Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

They claim that there is fraudulent activity and hold on to your funds until you are verified...but no one ever contacts you! So YOU must TRY to contact them when you notice something is amiss. When you try to contact them, you are placed on hold for hours or disconnected. Then they charge you a $40 processing fee and a $20 returned bank fee for attempting to deposit fund into your account???

I checked my bank account information and all that was provided is correct. I believe they are scamming people and a public law suit should be filed to return money to individuals harmed by their fraudulent business practices.

Filed my taxes with TurboTax and requested the fee for the tax return be taken out of my refund. HUGE MISTAKE. It got passed to TPG. They sent me an email on 2/24/2016 saying my refund would be direct deposited to my account the next business day. It is now 3/1/2016. I finally, after hours of calling the IRS and TurboTax, found out that TPG has put a "hold" on the funds for some reason. They never told me about the hold and when I try to call their numbers all I get is an automated phone tree that hangs up on me after I give it my SSN. This company doesn't have any clue about customer service but, more importantly, they held a $30,000 return and didn't even bother to tell me they were doing it.

I filed my tax return with Turbo Tax as I do every year. The refund goes through the Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to take out the Turbo Tax fee. They have been holding my refund and will not deposit it in my account. I have been on hold today for 3 hours 20 minutes (so far) and they will not answer the phone. Do not check the box on Turbo Tax that you want the fees taken out of your review as it will turn into this kind of nightmare. I've had 5 phone calls with Turbo Tax, 3 with the IRS and I cannot get this resolved. This is such a frustrating experience and such a waste of time....

Review: I use Turbotax to process my tax return and was having problems with enter the direct despoit information into the system after three attempts I was able to submit the information but the direct deposit routing number from the previous tax return overrided what I type in for the account number which was glitched acknowledged by Turbotax. Unfortunely the problem was detected until Santa Barbara Tax Product Group tried to deposit the funds into my account. They stated that the bank rejected and they immediately sent out a cashier check without asking my permission first. Then they accessed another 20 dollars out my tax refund and then stated it would be 5 to 10 business days. I was expecting the check to hit the bank on Thursday but since they acted I occured overdraft fees for a mistake that was Turbotax and Santa Barbara Tax Product group issue. Turbotax already refunded the tax fees but this tax group refused to take blame or even offer any type of solution for the inconviences. I want the 20 plus the 29.99 bank processing fee for the first failed attempted.Desired Settlement: I want the 20 plus the 29.99 bank processing fee for the first failed attempted. $49.99

Business

Response:

Dear Mr.

[redacted],

This

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

Group to the Revdex.com of San Diego on February 12, 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 6, 2014 the IRS funded your

federal return; fees were deducted to pay your Turbo Tax 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. 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 7, 2014.

According to your contract, TPG issued a Cashier’s Check on February 7, 2014

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

receipt of your check.

TPG has

nothing to with the account information entered by the taxpayer on the Turbo

Tax software 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. When the rejected refund was returned, TPG

made a good faith attempt to deliver the refund to you through an alternative delivery

method, which was a Cashier’s check.

As a

courtesy, I’ve enclosed a sample copy of the Refund Transfer online agreement for your

review. TPG provided the service which we were contracted to provide in

deducting the applicable fees and depositing the monies into the account which

you directed on the online agreement. There is a charge to TPG for reprocessed

items, there are staffing costs for handling the items, and there are costs

printing and mailing checks. TPG charges a commercially reasonable processing

fee to cover the expenses associated with processing these items. Most banks typically charge between $25 and

$35 for return item fees. Your electronic signature on the return authorized

the deduction of all applicable fees and processing of the Cashier’s Check. In this case, you were charged a $20.00

reprocessing fee for the rejection of funds.

You

indicated in your complaint “but the direct deposit routing number from the previous tax

return overrided what I type in for the account number which was glitched

acknowledged by Turbotax”.

When I reviewed your records for 2013 and 2014, the account information is

different from prior year 2013. It

doesn’t appear that there was an overwrite since the account information is

different from last year, otherwise the account information for 2014 would

match what was submitted in 2013. We are

researching the matter further with Turbo Tax but at this time because we

provided the contracted services found in your agreement, we are denying your

request for fee reimbursement. If it is

discovered that Turbo Tax was in error, I will send another email to advise you

of our findings and forward reimbursement via check to the address on record. If you would like to update your account information with TPG, please submit the attached form. If reimbursement is provided, we can also disburse the fees via direct deposit.

If you

have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint please feel

free to contact me at 858-334-6493, 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 have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

Because as always they are trying to blame someone else for a mistake instead of trying to make a mends that trying to assign blame on a glitch that happen. I want both of the fees reimbursed.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr.

[redacted],

As a

courtesy, TPG will remit $49.99 to resolve this complaint via Cashier’s Check

to your address on record.

Please

note it was confirmed that your issue is a matter of you submitting incorrect

account information. Your record is not

part of the Intuit “glitch” that you referred to as the records affected are

very specific and alerts were placed in each record. Also, this “glitch” did not involve Regency

Bank, such as your record indicates.

