Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Review: My husband and I used Turbo Tax to file our taxes. Our state refund was direct deposited into our bank account with no problem on February 28th. Weeks passed and we realized that we didn't receive our federal refund. When we checked the IRS website, it indicated that the refund had been processed. Since we hadn't received the refund, we called Turbo Tax to ask why we didn't receive our funds. They then directed us to Santa Barbara Tax Products. When we spoke to them they let us know that the refund had been deposited. We told them that we didn't receive our money so how could it have been refunded to us? They went on to say that on February 14th we changed our bank information on their website so the money was deposited into a different account. We were shocked by their answer since we never heard of their company and understood that our refund was being handled by turbo tax. We explained that we didn't change any of our accounts and the bank information that we gave turbo tax was the correct information. We told them we've never gone to their website and that someone must have hacked into their system and manipulated our information. They again told us that we made the change since personal security questions were answered. they then went on to tell us that maybe our kids changed it (impossible since they are toddlers!!). They were no help to us and basically called us liars. They sent our money to US bank and neither me or my husband have an account with them. They said they did what they were supposed to do and provided us NO help to resolve our issue. In fact, they were disrespectful and rude to us told us that this was our problem since WE changed the bank information. We contacted the IRS and they were not surprised by what happened to us. they have heard things about this company before and said we should do something about this.Desired Settlement: We would like the refund that is owed to us. We did not make ANY changes to our bank accounts and again, never knew that anyone except turbo tax was handling our taxes. If we never heard of this company, how could we make a change to our bank information and AGAIN, to change it to an account that we don't have?! Somehow someone manipulated our information on their site and we are asking for what is rightfully ours. We'd like our refund back in the amount of 2345.03

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Review: I filed taxes with [redacted] on 01/19/2016 My taxes were approved and sent to Sbtpg on 02/02/2016. I called SBTPG on 01/30/2016 to place my account on hold because I was informed the Direct Deposit information I gave would not accept my refund because my name was not on the bank account. The guy I spoke with asked me to do an identity verification 24 hours later. I did so. I was told I could call immediately after to see if they received it. I waited 48 hours. They could not tell me if it was received until it was approved. This made no sense. Then after verification and many calls the issue was resolved. Then I was told that on 02/03/2016 the check would be issued . I was told to call the next day to confirm. I was told that the check wasn't issued but it would be on the 4th of February. Well 02/04 came and no check issuance date per their website. I called a few times that day and it took quite a few calls before someone finally told me that the check printing machine was down that day. However after speaking with someone today 02/05/2016 I was told it has been down since 02/02/2016. Why was I lied to? I still have yet to receive a check date or any real help. They claim to have one supervisor whom never returns phone calls. To file a complaint you must mail it in or speak to the supervisor who never answers the phone or responds to messages. The way they have everything set up is fraudulent. They lie and mislead the consumer and have no conflict resolution options. I have explained to representatives that I understand that many people have been calling for their money but I have documentation that my daughter is in need of medical services that only that money can pay for. It was urgent that the issue be resolved in my case. It was very upsetting to know that they weren't willing to offer other options to receive your money or accommodate the issue by sending an expedited check. A system error is understandable but one that can't be resolved within a week?

Business

Response:

February 10, 2016

Dear Ms. [redacted],

This is in response to the complaint filed against Santa

Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) to the Revdex.com on February 8.

2016.

Upon review of your record, you had initially contacted TPG

to advise that your name was not on the bank account provided for the deposit

of your refund. Once your information was updated and verified, TPG was able to

send your check to the address on record. The package was delivered on February

10, 2016 and signed for by [redacted] as evidenced on the [redacted] website.

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

trouble or inconvenience this may have caused you. If you have any questions,

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. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.The issue was resolved however, the response is vague and misleading. They did not send my check immediately after verification nor did they verify in the 48hrs. I had to call several times to have it approved.

Regards,

Review: I submitted my 2014 Tax Return via E-File with the IRS in February 2015, and requested that my refund be deposited into my bank account. After verification, and 6 months of waiting, the IRS released my deposit of $478,915.18 to the Tax Product Group, in which I had to fully identify myself with them to ensure I was the "real" recipient. On 29 September 2015, I called the Tax Product Group and spoke with [redacted] ID#[redacted], who advised me that my identification had been verified, and my funds would be released within 48 hours to my bank. On 5 October, I checked my account, and my funds WERE NOT deposited! I called the Tax Product Group AGAIN-spoke with [redacted] ID#[redacted], who now tells me that my funds are being released today, and I could call back within the hour. I asked her what was the problem, and she stated that although my funds have been approved for release, they are awaiting "an email" as confirmation! This is upsetting, as I have done all they wanted me to do, and all they have to do is DEPOSIT MY MONEY!Desired Settlement: I want this entity to deposit my funds into my bank account!

Business

Response:

Review: I signed up with [redacted] to do my 2014 taxes. I opted to have my payment come out of the refund. SO in that case the IRS refund would go to [redacted] then they would deduct the fee then deposit the remaining funds to me. The IRS took 6 months to release my money. I filed on March 17th and they did not release the funds until August 11, 2015. It was in the amount of $5,877.00. [redacted] sent me an email on 8/12/15 saying that they would deposit my funds minus the fees. I had actually called them on Monday 8/11/2015 and told tm that I found out that the [redacted] card I had would not accept government refund money after June 2, 2015 which I found out about the day before. The TPG customer service person said that oh, yes we know that but we still have to deposit into your account per the agreement. Sure enough [redacted] bank which I found out is the same institution as TPG rejected the deposit on the 12th. I went back to my account and it said that since the bank rejected the deposit they were taking a $20.00 fee off as well as the prior fees. So now after the lady knew they would reject the deposit they still put it through then charged me n extra $20.00 fee on my hard earned refund. By the way I only made $40K and I am a single mother. I called them back at 4:20 PM on Thursday because the account said they resent the deposit to the account on the 13th, I didn't want them to charge me more money. The lady said oh we are going to send it back to the IRS because we can't confirm your address! I could not believe it. I said how are you confirming my address. I have been living there since last October. I am on the lease and pay the rent. They said oh you are not the primary on the lease. I am living with another person but I pay the rent and I am on the lease. She said to call back in the morning. I do not understand why they cannot send me my refund.Desired Settlement: I would just like for the business to send me my funds and stop charging me fees out of my refund that they are holding. I have waited since March 27, 2015 and I need this to be resolved.

