Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

Dear Mr ***, The SAMPLE screen shots provided will establish that our fees and references to the Bank are adequately displayed on the Turbo Tax application for as required by banking regulations Our fee is located in six (6) 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 Also note that Turbo Tax will not allow the customer to proceed without selecting an option to the Agreement: “Back”, “I Don’t Agree” or “I Agree” buttons The customer cannot bypass this contract and inadvertently agree; the customer has to manually select an option You may refer to the screen shots for clarification TPG has nothing to with the receiving bank’s decision to reject the funds TPG provided the service which we were contracted to provide in depositing the monies into the account which you directed on the online agreement; therefore we deny the request for reimbursement of the $processing fee Again, Turbo Tax is the party responsible for communicating all activities regarding your tax refund via email Respectfully, [redacted] Compliance Assistant Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

March 1, [redacted] Dear Mrs [redacted] , We are writing in response to a complaint filed through the Revdex.com against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) on February 21, Please allow me to explain the role of TPG in this matterTPG, on behalf of [redacted] (Bank), offers tax related financial products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providersThese products provide the taxpayer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any upfront feesWhen your taxes were prepared through [redacted] ***, you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) productWhen the taxpayer selects an RT, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the BankWhen the Bank receives the IRS refund, the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank feeThe balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayerAccording to our records, on January 30, 2017, TPG received your electronic filing record from [redacted] ***This means that you used tax software to prepare your tax return and elected to utilize a Refund Transfer to pay your software feesTPG received the data file and no monies were transferredOn February 22, 2017, your refund was approved by the IRS and payment was made to TPGOn the same day, TPG deducted the [redacted] user fees and RT fee and made payment to the bank account indicated on your tax returnPer the IRS, taxpayers can generally expect refunds to be issued in less than days after the electronic return was acceptedOf course, certain factors can cause delays to taxpayer refunds which are out of the control of TPGFor example, if your return contains Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), the IRS will not issue your tax refund before February 15th, which means you can expect your deposit the week of February 27thTo keep you informed about the status of your refund payment, you may use the following tools, which are updated in real time: • Please utilize the “Where’s My Refund” tool, provided by the IRS, to check on the status of your refund - https://www.irs.gov/refunds • Please log into your TPG account on our website to get up-to-date information about your Refund Transfer filingAdditional information is available through our help center and automated phone centerWe encourage you to read about possible payment delays in more detail by viewing the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/refund-timingAdditionally, you stated an issue with our Customer Service agentsWe sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the manner in which you felt your inquiry was handled by our Customer Service agentsAll the customer agents involved have been reminded of their obligation to always process customer inquiries in a respectful mannerIf you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact TPG directly at [redacted] , Monday through Friday, 7:am to 4:pm Respectfully, Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

February 24, [redacted] ***>Dear [redacted] ***, This is in response to your complaint against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on February 16, 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 bankOften times this occurs because the taxpayer has entered the incorrect bank information or the account is closedIn these cases the receiving bank “rejects” the transaction and returns the funds to the sender, in this case, TPGOnce 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 TPGTPG was able to release the hold on your accountYour refund check was issued on February Please allow up to 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, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

We are formally requesting an extension regarding this complaint Our Legal Department is handling the issue but requires more time Thank you, [redacted]

[redacted] RE: Case [redacted] 02.24.2015 Dear [redacted] , This is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group to the RevDex.com on February 19, 2015 regarding funds never received. Upon review of your record, a Refund Transfer (RT) was chosen when your taxes were prepared through [redacted] . On February 6, 2015 the [redacted] funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your [redacted] user fees. The balance was deposited to the account instructed on [redacted] Refund Processing Agreement. Your Bank rejected the funds and declared the account an R03 “No account/Unable to locate account”. The funds were returned to [redacted] on February 10, 2015. Our regulators require that we follow Customer Identification Program (CIP) and Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, which are part of the statute of the USA Patriot Act. Once you were verified as the lawful owner of the funds, your refund was released. [redacted] issued a Cashier’s Check on February 23, 2015 and mailed to the address on record. Please allow 10 business days for receipt of your check. Please feel free to contact me at [redacted] , Monday through Friday 7 am to 4 pm if you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint. Respectfully, [redacted]

