to be deposited into my account by February 6 of 2015, when it wasn't there I waited until Monday to call my bank. I called my bank and said they never received anything in my name. I then called Santa Barbara Tax Products Group after being informed from [redacted] that is who "should" have it. When I called spoke to a very pleasant representative and was told it was on a "hold". This was made to seem like a common, not a big deal type thing. A very easy issue to resolve. Over the next 72 hours I began to believe otherwise. The representative that I initially talked to told me that he would just need to confirm a few simple details of my account and it would then be released after a 48 hour hold. I obliged and waited the 48 hours. I called on Thursday and they told me I was "misinformed" and that it would actually be a 72 hour hold. I waited until Friday and called back. Then the fun started. I went through about 10 reps and each had a different answer or the same answer only slightly changed. They f[redacted]t said it was unable to be released until I sent in further documentation of who I am. they then told me if I didn't want to do that I could go online and release the funds myself and that this was a "new thing" and that it would take a day or two for them to have it available to everyone. I tried the online service and nothing showed other than the fact that my money was supposedly there. I called back and of course, was told the same thing over again. Monday I faxed in new info and Tuesday was told they were sending my funds back to the [redacted]. I am now waiting for 8:15pst to talk to [redacted] to see if they are going to release my funds, which is unlikely. This business is awful and obviously has something shady going on.Desired Settlement: I would like to receive my refund in a timely manner.

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 18,

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 5,

2015 the [redacted] funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your Turbo

Tax user fees. The balance was deposited to the account instructed on the

[redacted], N.A. 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 6, 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 21, 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: On 2/25/2015 my tax refund was deposited into Santa Barbara Tax Products group. When Santa Barbara tried to deposit the refund into my bank account it was returned to them because my tax preparer mixed up numbers on my bank account. This is when my nightmare started. Since then I have tried on several time to find out where my refund is. Santa Barbara says that it was refunded on 18 March. The IRS says they have never received the refund back . I called Santa Barbara again yesterday and spoke with the employee named [redacted] 175-6498 she was extremely rude and disrespectful. She became defensive even when I let her vent she went on and scolding me. She kept speaking over me. It was one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had. I explained my situation and she told me she would forward me an email with information about my return. I did not receive the email. I have yet to get my tax refund and it has been 3 months. I was told by [redacted] that it was sent to a special department in the IRS and the front line does not know about this department and they don't share information. She told me it's there but that department is just not telling the other department. But somehow [redacted] knows. When I go to the SANTA BARBARA TAX PRODUCTS GROUP website its shows my refund was sent back on 3/2/2015. Still the IRS has no record of a return. This company is not helpful at all. The employees are get angry with customers because they want answers. My next step is to report my refund stolen or lost . If you can avoid using SANTA BARBARA TAX PRODUCTS GROUP please do.Desired Settlement: 9905.00

Business

Response:

[redacted] Dr.

[redacted] GA

Re: Case

May 7,

2015

Dear

[redacted],

This is in

response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG)

to the Revdex.com of San Diego on May 5, 2015 regarding service issues.

We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you

and the manner in which your inquiry was handled by our Customer Service

agents. Customer courtesy is an extreme

priority for us and in this case, we apparently failed you. All the customer agents involved have been

reminded of their obligation to always process customer inquiries in a

respectful manner.

Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was

chosen when your taxes were prepared through On Line Taxes Inc. On February 25,

2015 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your On Line

Taxes Inc tax preparation fees and an additional bank deposit product fee. The

balance was deposited to the account instructed on The Citizens Banking Company Refund Processing

Agreement. You stated in your complaint that your bank rejected the funds

because your “tax preparer mixed up

numbers on your bank account”.

TPG allows

taxpayers the opportunity to correct their initial mistake until the item is

reprocessed, which may be several days or several weeks. TPG offers a website where customers can

change their account information. Once

TPG receives the rejected refund the company has the option of making another

attempt to disburse funds to the customer or simply returning the funds to the

IRS. This second attempt to deliver the

refund to the customer is for the benefit of the customer. If the funds were returned directly to the

IRS the refund would be delayed for an extended period of time to allow the IRS

to reprocess the funds and post to the taxpayer account. Therefore, when the rejected refund is

returned, TPG makes a good faith attempt to deliver the refund to the taxpayer.

On

separate occasions you attempted to change your banking account information and

failed. Before you can make any changes to your original record, you are

required to answer a few questions which are meant to be difficult. You may

even need your records to answer them. They are used to ensure that nobody but

you can change your personal and confidential 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.

