Turbotax was used to file my taxes and Tax Products group is the company that refunds you your refund after they take fees of 34,95 plus state tax 9.00 plus they hold it for weeks saying that they detected unusual activity with the account and make you send a photo ID and then they wait and wait. I found out they do this as a scam to a lot of turbotax customers.
I used Tax Slayer to prepare my 2022 taxes. Tax Slayer uses Santa Barbara Tax Products Group when you choose to have their fees deducted rom your refund. SBTPG is a subsidiary of Green Dot Corporation and they us Civista bank to hold the customer's refunds.
My tax refund was approved by the IRS and sent to me on 8/9/23. Because I chose to have the fees come out of it, it went yo SBTPG 1st on 8/8/23, they were then supposed to deposit the rest of my refund to my bank account. AS of today 8/16/23 they are still holding my refund in Civista bank and are now saying that the IRS has requested they return it to them. This information is completely false and fabricated. The IRS does not request this of the tax payer or specifically a 3rd party once the refund has been approved and sent.
I spoke with the IRS and they have not done this, they did not request this of SBTPG or anyone. Now SBTPG will not release my money and say they are returning it to the IRS and they charged me another fee to return it. So now I will not get my refund for weeks and they will have gotten paid for doing nothing and gotten extra money for ripping me off.
They do not answer their customer service line, they do not notify you of what they are doing by phone, email or mail ahead of time. This company is running a scam and this is happening to hundreds of people.
TPG ONLINE RECORDS SHOW RECIEPT OF $388.64 BY IRS FOR MY $2577.90 IRS REFUND, AND DEPOSITED $110.47 3/16/2022 TO CHECKING ACCT. IRS RECORDS SHOWS AUTHORIZED FUNDS FOR $2577.90. TPG ILLEGALLY WITHHOLDING AUTHORIZED IRS REFUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $2189.26. ACCORDING TO IRS RECORDS THE $2577.90 REFUND WAS APPROVED, AND NO OUTSTANDING DEBTS OR OFF-SETS FOR TPG TO WITHHOLD MY $2577.90 IRS REFUND.
ACCORDINGLY, TPS DID COMMIT FRAUD PER 18 USC, 15 USC. BY WITHHOLDING ANY IRS REFUND MONIES I AM OWED. NO TPG AGENTS ABLE TO PROVIDE ANSWERS FOR WHY IT DID NOT DEPOSIT TOTAL ($2189.90) REFUND, AND/OR REASON FOR WITHHOLDING FEDERAL IRS DEPOSIT FROM AUTHORIZED IRS REFUND.
NOTE: MILLIONS OF CONSUMERS ARE BEING AFFECTED BY THIS TURBO TAX SCAM/FRAUD STATEWIDE.
OCC, FTC, FDIC, OTS, CFPA, AND STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, COMPLAINTS WILL BE FILED AGAINST TPG FOR FRAUDULENT CONSUMER SCAM FOR WHICH TURBO TAX INTERCEPTS MILLIONS OF TAXPAYERS REFUNDS.
Was told my funds were rejected by my financial institution and we have been instructed to send funds back to the IRS. Please contact your financial institution for more information about why your funds were rejected; TPG has no further information. Funds will be returned to the IRS in about 2-3 weeks.
Please allow at least 10-12 weeks for the IRS to receive and process your refund. This is unbelievable and unfair. Turbo tax made sure to collect there processing fees and payment before sending me a notice about suspicious activity on my account. This is unfair and there customer service is a joke stay away from this company.