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

March 4, [redacted] ** [redacted] Dear [redacted] ***, This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Better Business Bureau on February 26, Your complaint stated you did not receive notification there was a hold on your account and contacting customer service are long or disconnected We experienced extremely large call volumes which correlates to extremely large funding from the IRSThis 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 fraudTPG feels this is the most prudent course of action to protect taxpayers given the current environmentTPG 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 reviewOn February 29, TPG was able to verify your information and release the hold on your accountYour return has been direct deposited into the account you provided when filing your taxes Your latest email on March 2, stated that you have yet to receive your funds It is recommended that you contact the ACH Department for [redacted] at [redacted] and provide them with trace #: [redacted] , amount: $25,930.85, disbursement date: 2-29-to assist them in locating your funds 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 productWe have every desire to address your needs and provide the best solution available to resolve your issue as soon as possible We hope the points listed above offered a fair explanation and solution If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted] , Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

Dear Ms [redacted] , This letter is in response to a complaint filed through the Revdex.com against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) on March 12, 2018.To give you some background information and help you appreciate our role in your complaint, we would like to explain TPG’s relationship with [redacted] Bank (Bank)TPG is a third-party processor for the BankThrough this relationship, [redacted] Bank is able to offer tax products which are sold through TPG through independent tax professionals and online tax preparation servicesThe product you have used through TPG, called a “Refund Transfer”, allowed you to pay for your tax preparation fees directly out of your tax refundThis service is optionalThis saved you the difficulty of paying these fees upfront to the software providerYou electronically agreed to these governing terms and conditions through your tax preparer, Ms [redacted] of Tax Payers BureauPlease reference your RT Application and agreement for details regarding the terms and conditions.To help you understand our process we have listed out the events associated with your account as follows:· According to our records, on February 14, 2018, TPG received your electronic filing record from your tax preparerThis means that you elected to initiate a Refund Transfer to pay your tax preparation fees in lieu of paying via credit card· On February 21, 2018, your refund was approved by the IRS and payment was made to TPGOn that same date, TPG deducted fees related to your Tax Preparation fee of $699.90, RT processing fee of $and deposited the remaining balance of $3,to the account indicated on your tax returnThe deposit to the above account was confirmed by the outgoing trace number: [redacted] You may contact the ACH department for [redacted] for further details regarding this depositPlease refer to the mailed response for detailed information.· On March 2, 2018, your tax preparer Ms [redacted] informed TPG that the account number submitted at the time of filing was incorrectAt that time TPG informed Ms [redacted] that the funds were already disbursed to the account on recordFurthermore, it was advised that a printed check would be issued in the case that the funds were rejected and returned to TPG by the receiving bank.· On March 7, 2018, you contacted TPG and learned that the bank information on record was entirely wrongTPG informed you that the funds need to be reversed before proceeding with an alternate disbursement methodAs a tax refund processor, TPG is not authorized to modify account information without explicit permission from taxpayers before funding occurs and may only process according to the filing record transmitted by the tax officeThus, on that same date, TPG escalated the issue to our partner, [redacted] Bank, for a Letter of IndemnityThis letter is a formal request made to a financial institution requesting that the funds be returned to the issuing bankOnce [redacted] accepts and processes the request, TPG will disburse the returned funds via Cashier’s Check to the address indicated on your tax returnPlease be advised, if [redacted] rejects this request, you will need to contact their ACH department for further details regarding the fundsWe expect a response within business days.Please understand that with the heightened fraud in the tax industry, we are required to set up processes to protect our clients and help limit identity theftIf you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact TPG directly at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday, 7:am to 4:pm Respectfully, Pearl ParkProgram Operations Analyst