TPG begun

the process of returning your funds to the IRS on March 2 it was acknowledged

on March 18. TPG has returned funds associated with your tax return filing back

to the Internal Revenue Service, specifically the RICS/IVO Division of the IRS

in Fresno. The funds were sent back electronically via the FMS ACH Credit

Gateway process. Please allow approximately 8-12 weeks from March 18 for the

IRS to acknowledge receipt of funds.

Please feel free to contact me at [redacted], Monday

through Friday 7 am to 3 pm, if you have any further questions or concerns

regarding this complaint.

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,

Review: on 1/24/2016 I filed my 2015 taxes with [redacted] and tax product group. On the [redacted] track my refund page it said that my return was sent to my financial institution on 2/10/2015. So I kept checking my bank and nothing was there. On 2/16/2016 I called the tax product group and got transferred from one dept. to another and waiting and least 30 min. on hold each time. Finally I was able to speak with someone and they told the refund was sent to my bank and that my bank rejected it and sent it back to them and they have a hold on it until I can verify my identity. They said I would have to submit a copy of my drivers license and they would review it and I should here something in three to four days. Its a big scam because they never sent it to my bank because I called my bank and they said they did not receive any tax refund to be deposited to my account. I even checked to make sure the right routing number was on my returns which it was. This company is a joke and they keep peoples money so they can gain the interest on it. Now I don't know how long its gonna take them to get my refund to me. I want a refund for the 77 dollars it cost me to have them do my taxes. They are a big scam and they are a ripoff. They have no right to hold my refund and I think they should be shutdown.Desired Settlement: I would like my TAX refund back to me YESTERDAY and I would like to be refunded for the 77dollars I had to pay to this defunct business.

Business

Response:

February 24, 2016

Dear Ms. [redacted],

This is in response to your complaint against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

(TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 16, 2016.

Your complaint stated that you filed your taxes on

January 24 but since then have not received your refund. You had contacted TPG

on February 16 to find more information about your refund and why it was

initially rejected.

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; fees were deducted to pay your [redacted] 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 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 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 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 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 returning the funds to the

IRS.

TPG was able to verify your information and

release the hold on your account. On February 20, TPG issued a check for your

refund and mailed it to your address on record. Please allow up to 7 days for

the check to reach your address.

Sincerely,

Compliance Analyst

Review: The IRS released tax refund to TPG as a third party servicer for Turbo Tax to collect their fees and then distribute the balance of funds to customers within 24 hours. IRS distributed Funds to TPG on Feb 25 and they failed to distribute my tax return. On Tuesday March 3rd I finally made contact with TPG at which time the service rep/agent stated they hadn't contacted me or distributed my refund because they expect customers to seek them out if they don't receive their returns and therefore have no outward bound efforts to contact people when TPG fails to distribute within 24 hours. I was then notified that my distribution had been assigned to the risk department and I would need to produce a copy of my W-2, SS card and my identification because my return was unusually large. They indicated when I did the following I would have info forwarded to a supervisor and after clearance would release the funds within 24-48 hours. On Tuesday March 03 at 9:01am I emailed the requested information and then called 24 hours later on March 04. They said info would be forwarded that day. On March 06 I called again 4-5x leaving messages with the risk supervisor "[redacted]" who despite being in the office refused to return calls or address my concerns. I was finally able to make contact with a "[redacted]" who said she determined that the IRS had requested a return of funds for further evaluation. She then refused to produce this request and said I should contact a tax advocate because they would now take 2 weeks to process the funds back to the IRS. I then contacted a tax advocate who reviewed my file within the IRS system and there is no evidence any such request has been made of TPG nor will TPG produce evidence of such.Desired Settlement: I wish for my monies to be immediately distributed to my bank account or have the documentation from the IRS emailed to [email protected] that they claim mandates them to return funds to IRS. I have contacted the IRS personally and through a tax advocate and there is no evidence of such a demand from the IRS.

Business

Response:

RE: Case [redacted]

03.11.2015

Dear R[redacted],

This letter is

in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to

the Revdex.com on March 6, 2015 regarding service issues.

In accordance

with your online contract, a temporary account was opened to receive and

process your income tax refund and pay your tax preparation fees from your

refund. Upon review of your record, The IRS funded your federal return on

February 24, 2015.

Controls are

in place to protect our customers from identity theft and fraud. We requested

forms of identification based on these controls. Your statement on the

complaint confirms this event.