I submitted my 2017 tax return through TurboTax on February 27, 2018. I received an email from SBTPG (which is a company that I had previously never heard of before) on March 8 saying that my account “has been placed on hold” due to “unusual account activity” and the email from SBTPG requested that I send a U.S. government issued ID to release the hold. I sent a follow up email to SBTPG on March 12 (at 7:21PM CT) asking for clarification on what the “unusual activity” was, and promptly received a response on March 13 (at 10:20AM CT) saying “Your account was flagged by the IRS and we were instructed to verify your identity.” The IRS website says that my refund was approved and sent to “my bank” on March 14. I tried calling SBTPG multiple times (using the number provided on their website for people who “prepared your own return”) and each time (March 9, March 12, March 20, March 21), the company played an automated message (referring me to their website) and then hung up the call without giving me the opportunity to actually speak with anyone on the phone. I sent another follow up email to SBTPG on March 20 asking for a phone number so that I could speak with someone at SBTPG on the phone about getting my refund, and have yet to receive any response (despite receiving a confirmation email on March 20 that my “request has been received and is being reviewed by our support staff.”) I called TurboTax three different times between March 20 and 21, and was told on March 20 by TurboTax that SBTPG was holding my refund because of a “security measure” due to “amount of the refund… because it’s so big.” According to TurboTax, the person they spoke with over the phone at SBTPG did not mention anything about “unusual activity” or the IRS. I would like SBTPG to send my refund to my bank account (as requested in my tax reform paperwork) immediately.
Well this tax year I filed through Turbo Tax as my mom has always used them. She told me that the fees to pay for the tax return can be deducted at the time the refund us sent to the bank that the IRS sends the funds to , which is designated by Turbo Tax. Many tax payers make this mistake as I did and I left off a digit in my bank account number which caused the direct deposit to bounce back to the bank Santa Barbara Tax Products.
At that time they issue a check after this still deduct their fees which I never got after 11 business days. We then discovered that somehow the apartment number was also wrong but they said to get in touch with the tenant at the apartment where I Live and see if they can watch for the mail and they did as a kind neighbor. I called a few times during the 11 days to see if the Check returned and nothing so they said at day 12 I can request a new check to be mailed out which when I called it now said that due to Unusual Account activity, they will be sending my funds back to the IRS.
I kept trying to get a rep as many have posted online that I can prove my identity which was never requested but I still went to upload my ID and Tax papers, so am waiting to see if they even reply. Many online have said that they hold the refund for months to earn interest on this money they now have hostage. I am writing this after reading so many horror stories about this bank and don't understand how they are still in business, and with Turbo Tax. I am trying to get answers from them regarding checking my identity and sending my refund.
By this playing this game, it's causing me so much stress and causing a great hardship on me as I have bills to pay. If you search this company you see that it's been happening for years and they are getting away with it but I need help. O just want fair treatment and for them to immediately send me my funds or send them back to the IRS as fast as they received it. I will pay the fees they are charging but can't get a human to help me. If there is an advocate that can help too, I don't mind talking about this across the board.
I worked for SBTPG for a number of years. Back in December 2015 I was instructed by then immediate supervisor Kevin Scattergia to work in the shipping department. That was not job function or my request to work in the shipping department. My job title was custodian of records and I had plenty of work that needed completion. Nevertheless myself and a fellow co-worker were instructed to work in the shipping department. The day that we were instructed to work in the shipping the department was on a Friday. It should be noted, that I did not receive any training or warnings in regard how to conduct myself in the shipping department. It was briefly explained to me, what was required of me, while I was assisting the shipping department for the day. In the course of the few hours I was there I injured myself. However at the time I did not know this. After the hours that were demanded of my co-worker and myself were complete in the shipping department, we both returned to the building, where our actually workstations were. The rest of the day ws spent at my cubicle, performing my regular job duties. Later that Friday evening I started to feel pain in my lower back, neck and shoulder. On Monday morning I sent Kevin my immediate supervisor at the time an email. The email briefly stated that I had hurt myself working in the shipping department and would like to refrain from any job functions that were not in line with my job title. No response from Kevin regarding that email. After showing up for work a few weeks after the injury, with the pain, I decided to go to the doctor. When my doctor began his examination, he asked me when did I first recognize the pain, I gave him the date of