[redacted] is the same bank you used last year.

Upon

further investigation, you also received remittance of fees last year. Since you have had prior issues with our

product, it is recommended that you verify your banking information carefully for

the deposit of your refund. For direct deposit, the taxpayer’s name must

be on the account. For a joint return, some banks require both names on

the account. If the bank is unable to deposit your refund due to

incorrect information provided, there is a reprocessing fee to convert your

refund to a check and mail it to the address on the account. It is also advised that if using our bank

product again next year, you contact TPG at 877-908-7228 or via www.sbtpg.com at the time of filing to verify

that the account information transmitted to us is correct.

Please

note that your account will be flagged in the future.

If you

have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint please feel

free to contact me at 858-334-6493, Monday through Friday 8 am to 4 pm

PST.

Respectfully,

Cathy

Kissinger

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.

Regards,

Review: My husband and I filed our taxes using Turbotax. I authorized my refund to be electronically deposited into my bank account. In order for this to happen, we agreed to a short-term deposit agreement with the [redacted] National Bank. For reasons that are unclear to us, the [redacted] National Bank sent our money to Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, or "SBTPG". When I called [redacted] Bank, they told me that our refund was on hold because of the "Analysis Group," and they provided me with the telephone number for SBTPG, which was ###-###-####. I called and spoke with a representative named [redacted], whose ID number is [redacted]. He admitted that they have our tax refund and could not explain why it had been sent to them. He would not agree to pay us our own tax refund. Further, he said that they would NEVER have notified us of this fact because they allegedly are not required to do so. Rather, they would hold onto our tax refund for 30 days and if we did not "claim" the refund to the satisfaction of SBTPG, they would send our refund back to the IRS. He then asked for my social security number and other information that I did not particularly want to provide. I asked what agency regulates SPTPG and was placed on hold abruptly for a long period of time. [redacted] eventually returned and told me the Officer of the Comptroller of the Currency regulates them. I have subsequently called the OCC and found out that this is not true.Desired Settlement: I would like my tax refund plus interest at 120% of the applicable federal rate from the period the money was paid by the IRS (7/19/2013) through the date of payment to me. I would further like to see SBTPG stop obtaining the float on tax refunds inappropriately and to see the SBTPG be required to provide prompt notice if they are holding onto someone's tax refund.

I think SBTPG is sleazy, and I never agreed to have my refund sent to this entity. Nor would I ever wish to do business with such people.

Business

Response:

Review: I received a check in the mail for 8,044.83. It has my name and my wife's name on this check from a Citizens Bank In La Jolla. That bank does not have this address, but this company does. I have not filed my 2014 taxes with my wife, and even if we did, there is no way we would be getting a refund of this amount. Clearly something is wrong. I called and there's a message "if you're with Walmart...then it goes on to if you're a tax preparer and then if you need to find out the status of your tax return enter your ssno. I have no intention of doing this because I have no clue about this company or what is going on. I contacted the person that does my taxes and they suggest this is some type of scam. I need to find out what is going on. I am preparing to contact the states attorney here in Ill. and report this because something's wrong.Desired Settlement: I need to know when this bogus tax return was filed and from where so I can submit this information to the IRS, my tax preparer and other agencies that I need to involve.

Business

Response:

RE: Case

03.27.2015

Dear [redacted],

This is in response to the complaint filed

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

March 21, 2015 regarding identity theft.

TPG, on behalf of the Bank, provides a

product known as the Refund Transfer (RT), through a network of tax preparation

franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providers.

The RT allows a taxpayer to have their tax preparation or tax software fees

deducted directly from the tax refund amount instead of the taxpayer having to

front any out of pocket expenses at the time of tax preparation. When your

taxes were prepared online,

a Refund Transfer (RT) product was chosen. 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 is simply

a third party processor which serves as an intermediary between the IRS and the

taxpayer.

The return was acknowledged and verified by

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

assume that the application sent to us is sent by the taxpayer.

We encourage you to contact the IRS at the

Identity Theft Specialized Unit, toll free at (800) 908-4490. The IRS can assist you with questions

regarding identity theft related to your account. You will need to fill out the IRS Identity

Theft Affidavit, Form 14039, please locate this form on www.irs.gov.

As a victim of identity theft, you should

take immediate steps to protect your personal information. We have provided a link to the Federal Trade

Commission’s website for information on what you should do as a victim of

identity theft:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft

So that we may investigate this matter more

thoroughly and help provide as much information as possible to the authorities,

please provide us with a copy of the signed form 14039 and a government issued

photo ID for our records. Please return

check to TPG 11085 North Torrey Pines Road, Suite 210, La Jolla, CA 92037 so we

may return funds back to IRS. This will help us validate your identity and your

claim of identity theft.

If you have any further concerns or questions

regarding this complaint, please feel free to contact me at 877-908-7228,

Monday through Friday 7am to 3pm PST.

Please reference case #[redacted].