Business

Response:

RE:

Case [redacted]

August 24, 2015

Dear

[redacted],

This is in response to the complaint

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

August 13, 2015 regarding service issues.

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. The [redacted] 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 party processor for the Bank and is providing a response

on behalf of its partner. The Bank 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 [redacted], 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.

If a taxpayer enters a bank account that

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

receiving 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. TPG never intervenes prior to the funds being sent to the receiving bank

and rejected by the receiving bank.

Controls are in place to protect our

customers from identity theft and fraud. Your funds were held for further

review to ensure that the funds were being released to the lawful owner. Once

you were identified as the rightful owner, TPG issued a Cashier’s Check and

mailed it to the address on record. I have waived the $20.00 reprocessing fee;

please allow 5 to 7 business days for the cashier’s check to reach you.

We hope this satisfies your inquiry.

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

Consumer

Response:

The issue was resolved. I am sorry, I did not know how to let you know.

Review: IRS released my refund of 8000 plus dollars. This company has not deposited my funds into my account. Just gives me the run around. Phone lines do not work and phone just hangs up. I have called [redacted], the bank, and they refer me to this tax product group and within the last three days no one has answered the phone it just hangs up. Fake customer service phone number. I want my money now. Will never use this efile service again.Desired Settlement: Deposit my refund asap.

Business

Response:

February 17, 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

11, 2016.

You contacted TPG’s customer service regarding your IRS tax

return refund. You stated that the phone lines did not work and our phones hung

up on you at times while trying to inquire about refund.

Upon review of your record, TPG has not received your tax

refund from the IRS to date. Additionally, TPG has contacted your online tax

software provider and it was confirmed that your federal return was accepted on

January 25 but no funds were received from the IRS. As of now, neither TPG nor

your tax preparer received funding from the IRS related to your tax return.

There are a number of reasons this may occur, but in order

for TPG to locate your refund, we will need you to personally go through the

IRS website to file a trace request. A trace request is the process the IRS uses

to track your refund. You can call the IRS Refund Hotline at [redacted] and

use the automated system or speak with an employee for a walk-through. Below, I

have outlined the steps needed to correctly file a trace request.

First, you will need to access the IRS.gov website and click

the “Refunds” option at the top of the page. There is a button located in the

middle of the page, “Where’s my refund”, that you will need to click. You will

be asked to submit specific information to the IRS in order to access the trace

request page. The option for a trace request will ask you to provide more

information regarding your return. Once you provide the correct information,

the IRS will send you a trace number that can be used to locate your refund.

Please submit this trace number to TPG and we will use that information to locate

your funds with [redacted].

We are expecting extremely large call volumes which

correlates to an extremely large, and unexpected, funding from the IRS. This

unexpected spike in business 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.

If you have any 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 [redacted] this year on 2/18/15. And Federal and State Accepted my return in a matter of days, by 2/18/15. And I still have not received my refund. In March, Tax Products Group said one occasion that it could not release my money to me because the router/direct deposit number was incorrect. I attempted to update this information in its system. But then the system locked me out. TPG said that it could not unlock me out of the system, and that my money had to be sent back to the IRS. Around 3/12/15, TPG rep said that he escalated my claim, so that the money could be sent in a batch. Today, on 4/4/15, TPG rep informed me that my refund was never sent back to the IRS. TPG informed that I would have to wait an additional week to call TPG back to make sure it sent my refund back to IRS and informed me that I should call on 4/10/15. After that date, I would need to wait an additional 4 weeks to collect my funds from the IRS which should be sent out in a check, per TPG. As it stands, I would need to wait until May/June to receive a refund for a filing I performed in February 2015 this year.Desired Settlement: Refund service fee of $57.98 because service has not been rendered, customer service lied about sending my money back to IRS, which was never sent, and TPG online system is a failure because the reps claim that it does not allow them to unblock users who have been inadvertently blocked, and because the customer service is overall poor. I filed my taxes, and this company, to my understanding serves as a 3rd party bank that collects money on behalf of [redacted]. Also, a disclaimer should be added to [redacted] that informs the public that the customer's money would be sent to Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, so that customers can research the company before agreeing to the terms and conditions of receiving their money via [redacted]/TPG systems. I would also like an apology via phone. And I would like for their ratings on Revdex.com to be affected since this company is doing a disservice to many Americans, regardless of its company size.

Business

Response:

Re: Case [redacted]

April 14, 2015

Dear [redacted],

This email is in response to the complaint filed against

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to the Revdex.com of San Diego on April

4, 2015 regarding delivery issues.

TPG allows taxpayers the opportunity to correct mistakes

in their account information and avoid reprocessing until the item is received,

which may be several days or several weeks.

TPG offers a Web site where customers can change their account

information. TPG also notifies the

customer, through e-mail, at the time of funding, that the refund has been

received and will be deposited into the bank account. On March 11, 2015, you called our Customer

Service line and when you indicated that you were having difficulties with our

website, our agent provided you the option to send in an Account Change Form

with IDs to verify your identity. You

stated that you would not be sending in that email.

TPG

began 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 for this inconvenience, but please understand it is our

obligation to follow these procedures to ensure the money is forwarded to the

lawful owner.