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below [first of all ..I was never told of another bank [redacted] or whateveri did my taxes like I do every year with [redacted] tax, ususally the card I op for is a net spend car I just was stupid this year and didnt pay much attention to the fact this something new with [redacted] taxi was charged fees for using te [redacted] tax product weich is fine but I also was charged for the use of the green dot card the card was never sent in the beginging I should have known then I was going to have hell.I opted to be reissed a card which did come in less than a weekwhen I went activate it, it said there was a block, my verizon phone records can show ALL the phone calls to *** tax, [redacted] prepaid card back and forth nonone could telll me anythingfinally a lady directed me to use the online which I had tried previously but it wouldnt activate until that day it finally did(my internet provider computer history can show proof of this as wellfrom that day the card started saying the account was going to be closed and now im havingto call all these people again and noone cold say whyin the process the irs and [redacted] tax says my tax coming to banki didn not put any bank on my return the [redacted] tax format did by opting the card and I have been told the bank is santa barba at no time have I heard of yet ANNOTHER banki am not the only person having the problem im having and to prove you guys are lying you say my fees were deducted first then tried to send refund yet when I talked to lady FINALLY of sbtpg she said dol was taken for check getting returned AND that she couldnt prove they tried to send to my mail...ok if all fees were deduted first how did that return check fee get taken...before it was even sent???? so u knew ahead of time you were going to giving a run around ect??? this is a mess and all I wanted wss the stupid accouint re opened once I verfied all my infoi have been having to give my soc sec number and more info over the phone EVERY tiime I speak to someone which is not the most comfortable, I am disquested and need my income tax before freaking weeks especially when I am paying for what and then some!!!!!!] Regards, [redacted] ***

March 3, [redacted] Dear [redacted] , We are writing in response to a complaint filed through the Revdex.com against [redacted] (***) on February 28, Please allow me to explain the role of [redacted] in this matter***, on behalf of [redacted] (Bank), offers tax related financial products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providersThese products provide the taxpayer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any upfront feesWhen your taxes were prepared through [redacted] ***, you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) productWhen the taxpayer selects an RT, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the BankWhen the Bank receives the IRS refund, the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank feeThe balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayerIn the complaint received, it was stated that there were problems surrounding the receipt of your tax refund as well as issues regarding customer service at ***According to our records, on February 8, 2017, [redacted] received your electronic filing record from [redacted] ***This means that you utilized tax software to prepare your tax return and elected to initiate a Refund Transfer to pay your software fees [redacted] received the data file and no monies were transferredDue to certain fraud filters, your account was placed on hold in a non­interest bearing account for additional verificationOn February 22, the IRS funded your federal return; fees were deducted to pay your [redacted] user fees and an additional Bank processing fee for the RTTo remove an account hold, we ask customers to simply provide us a copy of their unexpired government issued identification, such as a driver’s license or passportThis allows us to verify your identity and remove the hold from your accountOn March 3, 2017, [redacted] was able to validate your identification and released the account holdYour account was placed through enhanced due diligence at [redacted] to protect your account from fraud Please understand that as a financial services business we are required to perform reasonable monitoring procedures to ensure fraud, such as ID theft, has not occurred through our business processesCertain factors in your tax return caused your account to be flagged as potentially suspicious [redacted] notifies the customer, through email, before funding, in order to process authentication and allow the refund to be deposited into the account once it is funded by the IRS without any further delaysWe do apologize if you did not receive this emailWe are very sorry for any inconvenience you may have experienced, but please understand that with the heightened fraud in the tax industry, [redacted] is required to set up processes to protect our clients and help limit identity theftAfter reviewing your case and as a courtesy to you, [redacted] has decided to refund the RT feeIf you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact [redacted] at [redacted] , Monday through Friday between 7:00am to 4:00pm (PST), or you may utilize our live customer support chat by logging onto https://help.sb***.com/hc/en-us/requests/new, Monday through Friday between 6:00am to 6:00pm (PST) Respectfully, Santa Barbra Tax Products Group