Respectfully,

Compliance Analyst

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Review: My tax refund was approved and sent to Santa Barbara Tax products on 02-09-16 on 02-10-16 my prepaid card rejected the deposit and it was sent back to them and a hold placed. I faxed my Id to verify and have my funds sent to me in the form of a check on 02-11-15 was advised at that time the wait was three business days. I contacted them on the 4th day and was advised due to the amount of Ids that need to be verified the wait was 4-5 so I waited till the 5th then advised on that day would be 6 days I called this morning now to only be told its 7 days. This is unacceptable I did what was required when asked and they keep pushing the release of my refund back. Now I am in a situation that require the release of my refund immediately and they don't seem to care nor will the escalate it to see what the hold up is. I get told is to check their website or call back. I have dealt with them for over 7 years and have never had any issues till now and they are refusing to assist.Desired Settlement: I am requesting the immediate release of my refund and a check mailed out ASAP they have been provided the necessary information to release my funds and send a check out.

Business

Response:

March 2, 2016

Dear [redacted],

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

Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 22, 2016.

Your complaint stated that after your tax refund was

approved, there was an issue with the deposit and it was rejected back to TPG. After

trying to contact TPG’s customer service, you were unable to obtain the

information you needed in order to receive your tax refund.

We had an unexpected spike in business which has caused

extreme demand on our resources and unfortunate delays in processing. We

apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the manner in which

your inquiry was handled by our Customer Service agents.

Controls are in place to protect our customers from identity

theft and fraud. After speaking with you on February 23 about this matter, TPG

was able to verify your information and release the hold from your account. On

February 23, TPG processed your tax refund as a check and mailed it to you on

the same date. Your account establishes that the check was verified as of

February 27.

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: We signed up to work with SBTPG late last year. This company was responsible for deducting fees from a person's refund and then depositing those fees into our account and the customer's account. This service was to be provided to our company OnePriceTaxes and our partner company EfileTaxReturns. After going through the testing process with SBTPG and having them verify twice that the money was going to the correct accounts for OnePriceTaxes and EfileTaxReturns, SBTPG screwed up every transaction by place EfileTaxReturn's money into our account and our money into EfileTaxReturn's account. We alerted them to this issue around on March 24th. SBTPG has refused to correct the issue and has been completely unresponsive to our requests for help. They have stalled in trying to help us by asking us for information they already have. They won't fix the issue by reversing the charges and putting the money in the right place and they won't give us the data we need that details the screw up so that we can try to fix it. Its clear they don't care about customer service at all and only care about protecting their own interests. It's now the last day of June and we still don't have a resolution and they haven't responded to our emails within the last 3 weeks.Desired Settlement: We want the charges reversed and for both our money here at OnePriceTaxes to be placed in our account and for EfileTaxReturn's money to be placed into their account. Its a simple solution.

Business

Response:

We are formally requesting an extension regarding this complaint. Our Legal Department is handling the issue but requires more time.

Thank you,

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,

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

Review: Federal refund sent to business on 2/18. To be deposited to my account by 2/23. SBBT is holding my refund. I received no contact from SBBT regarding the nature of the hold. I have attempted to contact their customer service line only to be immediatly dissconnected or remain on hold for over 60 minutes. The website stated further verification of my identity was required. I did comply sending copy of valid state drivers license. Although I have used their services for the exact same purpose for the last 10 years with no issues. The company has my correct personal and banking information confirmed and sent thru their partners [redacted]. Company is failing to provide customer service contact and resolution while holding my Federal Tax return that was verified and approved by the IRS prior to sending to this company.Desired Settlement: Immidiate processing and direct deposit of my Federal tax return. The funds they are holding without cause in the amount of 26083$

Business

Response:

March 3, 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 23, 2016.

Your complaint stated that after you filed your

taxes, you were notified there was a hold on your account. You did not receive

any explanation for the hold. When you tried calling TPG to inquire about the

hold, you were unable to reach a TPG representative to discuss the status of

your funds.

We experienced extremely large call volumes which correlates

to extremely large funding from the IRS. This unexpected spike in business

caused extreme demand on our resources such as our call center. We

apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the inability for you

to reach live customer support.

Due to the amount of compromised SSNs along with non-public

personal information (NPPI) throughout the country, we have put controls in

place to prevent identity theft and fraud. TPG feels this is the most prudent

course of action to protect taxpayers given the current environment. TPG is

committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that only you can access your

funds.

Despite your history with us, your account was flagged for

further review. On February 25, TPG was able to verify your information and

release the hold on your account. Your return has been direct deposited into

the account you provided when filing your taxes.

Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our

service did not meet your expectations. Additionally,

we thank you for your loyalty in using our bank product. We have every desire

to address your needs and provide the best solution available to resolve your

issue as soon as possible. We hope the

points listed above offered a fair explanation and solution.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel

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

Sincerely,

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. However I am disappointed that I reviewed no communication from TPG regarding the hold on my account and the actions I needed to take to resolve the issue. If I had not gone online and logged into my account I never would have known that further verification was required and my refund would have been returned. I feel that your preparedness for the 2016 season was seriously lacking. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: Tax refund is being held HOSTAGE...my fiance did my taxes and to date this company has yet to deposit my refund with information that been provided to them in the bank. They sent it to the incorrect bank account so then my GF had to email them back and gave them the correct information. Now they're giving her a hard time plus refusing to RETURN my refund. It's way past due yet they've taken out their fees. I've been nice about this but now I'm past being nice and I'm want to file a complaint.Desired Settlement: I want my tax refund please ASAP deposited into the account that they have on file...immediately.