The fees deducted from your refund were [redacted] user

fees of $57.98 for tax preparation. If

you would like reimbursement of these fees, please contact [redacted]

directly. TPG did not charge any fees

for our services. Full disclosure of the

Bank and TPG are on the [redacted] webpages.

I’ve attached a few SAMPLE screen shots for your review.

Please feel free to contact me at 877-908-7228, Monday

through Friday 7 am to 4 pm, if you have any further questions or concerns

regarding this complaint.

Respectfully,

Senior 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.

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

Regards,

Review: I have became a victim of tax fraud for this season's 2014 tax returns, and this is the bank that the tax preparer used to collect fraudulent tax refunds on my behalf. The information that was reported on my tax documents was incorrect and a non existent business was established to be able to obtain a refund from the government. I have since ammended my return with a more reputable company that prepares tax refunds and I now have to send all funds originally distributed back to the IRS. This bank has been informed by me on numerous occasions about the fraudulent activity. The did a check reversal and sent the refund check, minus fees, to me directly. I have since called this bank institution to request their fee of $34.95 to be either returned to me or sent back to the IRS since the return was falsely prepared. They have denied me the return of their fee, and said to me that their services were done correctly on their behalf, therefore the fee is unrefundable. They are aware of the tax preparer sending in fraudulent tax returns, yet they are not concerned with investigating her activity coming through their bank, so long as their fess are collected with every return.Desired Settlement: I am requesting that the Revdex.com assist me in collecting the $34.95 bank fee so I may return all dollars originally received from the IRS that was done fraudulently on my behalf.

Business

Response:

RE:

Case [redacted]

03.03.2015

Dear

[redacted],

This

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

to the Revdex.com on February 28, 2015 regarding billing or

collection issues.

When

your taxes were prepared through [redacted] and Tax Services, you chose

to deduct your fees from your refund. When the taxpayer selects our bank

product, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary

account at the Bank. When the Bank receives the IRS refund, the Bank makes

deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees. When we spoke on

the phone you acknowledged you signed and agreed to these terms. As a courtesy,

we will remit your fee for a total of $34.95 via Cashier’s Check in order for

you to return all monies back to the IRS.

If

you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint, please

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

PST.

Respectfully,

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,

Consumer

Response:

My taxes were done falsely and fraudently for the 2014 tax seasons. I was charged $444.90 for the tax preparers fee and $34.95 for the banking fee. The Bank has agreed, as a courtesy, to refund the $34.95 banking fee as I requested through the Revdex.com. I appreciate and accepted the offer of returning the fee of $34.95 so I may return that to the IRS. In their response statement, the Bank stated that "the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees". I am requested that the other fee taken out of my 2014 tax refund for tax preparation of $444.90 be reimbursed since the Bank originally deducted that amount as well. All monies have to be returned to the IRS, as the preparation and documents submitted were done falsely and fraudently.I am requesting that the Bank refund the remaining fee that was originally deducted upon their behalf of $444.90 for the tax preparation fee due to the fact that the documents that were prepared and submitted were done falsely and fraudently. All monies are having to be returned to the IRS with an ammended tax return showing the correct information.

Business

Response:

RE:

Case [redacted]

03.11.2015

Dear

[redacted],

Please

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

provided to you by [redacted] and Tax Services. 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 [redacted] and Tax Services, 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 to a personal bank

account, cashier’s check or a prepaid card.

You

indicated in your complaint “you are

requesting that the other fee taken out of your 2014 tax refund for tax

preparation fees of $444.90 be reimbursed to you by the bank”. When we

spoke on February 26, 2015 you agreed that you signed a fee disclosure form in

the tax office of [redacted] and Tax Services and that you understood

those fees. At this time we are denying your request for reimbursement of the

tax preparation fee. We are researching the matter further with [redacted] and Tax Services and will contact you to advise you of our findings.

If

you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint please feel

free to contact me at 800-901-6663, Monday through Friday 7 am to 3 pm PST.

Respectfully,

Compliance

Analyst

Review: I had my refund set up to go to netspend card but due to misspelling it came back. Before it came back I called santa barbera to tell them to hold my check till I found out why because it was a prepaid card. When I got it straight I called again and was told it couldnt be redeposited so it was agreed to mail I asked the rep would it forward if I had a address change they said yes. I called again later and was told the check was not sent out and this rep said they had sent the check back for deposit but it didnt work. that was not true I had checked with the bank and they denied that there was a second time. I was then asked to get a utility bill I told them I live with others and it is not my house the lady said well they should let u take thier bill to be notorized I told her what if they say no she said theres no option. so I told her to mail back to irs at least I can walk into the local irs and show them my face and proof and get no harassement. I called again tonight and a nasty old lady name [redacted] wanted to know my age I told her my dob and she then asked how old are you I said I just told you my dob she said you could be anybody she said I cant give you info I told this very bitter old woman to just check to make sure my check went back to irs. I sont have a problem with showing id I just have a problem with this company Like I said I will go to the local irs office and bring all the proof they need but this back and forth and natsy attitude from this old lady is uncalled for. I dont get rude but they are downright nasty and the right hand does not know what the left is doing. SEND MY CHECK BACK TO IRS!!!

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 24, 2014 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 11, 2014. TPG attempted to deposit the balance to the

account instructed on the Sunrise Banks N.A. Refund Processing Agreement. The funds were rejected by the financial

institution. Your statement on the

complaint confirms this event.

Controls

are in place to protect our customers from identity theft and fraud. On two separate occasions you were advised that

two forms of unexpired government-issued ID and a bill with your current

address needed to be submitted in order to release your funds. You stated on February 19, 2014 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.

TPG has

begun the process of returning your funds to the IRS per your request. Once TPG receives indemnification from the IRS,

your funds will be returned via Cashier’s Check. 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 detailed information regarding your tax return and

refund after March 13, 2014. 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. We apologize if our attempts at obtaining your personal

information were perceived as rude, but please understand it is our obligation

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

lawful owner.