Dear [redacted] ***, This letter is in response to the complaint against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group through the Revdex.com on April 4, To give you some background information and help you appreciate our role in your complaint, we would like to explain TPG’s relationship with Green Dot Bank (Bank)TPG is a third party processor for the BankThrough this relationship, Green Dot is able to offer tax products which are sold through TPG through independent tax professionals and online tax preparation servicesThe product you have used through TPG, called a “Refund Transfer”, allowed you to pay for your tax preparation fees directly out of your tax refundThis service is optionalThis saved you the difficulty of paying these fees upfront to the software providerYou electronically agreed to these governing terms and conditions through [redacted] Please reference the enclosed copy of the Refund Transfer Application and AgreementTo help you understand our process we have listed out the events associated with your account as follows: · According to our records, on March 15, 2017, TPG received your electronic filing record from your online software provider, [redacted] This means that you elected to initiate a Refund Transfer to pay your tax preparation fees in lieu of paying via credit card.· Certain factors in your tax return caused your account to be flagged as potentially suspiciousTherefore, your account was placed through enhanced due diligence at TPG to protect your account from fraudThis hold was placed before the IRS funded the returnPlease understand that as a financial services business we are required to perform reasonable monitoring procedures to ensure fraud, such as ID theft, has not occurred through our business processesTPG is restricted from disclosing our fraud monitoring rule set and cannot share these criteria with taxpayers as it could compromise the protection we have for our clients, including yourself.Due to industry requirements and company policy, if an account is flagged for unusual activity we are required to perform additional account due diligence in order to authenticate the identity of the taxpayer Many companies, including most banks, feel that tax refunds with suspicious account attributes are high risk and rather than trying to perform additional due diligence they simply return the funds to the IRS TPG feels a better option for their valued customers is to try to perform additional steps to validate accounts and release the holdsPlease note: Rather than rejecting the funds received by the IRS, which can delay your refund up to weeks, we allow our customers to submit an unexpired government issued photo ID and go through ID authenticationTPG’s verification process can take up to business days to review the IDOnce we can validate that you are the taxpayer associated with the tax return filed, we release all funds received by the Government agencyFunds are held in a non-interest bearing account while we are waiting for the customer to respond to our enhanced due diligence requestIf the customer does not respond to our request within a timely manner, we return the funds to the IRS · On March 17, 2017, you were sent an email to the address on record to inform you of the hold· On March 22, 2017, you started the identification processUnfortunately, the identification documentation you sent to TPG was unsuccessful to release the hold and you were asked to re-authenticateCustomers may have difficulties due to entering incorrect information in the required fields, identification is deemed blurry, or if they abandoned the process before reaching the “success” screen · On March 28, 2017, TPG received payment from the IRS related to your federal tax refund and it remained on hold in a non-interest bearing account· On March 5, 2017, you called TPG and stated you do not want to upload a Photo ID for verification and requested to have your funds sent back to the IRS· On April 10, TPG began the process of returning your funds to the IRS, specifically the RISC/IVO Division of the IRS in Fresno, CAThis process can take at least business days Please keep in mind, once the funds are returned to the IRS it can be several weeks before they acknowledge receipt and post to your accountPlease contact the IRS at [redacted] for further detailsWe are very sorry for any inconvenience you have experiencedPlease understand that with the heightened fraud in the tax industry, TPG is required to set up processes to protect our clients and help limit identity theft If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact TPG at [redacted] , Monday through Friday between 7:00am to 4:00pm (PST)Respectfully, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

January 31, [redacted] , [redacted] Dear [redacted] , This letter is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on January 25, In the complaint, you stated you opted in and were approved for our fee advance program in prior yearsWhen you opted in this year, you were denied on account of your credit score being too lowIt was also stated that the TPG website had no reference to a credit check to qualify for the in-season advanceAdditionally, there was uncertainty as to what agreement authorized TPG to run the credit check and why you were allowed to opt in to the program initially According to our records, on December 14, 2016, you opted in to SimplyPAID in-season advance via our websiteA system-generated denial was automatically triggered via websiteTPG ran a standard credit report through Experian which resulted lower than our accepted threshold On January 25, 2017, TPG received your call in which you appealed the decision and asked for reconsiderationIt was escalated for reconsideration and approved on January 29, Please allow up to hours for the funds to reflect in your personal bank account Additionally, please see enclosed SimplyPAID In-Season Advance Agreement for the terms and conditions of the in-season advanceMoreover, we have included screenshots of our website where it is disclosed we will obtain credit history for eligibilityOpting in simply requires confirmation of your office information and completion of TPG compliance requirementsHowever, upon a credit check and several other factors, it will be determined whether you will be approved or denied for the in-season advance Eligibility requirements for the FastCashADVANCE differ from those of the SimplyPAIDThe FastCash ADVANCE is available to new and existing TPG clientsA prior year product volume of applied Refund Transfers with a positive funding rate is required to participate in the FastCash ADVANCE programYour current status qualifies your office to offer this advance program to your clients We appreciate your business and thank you for your inquiryIf you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact TPG at ***-***-***, Monday through Friday, 7:am to 4:pm PST Respectfully, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