Business

Response:

April

23, 2013

Dear Mr.

[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 April 22, 2013 regarding refund or

exchange issues.

Upon

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

prepared in order to deduct your tax preparation fees from your refund.

On March 12, 2013 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted for

online user fees and an additional Bank processing fee for the RT. The

balance was deposited to the account instructed on the [redacted] Bank

Refund Processing Agreement. [redacted] FCU has not rejected the

funds back to TPG. Your record indicates that your first contact with TPG

was on March 19, 2013 for an account change because there was a missing digit

on the account number. We were unable to make that change since the funds

were no longer in our possession but at the Federal Credit Union as of March

12, 2013.

The ACH

Department at [redacted] FCU was contacted and I found that you are not

the account holder for either account. It was also confirmed that the

funds were deposited into an open account #[redacted]. Please contact

[redacted] FCU to discuss the recovery of your funds at

800-[redacted]. You may use the letter of research attached to this email

to follow up with [redacted] FCU.

According

to your complaint, you stated that we were giving your fiancé a hard

time. It is not our intention to refuse assistance in this matter.

However, 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 verification of the account directly from

the account holder. For the protection of your personal and confidential

information, we will not disclose any record information until you are verified

as the lawful owner of the funds and you authorize your fiancé to speak on your

behalf.

Please

feel free to contact me at [redacted], Monday through Friday 8 am to 4 pm PST

if you have any further concerns or questions regarding this

complaint.

Respectfully,

Compliance Assistant

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

@sbtpg.com

Review: I am a Turbotax customer and agreed to delegate disbursement of funds to the Santa Barbara Tax Products Group. I learned that the account number I initially provided was incorrect so I called the TPG customer service line. I was informed by "Nick" that I could change the account number online. When I tried to log in I was asked questions pertaining to the proximity of businesses to addresses that I had in high school roughly 12-15 years ago. Needless to say I failed. I called customer support for help with this issue and spoke with "[redacted]" on 2/26/14. She told me that since I failed the quiz my tax refund would not only be held by TPG for an additional 15 days, but would then be returned to the IRS as per the new "policy". I was not informed of any such policy prior to my agreement to use this service. I then asked why they hold my money for 15 days. She did not know. I asked who should I contact next to determine how to receive my funds. She did not know. I asked for a tech department who would be able to override this error. She said no such department exists. I asked for her supervisor. She said she did not have one. All she could say was she was sorry. I cant pay my rent with her apologies. Her lack of information and complete disregard of my situation was appalling!Desired Settlement: I would like the company to carry out the service agreed upon by depositing my tax refund into the updated account. Honestly, I just want my money without further delays so that my 6 year old daughter wont have to sleep on the street come March 1st. I would of course need to be contacted to provide TPG with the correct bank account information.

Business

Response:

[redacted]RE:

Case [redacted]03.03.2015Dear

[redacted],This

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

to the Revdex.com on February 26, 2015 in regards to customer

service issues.Upon

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

prepared through Turbo Tax. On February 24, 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 R02 “account closed”. Funds were returned

to TPG on February 27, 2015.Controls

are in place to protect our customers from identity theft and fraud. On three

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

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.We

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

regarding this complaint, please feel free to contact me at [redacted],

Monday through Friday 7 am to 4 pm.Respectfully,[redacted]Compliance

Analyst

Review: I filed my Taxes Through Jackson Hewitt. Jackson Hewitt failed to provide the correct address information. When my Federal Tax return was mailed to me it Was not deliverable. This occurred February 6, 2015. Santa Barbara Tax product Group received my Tax return and is supposed to send it back to the IRS but has failed to do so. They sent me a letter stating that they returned my tax refund back to the IRS April 15, 2015. The IRS still has no record of my refund being returned to them. I have been contacting the IRS, TPG, and my fellow Congressman since February 6th on the matter. TPG still has my funds and Will not return them to The IRS. TPG has given me several dates they say the returned my refund to the IRS all of which are false.Desired Settlement: I want them to Send back my $8620 They say they are returning to the IRS. It would be nice to receive my entire Federal refund which was $8765 before all of TPG's fee's were taken out. It would also be nice to receive all of the interest they have collected on my money since February 6th.

Business

Response:

S [redacted] E

[redacted] UT [redacted]

RE:

Case [redacted]

July 17, 2015

Dear

[redacted],

This is in response to the complaint filed against

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group “TPG” to the Revdex.com on July

10, 2015 regarding service issues.

In the scenario described in your complaint, your bank

rejected the funds and declared the account an R16 “Account Frozen”. The funds

were returned to TPG on February 9, 2015 where the $20 reprocessing fee and the

$25 account research and legal processing fee was charged. According to your contract, TPG issued

a Cashier’s Check on February 9, 2015 and mailed it to the address on record. The

cashier’s check was returned to our office on February 20 as “undeliverable”

and TPG returned your funds to the IRS on April 15, 2015. Per our conversation on July 17, 2015 the

funds have been located and you will be in contact with IRS to update your

mailing address and to discuss further action.