December 18, 2015 and it happened while I was at work. He immediately stopped the examination adn informed me that this would be a worker's comp. claim, since it happened at work. So i go to work the next day and complete a claim form and submit it Human Resources. They of course provide me the information and authorization to see the company doctor. I visit the company doctor and after being examined I was informed that i would need physical therapy and it would be three times a week. So with this information and my prescribed medications I returned to work and submitting the information to HR and Kevin. Here is wher it gets unusually disrespectful. Now that Kevin has been informed of my condition and the doctor's reccommendation, it appears that this will cause a scheduling issue with the seasonal operations for the company. He sends me an email inquirying about my availability for the seasonal schedule. I in turn send him the doctor's reccomendation and my list of medications. Also I inform him that since I am taking the prescribed medication I am unable to operate my vehicle and I will probably be attending physical therapy during work hours. He responds with an argument that I have to work the schedule no one is is available. I gave him the same response regarding my condition and medication side effects. A day or two passes without incident from Kevin. On the third day he request that I follow him upstairs, I follow him and we have a seat in the company attorney's office. Brian was the company's attorneys name. Brian stated that I needed to work the seasonal schedule and if I would be so kind to sign an agreemennt taht stated, I will be on time, work the entire shift and if I was late or absent it would grounds for termination. I stated I had physical therapy and pain medications that I was taking that had side effects. Brian stated, that does not matter, either sign the paper or our relationship has ended. I refused to sign and wsa terminated on the spot. It has been hard for me. I settled a worker's comp claim, however I was ignorant to the laws and statute of time I had to file a complaint in order to recover damages for being terminated out of retaliation. So I am still in pain and the company has not reached out to remedy my financial situation, that should have never happened.
Now you know my story. Here is probably some unfortunate taxpayer's story:
filed a return, used Turbotax and did not know SBTPG was a thrd party, that would receive your tax refund first and then disburse it. The refund was held, because it was suspicious or had some suspicious characteristics associated with it and that is why SBTPG refused to release it. Then the taxpayer has to submit documents to verify who they are and after that is done SBTPG still was reluctant or delayed the release of the refund. So you called everyday almost all day only to get the run around and possibly many different stories. The truth is the money was being held and SBTPG was probably making money off of the refund(with several other refunds that they were holding). While I worked there, the supervisors would give random answers as to why the refund was held, or why it hasn't been released or returned to the IRS. A lot of money was taken from taxpayers without their consent or knowledge under the guise of; Account handling fee, preparation fee, account research fee and forced bank printed check or re-disbursement fee. I wish I could put a stop to this, however it appears the IRS and federal regulators and auditors are all cool with how it goes down. So my $39.99 and possible $200 advice is: avoid SBTPG at all cost. Use the IRS website to file your return.
Former Risk Analyst/ Expert witnes / Customer Service Representative /Custodian of Records for SBBT and SBTPG xt 2816
I am writing this complaint because of my horrible experience with SBTPG. I have been a Tax Preparer for the past 5 years and I have done business with other tax product groups such as EPS Financial, Refundo, etc... and i must say this is the absolute worst in the business. I prepared my 2015 tax return through Turbo Tax on February 1, 2016 and opted to have preparation fee deducted from my tax return, i had no problem with the fees as i thought it was reasonable. My issue started when SBTPG decided that they were going to hold my refund check until they had a big batch to mail out, whether they had 2, 25 or 250 checks available for clients you should not delay someone's check for the quantity checks you have. SBTPG are deceptive with regards to when checks are mailed, when I called the automated system it clearly states my check was issued and mailed on March 10, 2016 it also shows the same on their website www.sbtpg.com. When i called their customer service line an agent told me the check was printed but takes 3-4 days to actually be sent out, and that I must allow up to 11 days before calling back to check the status.
Today is March 26, 2016 and have yet to recieve my tax refund check, i called and requested the actual date the check was mailed out and was told no one had that information, so now the question for me is what date do I actually start calculation the 11 days if you can't even tell me what date it was actually mailed. I cannot understand how a financial institution has no quality control or records of checks being mailed, money is a huge deal and should be treated as such. This is the absolutely worst structured business i have ever dealt with in life, Turbo Tax should consider a different Bank Product group because you will lose many clients because of SBTPG. You've lost me and I'm pretty sure you will lose thousands more.