February 17, [redacted] ***> 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, You contacted TPG’s customer service regarding your IRS tax return refundYou 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 dateAdditionally, TPG has contacted your online tax software provider and it was confirmed that your federal return was accepted on January but no funds were received from the IRSAs 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 requestA trace request is the process the IRS uses to track your refundYou can call the IRS Refund Hotline at [redacted] and use the automated system or speak with an employee for a walk-throughBelow, 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 pageThere is a button located in the middle of the page, “Where’s my refund”, that you will need to clickYou will be asked to submit specific information to the IRS in order to access the trace request pageThe option for a trace request will ask you to provide more information regarding your returnOnce 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 IRSThis unexpected spike in business has caused extreme demand on our resources and unfortunate delays in processingWe 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, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

Mr [redacted] and TPG have come to an agreement and the complaint has been resolved Mr [redacted] will update you on the status of the complaint Please see his response below: sans-serif;">Ms [redacted] , Thank you ever so much for your expeditious manner in solving this grave issue for usIt has been plainly stated as to the fault of my banking institution, [redacted] Bank, for indeed erroneously REJECTING my federal refundAgain, Please accept my sincere thanks in solving this matter for usWe indeed will continue to wait for our cashier's check to surely arrive sometime this week Gratefully yours, Mr [redacted] Thank you, [redacted] Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

February 16, [redacted] 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, In your complaint, you stated that your account was locked and you tried speaking to our customer service about this matterYou wanted to change the routing number and direct account number because there was an error with the first account numbers you provided We are experiencing extremely large call volumes which correlates to an extremely large, and unexpected, funding from IRSThis unexpected spike in business has caused extreme demand on our resources We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the manner in which your inquiry was handled by our Customer Service agents All customer service agents involved have been reminded of their obligation to always process customer inquiries in a respectful manner TPG spoke to your tax preparer and we were advised that they were able to assist in resolving the issue Our records show they issued a Cashier’s Check on February 11, and they verbally confirmed it was disbursed to you 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

April 11, [redacted] ** [redacted] Dear Ms [redacted] ***, This is in response to your complaint filed again [redacted] Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on April 3, In your complaint, you stated that after filing your tax return, there was an issue with your account numberYou spoke with TPG’s representatives regarding the status of your refund after it was rejectedYou were given different time frames for when to expect your tax refund but still was unable to receive it In the scenario described in your complaint, you have chosen a do-it-yourself (DIY) tax preparation software package such as Intuit’s popular TurboTax productIf 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 closedIn these cases, the receiving bank “rejects” the transaction, and returns the funds to the sender, in this case, TPG TPG has nothing to do with incorrect account information entered by the taxpayer or the receiving bank’s decision to reject the fundsOnce TPG receives the rejected refund, the company has the option of making a second attempt to disburse funds to the customer or simply return the funds to the IRS TPG mailed your tax refund as a Cashier’s Check after the transaction was rejected by your financial institutionYou were asked to wait up to business days for the check to reach you per banking requirementsUnfortunately, you did not receive the checkAfter the days, you were asked to fill out an Indemnity Bond to authorize TPG to stop payment on the original check and to allow TPG to reissue a new Cashier’s Check TPG received the Indemnity Bond and reissued a new Cashier’s CheckAs a courtesy, TPG also remitted the $reprocessing feeOn April 7, both checks were mailed to your address on recordPlease allow up to days for your checks to reach you Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our service did not meet your expectationsIf you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm Sincerely, [redacted] Compliance Analyst

August 2, [redacted] Dear Ms [redacted] This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the Revdex.com on June 21, TPG would like to apologize for the inconvenience this may be causing youOn June 17, 2016, TPG sent your refund to the IRSUnfortunately, it takes the IRS a few weeks before they can process your refundThe IRS deals with numerous transactions daily which takes time for them to process each refundOnce they process your refund, it will show up in their systemPlease allow to weeks for the IRS to post your refund into your IRS record and reflect the fundsPlease contact the IRS at 800-829-if you have additional questions regarding your refundSincerely, [redacted]