Please feel free

to contact me at 877-[redacted], Monday through Friday 7 am to 3 pm, if you have

any further questions or concerns regarding this complaint.

Respectfully,

Compliance Analyst

Review: I filed my taxes on January 23rd 2016 and the IRS sent my refund to my bank on Feb. 10 2016. My bank told me that they rejected the funds because the company (Santa Barbara Tax Products) could not verify my account. I submitted my drivers licenses both on my bank site and on the Santa Barbara website twice. After I was told to allow 2 business days and I would receive a phone call or email regarding my account, I have not received either. I have called and the customer service people are not providing any information just telling me to wait. I called on Feb.11th and today and I was told that they should have verified my account today and they would sent it to their supervisor and they will issue a check and put the check in the mail tomorrow. I have been given the run around several times and I am tired of it. I have used [redacted] for years now and direct deposit through the same account and I have never had an issue until now. This company is holding my refund for longer than they stated on their website and I hope they are not charging me interest or anything for holding my refund which is not by my will at all.

I have called several times and emailed and no one is providing me information regarding my refund. This is the worst service I have ever experienced in my life. Everytime I sign in on their site [redacted] I am getting the same message saying to submit my ID to verify my identity or they they cannot locate my account. The IRS sent my refund out on Feb. 10th and my bank sent it back because this company needs to verify my identity before issuing my refund and then they have to send out a check instead all because they need to verify my account. I have used [redacted] for years and sent my refund to my account for over 2 years now and NEVER have ran into this issue before. After submitting my ID and waiting for 2 business days and several calls and only reaching a rep once they still cannot provide me any information and it seems that theyDesired Settlement: I would like my refund sent back to my banking account through direct deposit. I have already waited days just for you to verify my account. This refund is really time sensitive and I need to receive it very soon. If the company needs any other information from me call me or email me so that I know.

Business

Response:

February 18, 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

15, 2016.

Your complaint stated that you tried numerous times

uploading your identification in order to release the hold on your account. You

contacted TPG’s customer service to inquire the length of time it will take for

the hold to be released, but was given a different answer each time.

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

chosen when your taxes were prepared through [redacted]. On February 9, 2016 the IRS funded your

federal return. Your bank rejected the funds and declared the account

“R02/Account Closed”. You may contact

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

details regarding the rejection of funds. TPG has nothing to do with incorrect

account information entered by the taxpayer or the receiving bank’s decision to

reject the funds.

On February 17, 2016 the rejected funds were reprocessed and

converted into a check. The check will be issued within the next 24 hours.

Please allow up to 7 days for the check to be received at your address of

record. Please reference the attached online agreement for terms and conditions

related to rejected transactions.

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

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

Sincerely,

Compliance Analyst

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.

I may have explained my dissatisfaction with your business and my experience incorrectly. I understand that my bank declined the bank transfer and the funds were sent back to your company. When I found your site and put in my information as for my drivers license after I submitted that your website informed me to allow 2 business days and that I would receive an email or phone call within that time for the status of my account. When I logged back on the site it stated that my account was still on hold and to submit this information again, this was on Thursday, Friday, Monday Feb. 15 and 16th. When I called on Monday, Feb. 15 the lady that I spoke with said that she would sent my information to her supervisor and they would send it up to the people that review the identification and that my check would be printed the next day which was Tuesday, Feb. 16th. I was upset that it was clearly after the 2 business days that your site stated and I had not received any information prior regarding that your company needed to verify my identity. On Tuesday when I called I spoke to a lady who informed me that my check was not yet printed and should be printed within 48 hours. This is very upsetting because no one provided me any exact information and was only guessing at when my check would be sent to me. I called back on Wed. Feb. 17th and at this point I was very upset. I had been transferred several times one in which I had already left a voicemail to speak with a supervisor this was done on Thursday and no one called me back. I then spoke with [redacted] rep id [redacted] and asked that my check be sent overnight due to all the problems that I had with your company she told me that she could not and that I can speak with her supervisor but the person that I spoke to before her said that she was the supervisor she [redacted] transferred me to [redacted] rep id [redacted] who then started to say "we do not have to hold your money we can send them back to the IRS and then you would be waiting 15 business days or more for your money". [redacted] was very rude and disrespectful to me when I began to express to him the trouble and frustration that I was going through just getting information from your company. When I asked [redacted] to please listen to me and hear me out he started talking over me and then hung the phone up on me while I was talking. I have worked in Customer Service for over 2 years and NEVER does a team lead or supervisor ever hang up on a customer! This really is ridiculous that your team leads conduct themselves like this and it should never be done. I was hold before that I would be able to check my status online but it never updates and says that my account is still on hold. The only person that listened and tried to help me was [redacted] (I may have spelled her name wrong) her rep id is [redacted] she heard me out and understood and at least provided me a tracking number and called me the following day to provide the tracking number to me. [redacted] provided me horrible customer service and I hope that he is coached on this.