IRS has

requested your refund to be returned back to them for further evaluation. TPG

has begun the process of returning your funds to the IRS. This process can take

up to 15 business days. Please be advised that once we have returned funds to

the IRS it can be several weeks before they acknowledge receipt and post to

your account. 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.

It is

recommended that you contact the IRS at 800-829-1040 for further detailed

information.

Please feel

free to contact me at [redacted], Monday through Friday 7 am to 3 pm if you

have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint.

Respectfully,

Compliance

Analyst

Review: I received a 2014 tax refund check prior to even filing my 2014 income taxes. Apparently a return was filed fraudulently in my name. I could not reach a person at the phone number on the check and had to google the name of the bank on which it was drawn. My suspicions were heightened when I called St. Paul, MN per the website, clicked on locations and only saw them in Minnesota, despite the customer service rep's claim that they were in California as well.Desired Settlement: Resolution of fraudulent tax return information and restoration of my ability to file my own taxes and to receive the money due to me.

Business

Response:

[redacted] J [redacted]

RE:

Case [redacted]

03.03.2016

Dear

[redacted],

This

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

to the Revdex.com on February 26, 2015 regarding identity

theft.

Please allow me to discuss who we are and

what products we offer to taxpayers in order for you to gain a better

understanding of our role in processing your tax return refund. Sunrise Banks, N.A. offers tax related

financial products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent

tax professionals and online tax preparation providers. Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) is a

third part processor for the Bank and is providing a response on behalf of its

partner Sunrise Banks, N.A. Sunrise

Banks N.A., provides a product known as the Refund Transfer (RT). The RT provides the taxpayer a method of

having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying

any out-of-pocket costs. When the

taxpayer prepares their taxes through Turbo Tax, they can choose to deduct

their fess from their 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 less than 21 days from

the filing date), the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the software

user fees and deposit product 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). TPG is simply a third party

processor which serves as an intermediary between the IRS and the taxpayer and

has no direct access to the tax preparation event or the transmittal of the

return to the IRS.

The return was acknowledged and verified by

the IRS, TPG has no reason to question the information provided. We had to

assume that the application sent to us was sent by the taxpayer and that the

sensitive personal and confidential information provided therein was your

account information.

From

your inquiry, it appears that you may be a victim of identity theft. It is

recommended you take immediate steps to

protect your personal information.

File a report with the local police.File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission or the FTC [redacted]Contact one of the three major credit bureaus to place a ‘fraud

alert’ on your credit records: [redacted]Close any accounts opened without your permission or tampered

with. It is also recommended you

take these additional steps:

Respond immediately to any IRS notice; call the number provided.Complete IRS Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit. Use a fill-able

form at IRS.gov, print, then mail or fax according to their instructions. For your

convenience, I have also included a copy of this form.Continue to pay your taxes and file your tax return, even if you

must do so by paper.Please

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

you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint. Respectfully, [redacted]Compliance

Analyst

Review: I spoke to this company starting on 2/9 about a refund that was supposed to be deposited into my account. When I spoke to the representative, he said I just needed to verify my information, and that a check would be released within 72 hours, and mailed to me. I verified all of my info, and waited. I spoke to another rep later that week, and they still told me that I would have the check mailed to me, and to wait. When I called on Saturday, 2/14, I was told that it should be released on the next business day, so I called on 2/17. When I called I was told that the process had changed, and I needed to go online to select the option to have a check mailed. When I went online to do that, the system kicked me out before I could verify any info, and told me the request could not be processed, and to call customer care. When I called I was told that the system could not verify who I was, and that eventually the money would be sent back to the IRS, and I could get the money back that way. I spoke to a supervisor, who told me there was nothing they could do, even though it is their fault that they did not have the check processed within 72 hours, when I originally called. Now, they are going to charge me a $20.00 fee for the deposit returning, and not even give me the money they owe me. They told me that they would not waive the fee, and that there is nothing else they can do. The supervisor told me they would release the money with in 1-15 days, and then I would need to wait 10-12 weeks for the IRS to get it. When I asked for somebody higher, I was told that they were unavailable, and that I was already speaking to the highest person I could at the time. I insisted, so I was transferred to a voicemail, and am still awaiting a call back.Desired Settlement: I would like a check for the money they owe me. I would also now like the fee waived that they charged me because I feel like this is a huge hassle, and should not have to be waiting all of this time, when I have done everything that I need to do. They, so far, have not provided any service to me, or any customer service.

Business

Response:

RE: Case [redacted]

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 20, 2015 regarding funds never received.

Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer

(RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax. On February 3,

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

Tax user fees. The balance was deposited to the account instructed on the

Sunrise Banks, N.A. Refund Processing Agreement. Your Bank rejected the funds

and declared the account an R04 “invalid account number”. The funds were

returned to TPG on February 5, 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. TPG provided the

service which we were contracted to provide in deducting the applicable fees

and depositing the money into the account which you directed on the online

agreement. TPG charges a processing fee of $20.00 to process the rejected of

funds. Your electronic signature on the return authorized the deduction of all

applicable fees and processing of the Cashier’s Check. TPG 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,

Compliance Analyst

Review: SBTPG was the middle man for my tax return this year and was horrid to work with. They charge 29.99 to accept my tax return from the IRS and wire it to my bank. I received an email from them that my return was on the way and should be in my bank within the next two days. After four days I had not received payment so I called to ask if there was a problem. I was told that the bank did not accept their transfer and they would send a check right away. I asked if they could provide me the transaction number of the failed transfer but no one could. I was transferred from manager to manager until eventually I landed on an answering machine where I was promised a call back. Of course, the call never came. After a few more days I had not received my return yet so I called again and asked about the delay. They said they needed more information from me including my SS card and W2. I was hesitant to send this information, the IRS doesn't require it to process a return, but I complied and sent them what they requested. Today, over a month from my submitted date, I received my tax return and SBTPG had taken another twenty dollars from my return as a reprocessing fee. I was never made aware of this and would like for it to be refunded. Not only did they fail to process my tax return correctly but they charged me for their short comings. Unfortunately, Turbo Tax has lost a customer due to SBTPG's incompetency.Desired Settlement: I should be refunded the entire 49.99 for services since SBTPG was unable to deliver on what was promised.

Business

Response:

May

13, 2013

Dear

Mr. [redacted],

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).

When

you chose a do-it-yourself (DIY) tax preparation software package such as Turbo

Tax, you are 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. In these cases the

receiving bank “rejects” the transaction, and returns the funds to the sender,

in this case TPG. TPG never intervenes prior to the funds being sent to the

receiving bank and rejected by the receiving bank. TPG is solely a third

party processor and has nothing to do with the receiving bank’s decision to

reject the funds.

Upon

further research, Bank of [redacted] rejected your funds and declared the account

an R03/“No Account/Unable to Locate Account”. Please contact your Bank’s

ACH department for further information on the rejection and provide them with

trace number [redacted]. For your convenience, the trace number is

located in the disbursement detail on the TPG website, www.sbtpg.com. Please see screen shot

below:

Review: My tax return was sent to SBTPG through [redacted]. SBTPG claims they sent the check via direct deposit to my bank on 02/09 and my bank sent it back to them on 02/10. My bank states this never happened. I was also not notified of this and had to call in sitting on hold for over an hour to be told of this "happening." I called back in to SBTPG and was told I needed to go to their website and upload my driver's license in order to have my identity verified and a paper check cut and sent to my home address. I did this on 02/11 ans told it would take 2 business days to complete this process at the longest. I called back in on 02/16 and was told that they had "received an update" and the process now takes 4 business days and it would be cut by Thursday 02/18. I have been attempting to call all day to verify this process has been completed and my money has been released to me and have been getting either a busy tone or hung up on as soon as I say my name. This is not acceptable and especially not of a BANK! I want my check released to me immediately and I want the $108+ I spent on this "service" refunded to me immediately also. This "bank" can't just hold other people's checks and then not complete their portion of the agreement in releasing those funds once ID has been verified. It is also disconcerting that I had a supervisor named [redacted] tell me the process takes 2 business days and then be told 4 days later by a service rep that it takes 4. This place clearly does not have their act together but at any right the customer is paying the price for their lack of organization. I demand my almost $10,000 check be released and mailed to me PRIORITY immediately. I don't think this is at all too much to ask at this point, seeing how my tax return was filed a month ago now!Desired Settlement: I want this check released immediately as I sent my ID verification a full week ago now, sent to me via priority mail and the fees I paid to use this "service refunded to me as well which were $108+

Business

Response:

February 26, 2016

Dear Ms. [redacted],

This is in response to your

complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the

Revdex.com on February 18, 2016.

In your complaint you stated that

on February 10 your tax return was sent back to TPG. After sending TPG your

identification, you were given a different number of days when your account

would be released from the hold. You tried contacting TPG’s customer service

but were unable to reach an agent.