We thank

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

this complaint, please feel free to contact me directly at 877-908-7228, 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 have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

I didnt percieve the rep asking for information as rude I heard and was treated rudely I do know the difference I was given several stories. Your check was mailed to your address when you call back the next rep says it was never sent. I was told my check could not be redeposited and then told by another rep it could be. I now have contacted the irs twice and my check is still not there!!!!! Where is my money???? I dont trust your reps they cannot even solve a problem because no one says the same thing. One rep told me it would be very long and dragged out to go back and forth with faxing information then said it would be mailed I feel due to mishandling and obviously non skilled workers I am suffering I want my check!!!

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted],

My sincere apologies for the manner in which you were spoken to and treated, I agree that this

should not have happened. The information you were given should have been consistent. I

reviewed your case with the Manager and the team in order to clarify procedures and provide

further training. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention and thank you for your input and

feedback.

Please note that your refund was issued as a Cashier’s check and sent to the IRS on March 4,

2014. Once the check clears, I can provide a copy of the cleared check which will show the IRS

stamp showing they have processed it. You may contact the IRS Customer Service line at 800-

829-1040 to locate your funds.

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

Thank you,

Compliance Assistant

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Review: I have filed my taxes with turbo tax, the irs issued my refund to santa barbera bank. aka tax products group. tax product group sent my refund to my debit card and they said it was rejected by my bank. I contacted my bank and they said there should have been no problems. tax product group told me to send in a change of address form with my ID and social and proof of new address. I did all this and they still refuse to release my my funds along with billing me processing fees. they insisted on sending my refund BACK to the IRS! I am very very very unhappy with the customer service. I was also hung on.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of all processing fees because I had to go through all this and also had to pay faxing fees. my new address is [redacted] phone number is [redacted]

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 26, 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 11,

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 your

financial institution and provide them with trace number: 044111193065885 for

further details regarding the rejection of funds. The funds were returned to TPG on February 13,

2014.

As part

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

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

holder. These controls are in place to

protect our customers from identity theft and fraud. Our regulators require that we follow

Customer Identification Program (CIP) and Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures,

which are part of the statute of the USA Patriot Act, by requesting and

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

Security card and other supporting documents to request changes on your account

information. The copies submitted to us,

specifically your driver’s license, are too dark. Please fax this ID again to 858-430-3101 for further review. Once

you are verified as the lawful owner of the funds, your refund will be

released.

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.

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,

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 have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

I am not saisfied with them. they never mentioned the items sent were too dark. the lady on the phone was very very rude and kept calling me mam! I just spoke with them on thursday and asked that they send the check out to the old address the lady on phone said she would and hung up! very rude nothing was clarified in a proper manner for such a business. Their website states that you can request a retry on forwarding the funds back into my walmart card and the lady on the phone clearly said to me no mam we can not do that ( I am a man and told her thaat 5 times) I was also threatened with "we will send your funds back to the IRS!! " i'M LIKE OK...why is that when I am on the phone fixing the problem? all I want is my refund and also the fees returned for the headache I have gotten through this whole situation! when asked to speak to a supervisor I get " the supervisor will just tell you the same thing!" I also tried to get a corporate office number and told that [redacted] is the only person in charge of this corporation.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr.

[redacted],

On

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

the lack of customer service provided to you.

The manager was provided a copy of this complaint and will be addressing

those issues directly with the agent involved.

You

stated in your complaint that our “website states that you can request a retry on forwarding

the funds back into my walmart card”. If a taxpayer enters a bank account that will

not accept the refund deposit, the transaction is rejected by the receiving

bank. TPG will not submit another

deposit into the same account information which was initially

rejected. Please forward the location of

this statement or a link for further review.

I

believe your statement is referring to the fact that TPG does allow taxpayers

the opportunity to correct their initial mistake and avoid reprocessing until

the item is rejected. TPG offers a Web

site as well as live customer service where customers can change their account

information. If a taxpayer submits an

account change prior to their IRS funding date or before their bank rejects the

funds, TPG can forward the funds into the new account. Your record shows that you were funded on

February 11 and the deposit was rejected on February 13, 2014. TPG did not receive any communication from

you until February 20.

Because

there are a number of issues with this account, it is recommended that you

contact our Risk Analysis Department at 800-814-0401

between 8am and 4pm PST to discuss this matter with a representative. Please

provide a clear copy of your ID to verify you are the account holder. The other documents submitted have been

forwarded to Risk for further evaluation.

You may fax the ID to 858-430-3101 or 858-430-3104.

I

apologize if our attempts at obtaining your personal information are perceived

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

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

We thank

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

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

through Friday 8 am to 4 pm PST.

Respectfully,

Compliance

Assistant

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Review: I used turbo tax to file my 2013 Tax Refund now, my DD was suppose to be 02/06/2014, I called there office which according to them opened at 7am central time 5am pac time, they were not answering calls they were just hanging up after waiting on hold for 10 minutes. at 9:00 am I was finally able to get through and spoke to a rep, she said my refund was not received, an hour later it shows that they did receive now they are holding my refund and not releasing it until 02/07/2014.. and they are blaming everything on the IRS and when you call IRS they said they sent Pre Auths prior to 02/06/2014. They refuse to release my federal refund. Please all I want is for my funds to be release as I ranned out of propane gas, and its cold we are under windshield advisory. •this is in regards Cust. ID: O15[redacted] - [redacted]Desired Settlement: I would like my refund release and in my account on 02/06/2014 just like the IRS states I will receive my refund.