Santa Barbara Tax Products Group Reviews
Turbotax was used to file my taxes and Tax Products group is the company that refunds you your refund after they take fees of 34,95 plus state tax 9.00 plus they hold it for weeks saying that they detected unusual activity with the account and make you send a photo ID and then they wait and wait. I found out they do this as a scam to a lot of turbotax customers.
I used Tax Slayer to prepare my 2022 taxes. Tax Slayer uses Santa Barbara Tax Products Group when you choose to have their fees deducted rom your refund. SBTPG is a subsidiary of Green Dot Corporation and they us Civista bank to hold the customer's refunds.
My tax refund was approved by the IRS and sent to me on 8/9/23. Because I chose to have the fees come out of it, it went yo SBTPG 1st on 8/8/23, they were then supposed to deposit the rest of my refund to my bank account. AS of today 8/16/23 they are still holding my refund in Civista bank and are now saying that the IRS has requested they return it to them. This information is completely false and fabricated. The IRS does not request this of the tax payer or specifically a 3rd party once the refund has been approved and sent.
I spoke with the IRS and they have not done this, they did not request this of SBTPG or anyone. Now SBTPG will not release my money and say they are returning it to the IRS and they charged me another fee to return it. So now I will not get my refund for weeks and they will have gotten paid for doing nothing and gotten extra money for ripping me off.
They do not answer their customer service line, they do not notify you of what they are doing by phone, email or mail ahead of time. This company is running a scam and this is happening to hundreds of people.
TURBO TAX ONLINE PROGRAM FRAUD/SCAM INTERCEPTED IRS TAX REFUND DEPOSIT $2577.90 3/16/2022.
TPG ONLINE RECORDS SHOW RECIEPT OF $388.64 BY IRS FOR MY $2577.90 IRS REFUND, AND DEPOSITED $110.47 3/16/2022 TO CHECKING ACCT. IRS RECORDS SHOWS AUTHORIZED FUNDS FOR $2577.90. TPG ILLEGALLY WITHHOLDING AUTHORIZED IRS REFUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $2189.26. ACCORDING TO IRS RECORDS THE $2577.90 REFUND WAS APPROVED, AND NO OUTSTANDING DEBTS OR OFF-SETS FOR TPG TO WITHHOLD MY $2577.90 IRS REFUND.
ACCORDINGLY, TPS DID COMMIT FRAUD PER 18 USC, 15 USC. BY WITHHOLDING ANY IRS REFUND MONIES I AM OWED. NO TPG AGENTS ABLE TO PROVIDE ANSWERS FOR WHY IT DID NOT DEPOSIT TOTAL ($2189.90) REFUND, AND/OR REASON FOR WITHHOLDING FEDERAL IRS DEPOSIT FROM AUTHORIZED IRS REFUND.
NOTE: MILLIONS OF CONSUMERS ARE BEING AFFECTED BY THIS TURBO TAX SCAM/FRAUD STATEWIDE.
OCC, FTC, FDIC, OTS, CFPA, AND STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, COMPLAINTS WILL BE FILED AGAINST TPG FOR FRAUDULENT CONSUMER SCAM FOR WHICH TURBO TAX INTERCEPTS MILLIONS OF TAXPAYERS REFUNDS.
Was told my funds were rejected by my financial institution and we have been instructed to send funds back to the IRS. Please contact your financial institution for more information about why your funds were rejected; TPG has no further information. Funds will be returned to the IRS in about 2-3 weeks.
Please allow at least 10-12 weeks for the IRS to receive and process your refund. This is unbelievable and unfair. Turbo tax made sure to collect there processing fees and payment before sending me a notice about suspicious activity on my account. This is unfair and there customer service is a joke stay away from this company.