If a taxpayer enters a bank

account that will not accept the refund deposit, the transaction is rejected by

the receiving bank. Oftentimes 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 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 has requested you to provide

your state license and social security number in order to verify that you are

the correct account holder. Your identification was then successfully verified

and the hold from your account released. On February 20, TPG processed your tax

refund as a check and mailed it to you on the same date. Please allow up to 7

days for the check to reach your address listed.

If you have any more questions or

concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted], Monday through

Friday, 7am to 4pm.

Sincerely,

Compliance Analyst

Review: I filed my taxes using turbo tax. They use Santa Barbara Tax Products Group LLC as a third party to collect payment and dispurse direct deposit. I was on Santa Barbara Tax Products Group LLC website to update my information. I made it to a page that said a code was sent to email to verify identity. It also said code would expire in 30 mintutes. It took two hours to get the code. When I inputed the code I recieved a message stating that my identity could not be verified that a 15 day hold will be put on my refund and sent back to irs.

I recieved an email with a phone number. I called them to explain what had happened the CSR told me there was nothing she could do. That my money would be put on hold and sent back. She then stated that the fees will be deducted including a $34.99 bank processing fee. I can understand the money owed to turbo tax , but why should I be responsible for a $34.99 bank fee if they aren't the ones sending me my refund.Desired Settlement: I would like for Santa Barbara Tax Products Group LLC to fulfill their commentment by sending me my direct deposit or not charging me the $34.99 processing fee

Business

Response:

Re: Case[redacted]

March 12,

2015

Dear [redacted],

This is in

response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to the

Revdex.com of San Diego on March 2, 2015 regarding service issues.

In accordance

with your online contract, a temporary account was opened to receive and

process your income tax refund and pay your tax preparation fees from your

refund. On March 4, 2015, the IRS funded your federal return; fees were

deducted to pay your Turbo Tax user fees and an additional deposit product fee.

The deposit product fee is a service fee charged when you select to have your

Turbo Tax user fees deducted directly from the tax refund amount instead of

having to front any out of pocket expenses at the time of tax preparation.

Controls are

in place to protect our customers from identity theft and fraud. Once you were

verified as the lawful owner of the funds, your refund was released on March 5,

2015 by way of deposit to an account designated by you.

Please feel

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

have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint.

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. After asking to file a complaint internally I was able to reach Ms.[redacted]. She was able to help me resolve this issue. I tried to resolve the issue for a week with no luck. I asked every CSR to let me verify my identity but they refused. Ms. [redacted] allowed me to do such. For future refrence please retrain the CSR's to deal with this matter accordingly. Also please have I.T. to check into why it was taking several hours to send out the code. Thank You. I'm very satisfied with Ms. [redacted]'s help.

Regards,

I filled my on February 2, and my expected refund date should of been

Feb. 24, but the IRS had a delay with taxes..so it changed my date to Mar 2-7th the date and left...NO refund...So the IRS told me to all the bank because they had released the funds to the BANK with is (SBTPG) I called them on the Mar. 9th I had to upload my drivers license to verify my identity...They said it would take 7 business days to process...well its been 7 days and no refund...costumer service only told me that my account was put on hold with NO explanation as to why my account was put on hold. This very unprofessional and displays a untrustworthy feeling with me...I will NOT deal with bank anymore!!

When you receive a refund over 10k, or anything substantial, they flag your account, unbeknownst to you, as potentially suspicious, and require you to upload additional documentation. An absolutely bogus practice as our own Federal Government has checks and balances in place to ensure your identity is in line before any refunds are issued. Yet if this bank enforces their "security measures", apparently it allows them to sit on my, and thousands of other taxpayers refunds and collect interest while they "verify" you. Forget customer service as well. The bank won't answer 99% of the time, and when they do, they play round robin with transfers until you hang up. [redacted] - take note - you've lost a longtime customer and advocate and I can assure you many more will follow my lead.

Review: I did my taxes with turbotax on February 2015 and refund date was set February 17 ,IRS send money February 14 and this bank received the money and send to my account but it was rejected. Money goes back this bank and they Put the money on hold I call them and ask if they can send me the money they told it was going back to IRS. I keep calling them because the website still said the money is on hold after 2 weeks. They said is a process that takes weeks, after charging me return fees and legal fees still have my money. On march 18 I call them and they said we just send your money to the IRS. I ask for a confirmation Email and after a few call they send me one. I call IRS they said they don't have my money that I have to call this people again. IRS Never got the money back from this people to be able to issue me a live check. Is been 3 month and I still waiting.Desired Settlement: For this company to be more efficient with theyr service they charge for and have a better customer service

Business

Response:

203

N Maxwell St Apt 1

Allentown

PA 18109

Re:

Case 10628860

05.21.2015

Dear

[redacted],

This is in response to the complaint filed against

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) to the Revdex.com of San

Diego on May 18, 2015 regarding

service issues.