Business

Response:

Dear

Ms. [redacted],

Yesterday,

banks industry-wide experienced unusual IRS funding patterns impacting a

significant number of taxpayers. Funding arrived a day late for taxpayers that

had an expected refund date of February 6th. The IRS website indicates that refunds were sent to

the taxpayer’s bank on February 6th, however most funds will not be available

until February 7th due to the IRS releasing funds one day later than expected. Taxpayers

in this group that requested an ACH direct deposit should see the refund in

their bank account today or Monday for those that have confirmed deposit by the

IRS. We assure you that Tax Products Group disburses funds

immediately as they are received from the IRS.

According to the IRS website, “your refund was sent to your bank on February

6, 2014 for direct deposit” and “if your refund is not

credited to your account by February 11, 2014, check with your bank

to find out if it has been received”. The IRS is allotting 5 days to allow your

financial institution to post the funds into your personal account.

Upon

review of your TPG record, your funds were disbursed via ACH direct deposit on

February 6 to your banking institution. It

is recommended that you contact your bank to discuss details regarding this

transaction and to inquire when the pending funds will be accessible to you.

You also stated in your complaint that the IRS “said they sent pre authorizations prior to 02/06/2014”. Even though pre authorizations were sent,

funds were not available to draw down from the Federal Reserve until February

6, 2014. TPG processed these monies

immediately that same day. TPG also

provided notification of the delay to all affected customers via message on our

customer service line as well as on our website.

We

apologize that our customer service line was busy and you were unable to get

through until later that day. Our call

volume is extremely high during tax season.

We

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

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

Monday through Friday 8 am to 4 pm PST.

Respectfully,

Compliance

Assistant

Santa

Barbara Tax Products Group

Review: I filed my taxes with turbo tax and and they use sbtp as there bank and they have taken my refund and not sent it to me it show it'sbeing held they will nit realese it or send it to me they give the run around I have looked at blogs of many people being ripped off or having the same problems it's been two weeks with no progress I was told to fax them my information so I did then they said they stopped taking faxes and told me to go change my info on there website witch has no links to change address and tell u to fax in the info iam so mad and after reading that 50 other people have had the same enzact problem I have come to the conclusion that they are fraudfraudDesired Settlement: I want my tax refund witch is 4844.00 as it says on there website and I want it now

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 24, 2014 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 11,

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 12, 2014. According to your

contract, TPG issued a Cashier’s Check on February 12, 2014 and mailed it to

the address on record. The check was

returned as “undeliverable”.

As

notated on your record, you contacted TPG and were advised to submit an Address

Change form with supporting documents.

The form and verification documents were received in full and processed on

February 24, 2014. The check was

reissued and was mailed on February 24, 2014.

Please

feel free to contact me at ###-###-####, 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

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: I filed my for my return on about a month ago. Upon entering my bank account number, I entered the wrong account number. [redacted] notified me that in order to change the account information, I would have to call SBTPG, which I did about 5 minutes after I had submitted all of my information. SBTPG told me they would send me an email in order to verify my identity, which they never did. I ended up finding their website a few weeks ago and submitted my photo ID in order to verify my identity - I still have not heard back from them. Whenever I call the three different numbers they have, I either get disconnected or transferred to another number that always has a busy signal. It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to get a representative on the phone and all I want to know is what exactly is going on with my refund.

I will never work with [redacted] again if they continue to use SBTPG.Desired Settlement: I would like to receive my refund in a timely manner.

Business

Response:

February 24, 2016

Dear [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 you entered the wrong account

information while filing your taxes with [redacted]. Upon realizing this, you

tried calling TPG to correct your initial mistake.

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

refund deposit, the transaction is rejected by the receiving bank. Often times

this occurs because the taxpayer has entered the incorrect bank 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. Once TPG

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

attempt of sending it to the customer.

Upon review of your record, you have already taken the

necessary steps to verify your account information with TPG. TPG was able to release

the hold on your account. Your refund check was issued on February 17. Please

allow up to 7 days for your check to be delivered to your address on record.

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

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

Sincerely,

Compliance Analyst

Review: I filed my 2015 tax return with [redacted] for the first time on January 27, 2016. I opted for direct deposit to my [redacted], and for fees to be deducted from my tax refund.

From then on, I monitored the irs "where's my refund" tool on the internet, to check the progress on my refund.

I received a direct deposit date for 02/10/2016. Well needless to say I never received my direct deposit. Once the IRS released my funds to SBTPG ON 02/09/2016, they claim to have sent my funds to my [redacted] card the same day. After 3 days of not seeing any deposits on my end, I call SBTPG so called customer service, and 3 out of 4 times, I am transferred to a busy signal and hung up on.

I do this over a 5 hour period and when I finally get thru to a human being, they check my account and tell me that everything looks good on their end, my deposit is showing as "sent" and to give it another business day to process. They were even nice enough to give me an ACH trace number to call my cards custome. Service and trace the refund.

I immediately call [redacted] customer service AND they search and search and search and find zero trace of any attempted deposits on their end.

Later that night, I log into SBTPG tax payer website and log in only to find my account has been "placed on hold due to suspicious activity pending id verification"

So I follow the link per their website and submit front and back photos of my [redacted] issued drivers license, and it tells me to allow 2 business days for processing. This has been almost a week ago.

I call SBTPG AGAIN yesterday simply to verify that they received my documents, and I am told "there is simply no way to verify that as it is a different department and to call back Friday"

I have consulted with an attorney in this matter and he has advised me to consult with the attorney general here in [redacted] and file a complaint to launch a full investigation on this bank, which I am fully prepared to do if this isn't resolved.Desired Settlement: All I want is my money. I don't want a refund for any fees, but it would be nice to know why my identity has to be verified to release my own money to me, yet nothing had to be verified for this bank to take their fees or [redacted]s fees. Either allow me to re submit banking info so they can direct deposit my monies or send me a check. All I want is what's rightfully mine. It is unfair to me to have to wait longer than I already have for what's mine. A so called "mis type in banking info" is not a viable explanation for identity theft accusations. We are all human and can miss a number. However I double and triple checked my info when I originally efiled my taxes. So any mis type was No fault of mine. It sounds to me Like a generic attempt to hold onto large amounts of money to collect interest. I can see from the substantial amount of complaints this business already has for this same issue it wouldn't be difficult to get this resolved with the help of the attorney general where I am

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.