I submitted my 2017 tax return through TurboTax on February 27, 2018. I received an email from SBTPG (which is a company that I had previously never heard of before) on March 8 saying that my account “has been placed on hold” due to “unusual account activity” and the email from SBTPG requested that I send a U.S. government issued ID to release the hold. I sent a follow up email to SBTPG on March 12 (at 7:21PM CT) asking for clarification on what the “unusual activity” was, and promptly received a response on March 13 (at 10:20AM CT) saying “Your account was flagged by the IRS and we were instructed to verify your identity.” The IRS website says that my refund was approved and sent to “my bank” on March 14. I tried calling SBTPG multiple times (using the number provided on their website for people who “prepared your own return”) and each time (March 9, March 12, March 20, March 21), the company played an automated message (referring me to their website) and then hung up the call without giving me the opportunity to actually speak with anyone on the phone. I sent another follow up email to SBTPG on March 20 asking for a phone number so that I could speak with someone at SBTPG on the phone about getting my refund, and have yet to receive any response (despite receiving a confirmation email on March 20 that my “request has been received and is being reviewed by our support staff.”) I called TurboTax three different times between March 20 and 21, and was told on March 20 by TurboTax that SBTPG was holding my refund because of a “security measure” due to “amount of the refund… because it’s so big.” According to TurboTax, the person they spoke with over the phone at SBTPG did not mention anything about “unusual activity” or the IRS. I would like SBTPG to send my refund to my bank account (as requested in my tax reform paperwork) immediately.
Well this tax year I filed through Turbo Tax as my mom has always used them. She told me that the fees to pay for the tax return can be deducted at the time the refund us sent to the bank that the IRS sends the funds to , which is designated by Turbo Tax. Many tax payers make this mistake as I did and I left off a digit in my bank account number which caused the direct deposit to bounce back to the bank Santa Barbara Tax Products.
At that time they issue a check after this still deduct their fees which I never got after 11 business days. We then discovered that somehow the apartment number was also wrong but they said to get in touch with the tenant at the apartment where I Live and see if they can watch for the mail and they did as a kind neighbor. I called a few times during the 11 days to see if the Check returned and nothing so they said at day 12 I can request a new check to be mailed out which when I called it now said that due to Unusual Account activity, they will be sending my funds back to the IRS.
I kept trying to get a rep as many have posted online that I can prove my identity which was never requested but I still went to upload my ID and Tax papers, so am waiting to see if they even reply. Many online have said that they hold the refund for months to earn interest on this money they now have hostage. I am writing this after reading so many horror stories about this bank and don't understand how they are still in business, and with Turbo Tax. I am trying to get answers from them regarding checking my identity and sending my refund.
By this playing this game, it's causing me so much stress and causing a great hardship on me as I have bills to pay. If you search this company you see that it's been happening for years and they are getting away with it but I need help. O just want fair treatment and for them to immediately send me my funds or send them back to the IRS as fast as they received it. I will pay the fees they are charging but can't get a human to help me. If there is an advocate that can help too, I don't mind talking about this across the board.