We apologize for

the inconvenience this has caused you and the manner in which your inquiry was

handled by our Customer Service agents.

Customer courtesy is an extreme priority for us and our obligation is to

always process customer inquiries in a respectful manner.

In

the scenario described in your complaint you have chosen a do-it-yourself tax

preparation software package such

as Turbo Tax. The taxpayer is entirely

responsible for the information provided to the software including the

disbursement account where the refund will be deposited. Turbo Tax software requires that the taxpayer

identify a bank account number where they want the refund deposited. On February 13, 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. The routing

number used belongs to a prepaid card; however they rejected the funds and

declared your account R03 “No

Account/Unable to Locate Account”.

Delays of up to five or six business days may occur before the Bank

receives back the rejected transaction. New funds cannot be re-disbursed

until the rejected transaction is returned to the Bank. The funds were returned to TPG on February 18, 2015.

TPG notifies the customer, through e-mail, at the

time of funding, that the refund has been received and will be deposited into

the bank account. The customer is given thr

TPG website and phone contact information if they have any questions or problems.

TPG allows taxpayers the opportunity to correct their initial mistake and avoid

reprocessing until the item is reprocessed, which may be several days or

several weeks. TPG offers a website

where customers can change their account information. TPG’s customer service efforts are highly

successful as customers each year utilize the Web to change account information

prior to IRS funding.

Because your

attempt to change your account information failed we were unable to obtain the

personal information from you in order to verify your identity and to make the

applicable changes needed to correct your account information. Funds returned to the IRS

on March 18, 2015. Please allow approximately 10-12 weeks from March 18 for the

IRS to acknowledge receipt of funds.

Please feel free

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

any further questions or concerns regarding this complaint.

Respectfully,

Compliance Analyst

Review: Santa Barbara Tax Group have failed to direct deposit a large federal tax refund.

They have sent a check after sitting on the refund for several days, no doubt accumulating interest on un-dispersed federal refunds.

It's impossible to speak to a live rep, you have to deal with an almost useless phone system.

I found a page the says I have been charged a $20 return fee. What on earth is that you might ask yourselves, who knows ?

I double checked the bank details for the direct deposit and it's all 100% accurate and correct.Desired Settlement: I want SBTPG to acknowledge they messed up and refund me the $20 they have charged and apologize for sitting on my refund for no reason at all.

I'm very unhappy with their service and will never use them again.

Business

Response:

Re: Case[redacted]

03.17.2016

Dear [redacted],

This is in

response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to the

Revdex.com of San Diego on March 12, 2015 regarding service issues.

In

accordance with your online contract, a temporary account was opened to receive

and process your income tax refund and pay your tax preparation fees from your

refund. TPG has nothing to do with incorrect account information entered by the

taxpayer or the receiving bank’s decision to reject the funds.

On March

9, 2015, the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your

Turbo Tax user fees. 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

March 12, 2015.

TPG never

intervenes prior to the funds being sent to the receiving bank and rejected by

the receiving bank. Please feel free to

use trace number [redacted] to discuss the rejection issue directly with

your bank.

The Bank

charges a commercially reasonable processing fee to cover the expenses

associated with processing this bank product.

Most banks typically charge between $25 and $35.

Please feel

free to contact me at [redacted], Monday through Friday 7 am to 3 pm if you

have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint.

Respectfully,

Compliance

Analyst

Review: I submitted my tax refund through Turbo Tax and requested to have it direct deposited into my checking account. They sent it through the Tax Products Group in La Jolla CA as a third party. It was sent as a check that could not be cashed nor deposited by my banks. I was told to return the check and the funds would be release back to the IRS. After I sent the check back by certified mail so that way no one could say it was "missing", I was told they received the check; however, I was also informed that they will not send back the funds for another month to the IRS. I did not agree to do business with this company in the first place. I did not authorize them to hold the funds from my return for an additional 30 days. Their customer service was of absolutely no assistance, and the most recent agent hung up on me while I waited for a supervisor just 10 minutes ago. They have over 94 complaints with the Revdex.com and I now see why.Desired Settlement: Release my refund to the IRS now, not a month from now. I sent a copy of this complaint to your business partner, Turbo Tax asking that they do not use you for third party money handling again or they, too, will lose business.