In your complaint, you stated that your account

was on hold after you opted for an [redacted]. After

contacting TPG, you were unable to receive the information you needed regarding

the whereabouts of your refund.

Upon review of your account, your account was

placed on hold because the account information you entered was invalid. 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 as an R03/“No

Account/Unable to locate account”. You

may contact your financial institution and provide them with trace number:

[redacted], date of deposit and amount

for further details regarding the rejection of funds. TPG confirmed the

attempted deposit and rejection with [redacted] at [redacted] ext.

[redacted] The funds were returned to TPG on February 11, 2016.

TPG was able to verify your information allowing

TPG to take the hold off your account. Your check has been processed on

February 20. Please allow up to 7 days for the check to reach your address on

file.

Please note there is no interest is earned on your

deposit and your deposit is not being used by any financial institution during

the processing of your refund.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel

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

Sincerely,

Compliance Analyst

This company sucks! I uploaded our id and they can't find it something. I've talked to several people not to mention being on hold for over an hour. On 2/26/16 I faxed id I'm not feeling good about this at all.

Review: I NEED SOMEONE TO CALL ME ASAP. I HAVE BEEN WAITING ON MY REFUND SINCE 02/19 AND I HAVE BEEN VERY PATIENT. YOU ALL HAVE THE POOREST CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THE IRS THINKS IM LYING ABOUT NOT RECEIVING MY FEDERAL REFUND. AT THIS POINT I SHOULD BE REIMBURSED FOR NEVER RECEIVING MY CHECK. IRS TOLD ME LAST FRIDAY THAT ONCE THEY SEND THE CHECK OUT THAT THEY DONT HAVE ANYYHING ELSE TO DO WITH IT AND THAT THEY CANT TRACE IT. ALL I WANT IS MY MONEY AND I VOW TO NEVER USE TURBO TAX & SANTA BARBARA PRODUCTS GROUP AGAIN. I CAN BE REACHED VIA MY CONTACT INFO. WHEN I TRIED TO CONFIRM MY IDENTITY THE INITIAL TIME BACK IN FEBURARY THE SITE TOLD ME I HAD MY INFO WRONG. I KNOW MY SSN AND MAILING ADDRESS ALTHOUGH I DID MISS ONE NUMBER FROM MY BANK ACCOUNT PLEASE HANDLE MY MATTER EXPEDITIOUSLY BECAUSE I HAVE THINGS TO DO. I FEEL AS IF IVE BEEN VERY PATIENT AND I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH A MANAGER ASAP!Desired Settlement: I WOULD LIKE MY DESIRED OUTCOME TO HAVE MY TAX RETURN DEPOSITED IN MY BANK ALONG WITH THE FEES THAT I WAS CHARGED INCLUDING ALL CHARGES AND ETC. I WOULD LIKE THE CORPORATE OFFICE TO CONTACT ME BECAUSE A YOUNG LADY & HER MANAGER TOLD ME TO CALL TODAY KNOWING THAT THEY WOULD BE CLOSED TODAY!!!

Business

Response:

[redacted] Road

[redacted] AL [redacted]

Re: Case [redacted]

May 27, 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 22, 2015 regarding

customer service.

When TPG

received your complaint, we contacted you directly at [redacted] and left a

voice mail. In accordance with your online contract, a temporary account was

opened to receive and process your income tax refund and pay your Turbo Tax

user fees and an additional bank deposit product fee. Upon review of your

record, IRS funded your federal return on February 18, 2015. Fees were deducted

to pay your Turbo Tax user fees and an additional bank processing fee. Your

Bank rejected the funds and declared the account an R04 “Invalid Account

Number”. The

funds were returned to TPG on

February 19, 2015. You may contact your bank and provide them with trace

number [redacted] to discuss the rejection of funds.

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 Web site 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. As you state in your complaint your identity could not be

confirmed. Controls are in place to protect our customers from identity theft

and fraud. 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.

In regards

to fees, 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. 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 and an additional legal processing

fee of $25 to return funds back to the IRS. Please review your application and agreement

for full disclosure.

TPG

has returned your funds to the IRS. Please allow approximately 10-12 weeks from

the date for the IRS to acknowledge receipt of funds. It is recommended that

you contact the IRS at 800-[redacted] for further details.

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:

As stated earlier see my previous complaint fmi my matter isn't resolved. I was simply giving SBPTG an allocated amount of time to contact me. I have tried contacting [redacted] on numerous occasions but didn't get a reply back. She was out of the office on 6/3/15 and [redacted]- who had a nasty attitude on 6/3/15. I had to end up speaking with [redacted] and she is emailing [redacted] to have her call me back. [redacted]. She was the first breath of fresh air that I spoke to since I've been calling in Feb of 2015. So no my Issue isn't resolved I was giving them time to call. Turbo tax bankI would like a full refund of all charges and provide tracking on my funds, as well as to receive my federal income tax Check in my account. I would also like to prefer being contacted via email so that it can be documented because people will say they call you and then don't. Thanks again!

Business

Response:

[redacted] Road

[redacted] AL [redacted]

Re: Case [redacted]

June 11, 2015

Dear [redacted],

Thank you for your

inquiry, TPG has been in contact with you directly via email. We apologize

for 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.

The ACH did go out to your bank on February 18 and

rejected back on February 19. You may contact your bank and provide them with

trace number [redacted] to discuss the rejection of funds.

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. Because we were unable to obtain the personal information from you

in order to verify your identity, we could not proceed any further in our

efforts.