Regards,

Business

Response:

March 2, 2016

Dear Ms. [redacted],

This is in response to your rebuttal filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 19, 2016.

Thank you for taking the time to clarify and communicate to us why our service did not meet your expectations. We have every desire to address your needs and provide the best solution available to resolve your issue. We hope you will find that the points below offer a fair solution.

We offer our sincere apologies, the timeframes you were given should have been consistent. Due to the feedback we’ve received, TPG has modified the timeframe advertised on our website to allow more time for processing. Unfortunately, we experienced large call volumes which correlated to extremely large funding schedules from the IRS. This unexpected spike in business caused extreme demand on our resources which crossed over into our processing times.

We are evaluating how we can enhance training for our agents and processes to avert this problem from occurring again in the future. I reviewed your case with the Manager and Lead team in order to clarify procedures and provide further training. The Manager will also be determining what corrective action needs to be taken for the agent involved in your claim.

We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the manner in which your inquiry was handled by our Customer Service agents. All the customer agents involved have been reminded of their obligation to always process customer inquiries in a respectful manner.

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

Sincerely,

Senior Compliance Analyst

Review: This company handles tax returns filed online at [redacted]. They process direct deposit tax returns when the service's fee is deducted from the tax return. TPG has my tax return but according to their website, they needed to verify my identity. I submitted a copy of my passport. I was informed it would be taken care of in 2 business days. It has been 4. I have emailed them, and received no answer. I have attempted to call them to no avail. Their option to speaking to a CSR does not work when transferred from their automated phone line. I have called 2 other numbers from their website, and have gotten no answers either.Desired Settlement: I simply want my income tax refund. And an answer/reply from them

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 18, 2016.

In your complaint, you stated

that you filed your tax return through [redacted]. After learning your

account was placed on hold, you were asked to submit your identification to the

TPG website. You attempted to call TPG’s customer service but were unable to

reach a reprehensive to answer your questions.

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 that you provide

your valid personal ID to verify that you are the correct account holder. Your information was being verified and the

hold was released from your account. On February 23, 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 above.

We apologize for the inconvenience

in which your inquiry was not 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 and in a respectful manner.

If you have any questions or

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

through Friday, 7am to 4pm.

Sincerely,

Compliance Analyst

WORST BUSINESS EVER.... CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS LIE AND I WAS JUST IN A ARGUMENT WITH A LADY WHO SAID SHE WAS A CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENT AND A SUPERVISOR (MICKI OR NIKKI id:11308) THEY ARE HOLDING MY MONEY FROM WHAT I READ WAS TO BE A SCAM OF SOME TYPE TO GET INTEREST ON OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY. I'M TOLD IT TAKES 2 DAYS TO LIFT HOLD AND I'M NOW ON DAY 7. THIS PLACE IS RIDICULOUS I'LL ADVISE NOT TO PAY YOUR TURBO TAX FEES WITH THEM IF YOU WANT YOUR TAX REFUND RETURNED IN GOOD TIME BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO INTENTION ON SENDING MONEY. THERE ARE MANY MANY OTHERS GOING THROUGH THIS AS WELL. PAY YOUR TAX FEES UP FRONT DON'T USE SBTPG!!

Review: I received a fraudulent check from this company after they intercepted my refund from the IRS using my social security number as the banking account number "per Ms. [redacted] from the IRS) and the routing # and banking account # on the check is totally different. I returned the check "voided" back to the Tax Products Group via FedEx (tracking # [redacted]). I took the check to my bank and the banking manager advised me NOT to deposit it in my account, write void on it and return it to them. I've been talking to Bridget from Tax Products Groups since around February 12, 2014 thru March 5, 2014. Today, March 12, 2014 I spoke with Ms. [redacted] from the IRS and she suggested that I get something from them in writing stating that they're going to release my funds back to the IRS. I called Tax Products Groups and spoke with Bridget and she said NO; I can't not get anything in writing. All I seem to be getting from them is the run around. Once they return my funds back to the IRS; the IRS will then issue me a refund.Desired Settlement: I want them to issue my check in the full amount of $3204 back to the IRS. So that the IRS will issue me a check ASAP.

Business

Response:

This email is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to the Revdex.com on February 26, 2014 regarding refund or exchange issues.

TPG has begun the process of returning your funds to the IRS per your request. This process can take up to 10 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. It is recommended that you contact the IRS at 800-829-1040 for further details. You may contact our Risk Analysis Department at (800)814-0401 between 8am and 4pm PST if you would like to discuss this matter with a representative.

Please allow me to discuss who we are and our role in your tax return processing since there is some confusion to how we acquired your tax refund. When your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax, you chose to deduct your fees from your refund. When the taxpayer selects our bank product (Refund Transfer), they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the Bank. When the Bank receives the IRS refund (usually 10 to 21 days from the filing date), the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank fee. The balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayer (either a personal bank account or prepaid card).

Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax. On February 6, 2014 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your Turbo Tax user fees of $56.98 and an additional Bank processing fee of $29.99 for the RT. The balance was deposited to the account instructed on the Sunrise Banks N.A. Refund Processing Agreement. Bank of America rejected the funds and declared the account an R03/“No Account/Unable to Locate Account”. You may contact your bank and provide them with trace number: [redacted] for further details regarding the rejection of funds. The funds were returned to TPG on February 10, 2014. According to your contract, TPG issued a Cashier’s Check on March 10, 2014 and mailed it to the address on record which you state was in your possession.

TPG has nothing to with the receiving bank’s decision to reject the funds. For future reference, please verify your banking information for the deposit of your refund. For direct deposit, the taxpayer’s name must be on the account. For a joint return, some banks require both names on the account. Once TPG receives the rejected refund, our company has the option of making another attempt to disburse funds to the customer or simply returning the funds to the IRS. When the rejected refund was returned, TPG made a good faith attempt to deliver the refund to you through an alternative delivery method, which was a Cashier’s check.

The SAMPLE screen shots provided will establish that our fees and references to the Bank are adequately displayed on the Turbo Tax application for 2014 as required by banking regulations. Our fee is located in five (5) different webpages ensuring the customer if fully aware of all bank fees. The customer authorizes the deduction of fees upon selecting “I Agree” to the Refund Transfer Application and Agreement. If the customer changes their mind, they may select the “Back” or “I Don’t Agree” button to return to the payment options page. The customer is not obligated to select the bank product; they may choose to pay via credit card. You may refer to the screen shots for clarification.

We thank you for the inquiry. If you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint, please feel free to contact me at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday 8 am to 4 pm PST.

Respectfully,

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.

I disagree with the company's and Ms. [redacted]'s response. I want Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to return my federal tax return in the amount of $3204.00 back to the IRS and let the IRS issue me a refund. I contacted the IRS on March 26, 2014 the have no record of my refund being rejected and returned the IRS gave me the phone number to the bank located in St. Paul, Minnesota I then called the and spoke with Bridget and asked her how could she answer from the phone in La Jolla, CA and Minnesota she couldn't answer and transferred me to someone else. That young lady said they returned my funds back to the IRS on March 10 and it should take 2 to 3 weeks.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Dear Ms. [redacted],

My sincere apologies, I agree that the information you were given should have been consistent. In error I wrote March 10 instead of February 10. It is confirmed that you sent the check back to TPG on March 7, 2014. TPG began reprocessing these funds on March 10 to be returned to the IRS. The process for Return to IRS can take 2-3 weeks.

Please note that your refund was issued as a Cashier’s check and mailed to the IRS on April 7, 2014 via USPS. Please use tracking numbers: 7008 0150 0003 6987 8253 and 7008 0150 0003 7017 0308 to trace your package to its destination. I provided a copy of the check which is attached to this email so that you can refer to it when contacting the IRS.

Please let me know if there are any further questions or concerns.

Thank you,

[redacted] I. [redacted]

Compliance Assistant

Review: I filed my tax return online.in January which it was released by the irs and the tax product get its and suppse to release it.its been over 60days I been going back and forth with this tax product bank. They supposedly issued me a check last month in February 9 never received it.I did several verification even did immediate bond got it certified and email I also faxed over to them I got it notoriozrd as well. Ok I had to play the waiting game again. So they said they ups ground it out this time on march 3 I still haven't received the second check its like I have to keep going through the same procedures for nothing they get smart everytime I explain myself. My bills are all behind I feel if they have a tracking number they should locate it to let me know wheres my check its going on 3 months thats not the way you suppose to keep handling the situation.Desired Settlement: I just want my check im in a bind its going on 90 days

Business

Response:

RE: Case[redacted]

03.20.2015

Dear

[redacted],

This is in response to the complaint filed

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

16, 2015 regarding customer service issues.

Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer

(RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax. On January 29,

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. 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 as a Cashier’s Check on March

19, 2015.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our

attention. We apologize for the

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

handled by our Customer Service agents.

Be assured that our team was made aware of the issue and have addressed

it.

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: My income tax return was sent here via IRS in order for [redacted] to collect their money from doing my taxes. The IRS indicated that my return was sent to the on Feb 3rd 2016. on the 9th I inquired to this company as to where my money is. They said that my bank had rejected it from them. I called my bank to confirm, and it was true. They said they are charging 20$ for processing of my money since my bank had returned it. Fine. no problem just want my money ASAP. then they told me I had to go online to prove my identity by uploading a copy of ID card, which I promptly did. on the website it says takes up to 2 days to process. Then company said they would mail my return in the mail. FINE. just want my money. on the 11th at the end of business hours I went online to check the status of my account. Nothing changed. I promptly called. after 45 mins on hold they hung up on me. on the 12th in the afternoon I called again, I was placed on hold for 45 mins, talked to a lady that said she is sending me to their main office to resolve the issue. on hold again for another 15 mins, then the phone hangs up. having to start all over again I called 5 times in a row with 2 different phones, when I typed my information into the automated system it would hang up on me every time when I asked for customer service. So they've held my money hostage for 9 days now with no answer as to why, also charging me for processing fees which would be okay if I just received my money. Im on hold with them now the whole time I wrote this complaint, and im not a fast typer. I Just want my money, I feel completely scammed, as if they' re using my money while they hold it to make additional profit, all the while giving me bogus excuse as to why I dont have my money, and charging me a fee, and giving me the runaround so I cannot dispute the issue with them.Desired Settlement: I want MY money that they are holding for no reason after ive jumped thru all their hoops.