Business

Response:

RE: Case [redacted]

03.06.2015

Dear [redacted],

Please

allow me to explain the role of TPG in this matter and clarify the information

provided to you by Turbo Tax. TPG, on behalf of the 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 out-of-pocket costs. 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 (either a personal bank account or a prepaid

card).

TPG

has nothing to with incorrect account information entered by the taxpayer or

the receiving bank’s decision to reject the funds. Your Bank rejected the funds

and declared the account an R03 “no account/unable to locate account”. Once TPG

receives the rejected refund the company has the option of making another

attempt to disburse funds to the customer or simply returning the funds to the

IRS. This second attempt to deliver the

refund to the customer is for the benefit of the customer. If the funds were returned directly to the

IRS the refund would be delayed for an extended period of time to allow the IRS

to reprocess the funds and post to the taxpayer account. Therefore, when the rejected refund is

returned, TPG makes a good faith attempt to deliver the refund to the taxpayer

through an alternative delivery method, which is a paper check mailed to the

taxpayer address of record.

In

the scenario described in your complaint, your Bank will not cash the Cashier’s

Check without the secondary taxpayer’s signature. As a third party processor

and similar to the IRS, we are unable to split or remove a taxpayer’s name from

a joint tax return refund check.

Since

we could not proceed any further in our efforts, TPG has begun the process of

returning your funds to the IRS. This process can take up to 15 business days.

Please be advised that once we have returned funds to the IRS it can be several

weeks before they acknowledge receipt and post to your account.

Please feel free to contact me at

877-908-7228, Monday through Friday 7 am to 3 pm if you have any further

concerns or questions regarding this complaint.

Respectfully,

Compliance Analyst

Review: THIS COMPANY COLLUDED WITH INTUIT/TURBOTAX TO DEFRAUD ME OF MY $6394 FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURN. THE SCAM HAPPENED AS I WAS FINISHING UP MY TAX RETURN ON THE TURBOTAX WEBSITE WHEN I AUTHORIZED TURBOTAX TO TAKE THEIR FEES FROM MY FEDERAL TAX RETURN. I WAS ASKED IF I WANTED TO HAVE THEM BUY AMAZON GIFT CARDS WITH PART OF MY REFUND. I SAID ZERO. (ACTUALLY IT WAS A SLIDER FROM ZERO TO THE WHOLE AMOUNT AND I SLIDE IT TO THE ZERO END).

I HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO RETREIVE MY REFUND FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW. BUT THEY REFUSE TO EVEN DISCUSS IT WITH ME.

I BELIEVE THE TRANSACTION OR THE SOFTWARE IS FIXED TO NOT ALLOW YUO TO SAY ZERO. OR SOMEONE IN ONE OF THE 2 COMPANIES CHANGED MY SELECTION. EITHER WAY SOMEONE ACTED TOGETHER TO SECRETLY TO ACHIEVE A FRAUDULENT, ILLEGAL OR DECEITFUL OUTCOME AND THEY ARE HOLLDING MY REFUND AS HOSTAGE.Desired Settlement: I WANT THE REMAINDER OF MY REFUND MONEY BACK.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted],

Review: I inadvertently became involved with this company when I chose to have Turbo Tax online withdraw the fees from my refund rather than pay for them with a debit card. I asked for the funds to be sent to a debit card, not remembering that the card only takes payroll checks and government checks. So, the check from these folks was returned to them the end of April. Though they had both my telephone number and email address, no attempt was made to contact me. When I called in May I was told they could not send out a check because I had moved, they could not send a check to the old address. I would have to fax them enough information for someone to steal my identity. No problem there as I tried 3 times and could not get the fax with my SS card, driver's license, etc to go through. I called again a few days later, angry and finally demanded to speak to a supervisor. There are enough questions about identity that the person on this end of the phone could not have been anyone but me and the supervisor agreed. This was June 8. She said that she would authorize the funds for release and that a check would be on its way to my old address (to be forwarded to my new address) within 3 days. I called again today, July 4, 2013, and was told that the funds were not authorized for release and that my funds had been sent back to the IRS. That I was supposed to call again. Now, why in the world would I call again if I thought that the check was in the mail? My issue is : when they decided they were not going to release my money why did they, again, make no attempts to contact me? I did call again today as the check was obviously not in the mail. I have placed a call to the IRS and they are now tracking my refund. I am also filing a complaint with CA consumer affairs. When I told them I would be filing complaints, they were not concerned at all. It is obvious that they don't care about their customers.Desired Settlement: IRS has no record of the funds being returned and they are tracking my money. If they haven't sent the money, IRS will deal with them. I want them to change their policy to contact people when things are amiss. They have all of the info needed to contact people, but apparently, this never occurs to them.