On March 5,

TPG began the process to return your money back to the IRS. This process can take between 15-30 days to

process the return of your funds. TPG

returned your funds to the IRS on March 26, 2015. We reached out to the IRS on

May 28 to ensure they notated your account. It is recommended that you contact

the IRS at 800-[redacted] for further details. 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.

Respectfully,

Compliance Analyst

Review: I used TurboTax to file my federal tax return and selected to have it direct deposited. My return was never deposited in the bank and I recieved a check from Santa Barbara Tax Products Group for the amount of my return minus $77.98 wich included $49.99 in unexpected fees taken out. I had agreed for turbotax to tak the fee out of my return for processing my return but this company charged 2 additional fees (account handling fee $29.99 and reprocessing fee $20.00) which I did not authorize.

I contacted the company and they told me that I was charged these fees because my bank rejected the deposit. It is unbelievable that a company I never even heard of can take out whatever fees they see fit from MY TAX RETURN!

I can't even cash the check because they have stipulations on the back of it stating that if I endorse it, I am agreeing to their tems and conditions which I certainly am not! I need this money and this scam is causing me financial hardship.Desired Settlement: I want my full federal income tax return sent to me immediately so I can have access to my money

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 March 18, 2014 regarding service issues.

When your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax, you chose to deduct your fees from your refund. When the taxpayer selects our bank product, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the Bank. When the Bank receives the IRS refund (usually 10 to 21 days from the filing date), the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank fee. The balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayer (either a personal bank account or prepaid card).

Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax. On March 6, 2014 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your Turbo Tax user fees of $27.99 and an additional Bank processing fee of $29.99 for the RT. The balance was deposited to the account instructed on The Citizens Banking Company Refund Processing Agreement. St. Anne’s Credit Union rejected the funds and declared the account an R03/“No Account/Unable to Locate Account”. You may contact your bank and provide them with trace number: [redacted] for further details regarding the rejection of funds. The funds were returned to TPG on March 10, 2014. According to your contract, TPG issued a Cashier’s Check on March 10, 2014 and mailed it to the address on record which you state is in your possession.

TPG has nothing to with the receiving bank’s decision to reject the funds. Once TPG receives the rejected refund, our company has the option of making another attempt to disburse funds to the customer or simply returning the funds to the IRS. When the rejected refund was returned, TPG made a good faith attempt to deliver the refund to you through an alternative delivery method, which was a Cashier’s check. TPG charges a commercially reasonable processing fee to cover the expenses associated with reprocessing these items. Most banks typically charge between $25 and $35 for return item fees. In this case, you were charged a $20.00 reprocessing fee for the rejection of funds. This fee is disclosed in your online agreement; please review the sample application attached for details.

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

As a courtesy, the reprocessing fee of $20.00 will be remitted via Cashier’s check to your address on record since it appears it was an error on your part to input the correct account information. For future reference, please verify your banking information for the deposit of your refund. For direct deposit, the taxpayer’s name must be on the account. For a joint return, some banks require both names on the account.

You stated in your complaint that you “can’t even cash the check because they have stipulations on the back of it stating that if I endorse it, I am agreeing to their terms and conditions”. This check is a negotiable instrument and you may cash it at any participating financial institution. The terms and conditions you are referring to have already been agreed to when you accepted and electronically signed the Refund Transfer Application and Agreement through Turbo Tax.

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

Respectfully,

These people [redacted] !

Review: The Tax Products Group served as the intermediary bank for the handling of my 2012 tax return and they have managed to "lose" my tax return in their system. They claimed to have returned the refund to the IRS in June of 2013 but I have had a full investigation done with the IRS and they have not received the return of the refunds. Additionally, I have been interfacing with The Tax Products Group since that time and have received multiple inconsistent responses as to the whereabouts of my tax return. Though I have called and spoken with countless representatives, I still do not have my tax return and the Tax Products Group cannot provide me with the required information regarding the ACH number, batch number and other information that indicates proof that the tax return was sent back to the IRS. There is definitely the appearance of extreme incompetence at the least or at most some fraudulent behavior taking place.Desired Settlement: I would like the company to find my tax return and get it to me ASAP. I would also like specific information in writing about the ACH number, batch number and any other information about where my tax return is currently and where it has been for the last year plus.

Business

Response:

Dear Ms. [redacted],

Review: I used TurboTax to file my federal tax return and selected to have it direct deposited. My return was never deposited in the bank and I recieved a check from Santa Barbara Tax Products Group for the amount of my return minus $77.98 wich included $49.99 in unexpected fees taken out. I had agreed for turbotax to tak the fee out of my return for processing my return but this company charged 2 additional fees (account handling fee $29.99 and reprocessing fee $20.00) which I did not authorize.

I contacted the company and they told me that I was charged these fees because my bank rejected the deposit. It is unbelievable that a company I never even heard of can take out whatever fees they see fit from MY TAX RETURN!

I can't even cash the check because they have stipulations on the back of it stating that if I endorse it, I am agreeing to their tems and conditions which I certainly am not! I need this money and this scam is causing me financial hardship.Desired Settlement: I want a new check issued to me immediately for my full federal tax return which is rightfully mine

Business

Response:

Hello Ms. [redacted],

See attached files. I also spoke with taxpayer to clarify some issues. I responded to both her and her husband's complaints and she was satisfied with $20 remittance of reprocessing fee.

Dear Ms. [redacted],

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

Revdex.com on March 18, 2014 regarding service issues.

When your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax, you chose to deduct your fees from your

refund. When the taxpayer selects our bank product, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund

into a temporary account at the Bank. When the Bank receives the IRS refund (usually 10 to 21

days from the filing date), the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation

fees and Bank fee. The balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit

to an account designated by the taxpayer (either a personal bank account or prepaid card).