[redacted] face="Times New Roman" size="3"> Case ID# [redacted] [redacted] This is in response to the complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) to the Revdex.com of San Diego on 2/5/regarding service issues Thank you again for your inquiry and patience Upon review of your record, no funding has been received from the IRS According to the IRS website, “your refund was sent to your bank on January 30, for direct deposit” with the enhancement of multiple processing systems at the IRS, it may result in processing delays for certain returns There may be conflicting information on when refunds will be disbursed based on all the IRS channels (website, automated number and taxpayer hotline), but I assure you we process any refunds from the IRS within hours of receipt In the meantime, our customer service representatives are referring taxpayers that are affected to check the IRS website and hotline more frequently for a better gauge on when to expect their refund rather than contacting us since the IRS will be the best source to determine the delivery date of your refund once they update their channels I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the manner in which your inquiry was handled by our Customer Service agents Customer courtesy is an extreme priority for us and in this case we apparently failed you All the customer agents involved have been reminded of their obligation to always process customer inquiries in a respectful manner Upon our conversation we are working directly with IRS to resolve this issue in locating your funds If you have any further concerns or questions regarding this complaint, please feel free to contact me at [redacted] Respectfully, [redacted]

March 14, [redacted] ** [redacted] Dear Mr [redacted] , This is in response to your complaint filed against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) through the RevDex.com on March 8, Please allow me to explain the role of TPG in this matter and clarify the information provided to you by [redacted] ***TPG, on behalf of [redacted] (Bank), offers tax related financial products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providersThese products provide the taxpayer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any upfront feesWhen your taxes were prepared through [redacted] ***, you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) productWhen the taxpayer selects an RT, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the BankWhen the Bank receives the IRS refund (usually less than days from the filing date), the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank feesThe balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayer Due to the amount of compromised SSNs along with non-public personal information (NPPI) throughout the country, we have put controls in place to prevent identity theft and fraudTPG feels this is the most prudent course of action to protect taxpayers given the current environmentTPG 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 reviewOn March 14, TPG was able to verify your information and released the hold on your accountYour refund has been direct deposited into the account you provided when filing your taxes The RT fee will also be refunded and mailed as a Cashier’s Check to the address on record Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us why our service did not meet your expectations and the additional feedback to serve our customers notification of these holds to provide better service If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted] , Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm Sincerely, [redacted] Senior Compliance Analyst

[redacted] *** [redacted] ***This original complaint was filed for [redacted] by his significant other, [redacted] who is not a client of Santa Barbara Tax Products GroupThis case was assigned an ID number: [redacted] Dear [redacted] ***,We are writing in response to a complaint filed through the Revdex.com against Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG) on February 13, 2017.Please allow me to explain the role of TPG in this matterTPG, on behalf of Civista Bank (Bank), offers tax related financial products through a network of tax preparation franchises, independent tax professionals and online tax preparation providersThese products provide the taxpayer a method of having their tax preparation fees deducted from their tax refund without paying any upfront feesWhen your taxes were prepared through Turbo Tax, you chose a Refund Transfer (RT) productWhen the taxpayer selects an RT, they direct the IRS to deposit their tax refund into a temporary account at the BankWhen the Bank receives the IRS refund, the Bank makes deductions from the refund to pay the tax preparation fees and Bank feeThe balance of the refund is then disbursed to the taxpayer by way of deposit to an account designated by the taxpayer.In the complaint we received, it was stated that there were issues surrounding the receipt of your tax refund.To address your complaint we have listed the timeline of events below:According to our records, on February 6, 2017, TPG received your electronic filing record from Turbo TaxThis means that you utilized tax software to prepare your tax return and elected to initiate a Refund Transfer to pay your software feesDue to system generated fraud filters, your transaction was placed on a hold on February 7, in a non-interest bearing account for additional verificationYou were sent an email to the address on file with instructions detailing how to verify your identityTPG requested that you submit a valid form of identification in order to validate your accountOn February 14, 2017, your refund was approved by the IRS and payment was made to TPGOn February 16, 2017, TPG was able to validate your identification and released the account holdPer our phone call discussion, details of the hold were explained, confirmation was received that your information was verified, and the hold on your account has been releasedThe refund was disbursed as a direct deposit on February 16, Please allow up to hours for the funds to post to your financial institution.Please understand that with the heightened fraud in the tax industry, we are required to set up processes to protect our clients from identity theftWe understand your frustration and apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced.If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact TPG at 877-908-7228, Monday through Friday between 7:00am to 4:00pm (PST).Respectfully, [redacted] Compliance Analyst