Business

Response:

July

3, 2013

RE: Complaint ID: [redacted]

TPG ID: [redacted]

Dear

Ms. [redacted],

This email

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

(TPG) to the Revdex.com of San Diego on July 2, 2013 regarding funds that were never

received.

In

accordance with your online contract, a temporary account was opened to receive

and process your income tax refund and pay your tax preparation fees from your

refund. Upon review of your record, the

IRS funded your federal return on May 14, 2013.

TPG attempted to deposit the balance to the account instructed on the

[redacted] Bank Refund Processing Agreement. The funds were rejected by the financial

institution. Your statement on the

complaint confirms this event.

TPG’s

standard procedure this late in the season is to verify the identity of each

record holder and request the necessary paperwork to confirm the tax return in

question before we release any funds.

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

and fraud. On two separate occasions you

were advised that the account change form as well as two forms of unexpired

government-issued picture ID needed to be submitted in order to release your

funds. You stated on June 6, 2013 that

you were unhappy with our process and you didn’t want to forward your personal

and confidential information to TPG.

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. The IRS sent us indemnification for this

return and the income tax return refund was forwarded to the IRS on June 28,

2013.

Please

contact the IRS for an update at ###-###-#### or the IRS Taxpayer Advocacy

Panel at ###-###-####. They advise it

takes 6-8 weeks to process the funds and post them into the taxpayer’s

account. We apologize if our attempts at

protecting your funds were perceived as intrusive and understand your stand against

providing that information to us, but please understand it is our obligation to

investigate these matters thoroughly to ensure the money is forwarded to the

lawful owner.

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

www.sbtpg.com

Consumer

Response:

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.

When I spoke with your manager at the first of May she agreed to sent the refund check to the address on record per the tax forms. I will NOT send you or anyone else a FAX of my Driver's License and Social Security card. And you specifically demanded a copy of the Social Security card. Your manager agreed that no one but I could know all of the answers to the ridiculous amount of personal information I was required to recite to your representatives. The worst part of it is that after my last contact, prior to yesterday, I was assured that the check would be sent to the address of record. At no time in my several month interaction with your company has anyone ever attempted to contact me. I know you have the information as I had to recite it to you to discuss the account. So, instead of sending my check you sent it to the Fraud unit of the IRS. I am not the first person to have this sort of issue with you folks. At this point in time I want my $20 back for a service you never provided me. My dealings with you have been the worst I have ever had with any company. I will also be looking into filing a class action law suit. You are not an arm of the government and it is not your job to filter tax returns. My refund is not fraudulent and no one in their right mind would construe it to be so. You should not be allowed to remain in business. Your customer support is non existent and when you do get to talk to someone they lie about the status of your account.

Regards,

Business

Response:

July 3, 2013

Review: "Where's My Refund" (IRS) shows that our tax refund was deposited on 2/10/2016. We also received an email from [redacted]x stating that our refund was received on 2/10/16 and that we should see our refund in our checking account by 2/12/16. When we still had not received it by 2/12, I visited TPG's website and provided a copy of the front and back of my drivers license, as requested. Now, when I visit their site and request an update, I get the following message:

"We have identified unusual account activity and for your security, your account has been placed on hold.

To release this hold please verify your identity by providing a copy of one of the following pieces of identification: driver’s license, state identification card, or passport. YOU CAN SUBMIT THIS DOCUMENTATION THROUGH YOUR DESKTOP COMPUTER OR SMARTPHONE BY CLICKING HERE, or you can fax the documents to [redacted]. Your documents will be reviewed within 2 business days for online submissions and 4 days for faxed submissions."

It has been FIVE days since I submitted the documentation. I called the update line and was told I needed to call the Risk Analysis Hotline. I have now been on hold with Risk Analysis for more than two hours without speaking to a human. (I have screenshots on my phone to prove this.) I have a significant refund that is MY MONEY, but cannot get any answers as to why I have not received it!Desired Settlement: I would like my money to be deposited to my checking account immediately.

Consumer

Response:

This is to inform you that this complaint has been resolved. Thank you for your consideration in this matter![redacted]