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

through Turbo Tax. On March 6, 2014 the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to

pay your Turbo Tax user fees of $27.99 and an additional Bank processing fee of $29.99 for the

RT. The balance was deposited to the account instructed on The Citizens Banking Company

Refund Processing Agreement. St. Anne’s Credit Union rejected the funds and declared the

account an R03/“No Account/Unable to Locate Account”. You may contact your bank and

provide them with trace number: [redacted] for further details regarding the rejection of

funds. The funds were returned to TPG on March 10, 2014. According to your contract, TPG

issued a Cashier’s Check on March 10, 2014 and mailed it to the address on record which you state

is in your possession.

TPG has nothing to with the receiving bank’s decision to reject the funds. Once TPG receives the

rejected refund, our company has the option of making another attempt to disburse funds to the

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

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

which was a Cashier’s check. TPG charges a commercially reasonable processing fee to cover the

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

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

of funds. This fee is disclosed in your online agreement; please review the sample application

attached for details.

The SAMPLE screen shots provided will establish that our fees and references to the Bank are

adequately displayed on the Turbo Tax application for 2014 as required by banking regulations.

Our fee is located in five (5) different webpages ensuring the customer if fully aware of all bank

fees. The customer authorizes the deduction of fees upon selecting “I Agree” to the Refund

Transfer Application and Agreement. If the customer changes their mind, they may select the

“Back” or “I Don’t Agree” button to return to the payment options page. The customer is not

obligated to select the bank product; they may choose to pay via credit card. You may refer to the

screen shots for clarification.

As a courtesy, the reprocessing fee of $20.00 will be remitted via Cashier’s check to your

address on record since it appears it was an error on your part to input the correct account

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

refund. For direct deposit, the taxpayer’s name must be on the account. For a joint return, some

Thank you,

Review: I used [redacted] which uses this Bank Service to process their IRS refunds On Feb 9 th 2016, this Bank knew there was a problem with my Direct Deposit information ( my fault)at my bank, [redacted] They made no attempt to notify me of the problem until more than 3 weeks later In that time I had many automatic ACH and other bank withdrawls, 6 at $36 each occurrence ,which caused me to be charged ISF fees totaling $216 there are also 6 Extended ISF fees for another $21 Total ISF fees are $237 I would like a refund from this bank for ALL these fees due to the fact it did not inform of the problem for such a long period of time and also the processing time after the mistake took much too long to correctDesired Settlement: Refund of $237 for ISF fees my bank [redacted] charged me

Business

Response:

March 14, 2016

Dear [redacted]

This is in response your complaint filed against Santa

Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on March 4,

2016.

In your complaint, you stated that you filed your tax refund

through [redacted] on February 9 but knew there was going to be an issue due to

a mistake you made during the process. You claim that there were automatic ACH

and bank withdrawal charges that totaled to $237. You are requesting a refund

for this amount.

In this scenario described in your complaint, you have

chosen a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) tax preparation software package through [redacted]. The taxpayer is entirely responsible for the information provided to the

software including the disbursement account where the refund will be deposited.

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

refund deposit, the transaction is rejected by the receiving bank. Often time

this occurs because the taxpayer has entered incorrect bank account information

or the account is closed. TPG has nothing to do with the incorrect account

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

the funds. Once TPG receives the rejected refund, the company has the option of

making another attempt to disburse funds to the customer or simply return the

funds to the IRS.

Section 7 of the online agreement clearly establishes the

following:

Note: To

ensure that there are no delays in receiving your refund, please contact your

financial institution to confirm that you are using the correct RTN (routing)

and account number. If you or your

representative enter your account information incorrectly and your deposit is

returned to BANK, the Deposit Account balance minus a $20 returned item

processing fee will be disbursed to you via a cashier’s check mailed to your physical address of

record. The BANK, the Processor and

Intuit are not responsible

for the misapplication of a direct deposit that results from error, negligence

or malfeasance on the part of you or your representative. In cases where the BANK has received your

federal tax refund but is unable to deliver the funds directly to you, funds

may be held at the BANK until claimed, or returned to the IRS or State of

residency. Additional return item and

processing fees may be deducted from the Deposit Account for federal tax

refunds that continue to be undeliverable and unclaimed and must be returned to

the IRS or State. The amount of

additional processing fees will be determined by the efforts required and the

complexity of the transaction but will not exceed $25. Processing fees will be

paid by BANK to Processor.

On February 26, 2016, TPG was able to process your Cashier’s

Check and mail it to the address on record. TPG confirmed that the check

negotiated on March 4, 2016.

TPG is sorry for any inconvenience you may have experienced.

If you have any other questions or complaints, please feel free to contact me

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

Sincerely,

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.

Regards,

I did NOT know there was a problem with my tax return until nearly a week after I was expecting my refund to be in my bank account because IRS states to wait 5 days before contacting them YOU however knew there was a problem on Feb 9th and did nothing about contacting me to let me know know I had incorrectly entered my account number I still believe some type of notification from you about my mistake was in order and should have been given so that I could have taken action so that no ACH transactions would have taken place ( or at least covered) and therefore no ISF fees would have been charged to my bank account I still expect a refund of the ISF fees that I was charged totaling $237 because of the lack of any notification of my mistake Also, your process should have picked up my incorrect account number entry contained only had 9 numbers instead of the required 10

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Dear Mr. [redacted]

Banks are free to use

anything as an account number. Most bank account numbers range from 4-17

digits long. Payroll services are usually the only ones to initiate

direct deposit in order to ‘prenote’ the account (validate it by performing a

no-op ACH transaction). Otherwise, most companies do not validate and/or

verify account numbers.

Once TPG receives the

rejected refund, the company has the option of making another attempt to

disburse funds to the customer or return the funds back to the IRS. TPG

delivered the refund to you through an alternative delivery method, which is a

paper check mailed to your address of record.

We are currently evaluating

how we can enhance our process and avert this problem from occurring again in

the future. 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 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm.

Senior Compliance Analyst