Business

Response:

February 17, 2016[redacted]Dear Mr. [redacted],This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 12, 2016.You stated that you have not received your refund yet after it was rejected by your bank. Once you learned it was rejected, you contacted TPG’s customer service again to inquire about your refund.Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate you telling us of your experience. We are experiencing extremely large call volumes which correlates to an extremely large, and unexpected, funding from IRS. This unexpected spike in business has caused extreme demand on our resources. We understand your frustration with the delay in processing your refund. Initially, your bank rejected the transaction and returned the funds back to TPG. Additionally, controls are in place to protect our customers from identity theft and fraud and therefore you had to go through a process to verify your identity. 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. All the customer agents involved have been reminded of their obligation to always process customer inquiries in a respectful manner. Once your personal information was verified with TPG, your refund was converted into a Cashier’s Check and mailed to you on February 12, 2016 to the address on record. Please allow up to 7 days for the check to be received.If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted], Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm.Sincerely,[redacted]Compliance Analyst

Review: I never received my tax refund. After calling both turbo tax and the IRS, I was routed to the bank. The bank informed me that they had received my refund from the IRS, but were unable to complete the direct deposit to my bank account. Instead, the bank sent me a paper check in the regular mail. When that check never arrived at my address, I called and was told I needed to send a bond form. I was also informed that I could call back after completing the form and provide my correct banking information for direct deposit. Instead, the bank sent a second paper check to the original address I provided. I spoke with 3-5 different people who informed me that Id have to wait an additional 11 business days to go through the same process, sending in the bond form and waiting for non-receipt of the check again. I asked for direct deposit because clearly there is an issue with mailing the paper check and its not getting to my home. At one point, I was informed that I would have to just keep waiting the 11 day periods and keep sending in bond forms. This is a huge waste of time, when clearly there is an issue with mailing the check. Putting several checks into the mail only increases the likelihood that someone will fraudulently obtain my funds. The final person I spoke with, before my call was disconnected, informed me that nothing could be done because they essentially have no idea where the first check is and mistakenly sent the second check to an address that was already correct and on file. I would like to resolve this by having the bank cancel the second check and direct deposit the funds into my bank account. I am more than happy to provide the correct banking information. The prospect of wasting time and energy on arbitrary waiting periods and bond forms is unreasonable.Desired Settlement: I would like the bank to cancel the second check and direct deposit the funds into my account. At the very least, cancel the second check and send me another with UPS/FedEx tracking to make sure that it is actually traceable.

Business

Response:

Review: I used TurboTax to do my 2013 taxes. The same way I do every year. My intentions were to have my refund direct deposited into one of my bank accounts like I do every year. Instead I received a letter, along with a cashiers check, from Santa Barbara Tax Products Group. The letter claimed that they were unable to complete my deposit and as a result my refund was automatically subtracted a $20.00 'reprocessing fee.' This is absolutely absurd. There is obviously a scheme going on here. This business has had at least 5 complaints within the last 7 days, mine is now the 6th. I feel completely robbed of my money and I want it back.Desired Settlement: Santa Barbara Tax Products company needs to refund that $20.00 reprocessing fee to me. If they fail to do it through direct deposit another check will suffice. Until that happens this matter shall remain open.

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 service

issues.

Upon

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

prepared through Turbo Tax. On February

19, 2014 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your

Turbo Tax user fees and an additional Bank processing 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”. You may contact Bank of

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

regarding the rejection of funds. The

funds were returned to TPG on February 21, 2014. According to your contract, TPG issued a

Cashier’s Check on February 21, 2014 and mailed it to the address on record,

which you state in your complaint you received.

TPG has

nothing to with the receiving bank’s decision to reject the funds. Once TPG receives the rejected refund, our

company has the option of making another attempt to disburse funds to the

customer or simply returning the funds to the IRS. When the rejected refund was returned, TPG

made a good faith attempt to deliver the refund to you through an alternative

delivery method, which was a Cashier’s check.

TPG charges a commercially reasonable processing fee to cover the

expenses associated with reprocessing these items. Most banks typically charge between $25 and

$35 for return item fees. In this case, you were charged a $20.00 reprocessing

fee for the rejection of funds. This fee

is disclosed in your online agreement; a sample document has been attached for

your review.

For

future reference, please verify your banking information for the deposit of

your refund. For direct deposit, the taxpayer’s name must be on the

account. For a joint return, some banks require both names on the

account. As a courtesy, TPG will reimburse the $20 fee via Cashier’s

Check to your address on record.

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 877-908-7228, Monday

through Friday 8 am to 4 pm PST.

Respectfully,

Compliance

Assistant

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group