I worked for SBTPG for a number of years. Back in December 2015 I was instructed by then immediate supervisor Kevin Scattergia to work in the shipping department. That was not job function or my request to work in the shipping department. My job title was custodian of records and I had plenty of work that needed completion. Nevertheless myself and a fellow co-worker were instructed to work in the shipping department. The day that we were instructed to work in the shipping the department was on a Friday. It should be noted, that I did not receive any training or warnings in regard how to conduct myself in the shipping department. It was briefly explained to me, what was required of me, while I was assisting the shipping department for the day. In the course of the few hours I was there I injured myself. However at the time I did not know this. After the hours that were demanded of my co-worker and myself were complete in the shipping department, we both returned to the building, where our actually workstations were. The rest of the day ws spent at my cubicle, performing my regular job duties. Later that Friday evening I started to feel pain in my lower back, neck and shoulder. On Monday morning I sent Kevin my immediate supervisor at the time an email. The email briefly stated that I had hurt myself working in the shipping department and would like to refrain from any job functions that were not in line with my job title. No response from Kevin regarding that email. After showing up for work a few weeks after the injury, with the pain, I decided to go to the doctor. When my doctor began his examination, he asked me when did I first recognize the pain, I gave him the date of December 18, 2015 and it happened while I was at work. He immediately stopped the examination adn informed me that this would be a worker's comp. claim, since it happened at work. So i go to work the next day and complete a claim form and submit it Human Resources. They of course provide me the information and authorization to see the company doctor. I visit the company doctor and after being examined I was informed that i would need physical therapy and it would be three times a week. So with this information and my prescribed medications I returned to work and submitting the information to HR and Kevin. Here is wher it gets unusually disrespectful. Now that Kevin has been informed of my condition and the doctor's reccommendation, it appears that this will cause a scheduling issue with the seasonal operations for the company. He sends me an email inquirying about my availability for the seasonal schedule. I in turn send him the doctor's reccomendation and my list of medications. Also I inform him that since I am taking the prescribed medication I am unable to operate my vehicle and I will probably be attending physical therapy during work hours. He responds with an argument that I have to work the schedule no one is is available. I gave him the same response regarding my condition and medication side effects. A day or two passes without incident from Kevin. On the third day he request that I follow him upstairs, I follow him and we have a seat in the company attorney's office. Brian was the company's attorneys name. Brian stated that I needed to work the seasonal schedule and if I would be so kind to sign an agreemennt taht stated, I will be on time, work the entire shift and if I was late or absent it would grounds for termination. I stated I had physical therapy and pain medications that I was taking that had side effects. Brian stated, that does not matter, either sign the paper or our relationship has ended. I refused to sign and wsa terminated on the spot. It has been hard for me. I settled a worker's comp claim, however I was ignorant to the laws and statute of time I had to file a complaint in order to recover damages for being terminated out of retaliation. So I am still in pain and the company has not reached out to remedy my financial situation, that should have never happened.
Now you know my story. Here is probably some unfortunate taxpayer's story:
filed a return, used Turbotax and did not know SBTPG was a thrd party, that would receive your tax refund first and then disburse it. The refund was held, because it was suspicious or had some suspicious characteristics associated with it and that is why SBTPG refused to release it. Then the taxpayer has to submit documents to verify who they are and after that is done SBTPG still was reluctant or delayed the release of the refund. So you called everyday almost all day only to get the run around and possibly many different stories. The truth is the money was being held and SBTPG was probably making money off of the refund(with several other refunds that they were holding). While I worked there, the supervisors would give random answers as to why the refund was held, or why it hasn't been released or returned to the IRS. A lot of money was taken from taxpayers without their consent or knowledge under the guise of; Account handling fee, preparation fee, account research fee and forced bank printed check or re-disbursement fee. I wish I could put a stop to this, however it appears the IRS and federal regulators and auditors are all cool with how it goes down. So my $39.99 and possible $200 advice is: avoid SBTPG at all cost. Use the IRS website to file your return.
Former Risk Analyst/ Expert witnes / Customer Service Representative /Custodian of Records for SBBT and SBTPG xt 2816
I am writing this complaint because of my horrible experience with SBTPG. I have been a Tax Preparer for the past 5 years and I have done business with other tax product groups such as EPS Financial, Refundo, etc... and i must say this is the absolute worst in the business. I prepared my 2015 tax return through Turbo Tax on February 1, 2016 and opted to have preparation fee deducted from my tax return, i had no problem with the fees as i thought it was reasonable. My issue started when SBTPG decided that they were going to hold my refund check until they had a big batch to mail out, whether they had 2, 25 or 250 checks available for clients you should not delay someone's check for the quantity checks you have. SBTPG are deceptive with regards to when checks are mailed, when I called the automated system it clearly states my check was issued and mailed on March 10, 2016 it also shows the same on their website www.sbtpg.com. When i called their customer service line an agent told me the check was printed but takes 3-4 days to actually be sent out, and that I must allow up to 11 days before calling back to check the status.
Today is March 26, 2016 and have yet to recieve my tax refund check, i called and requested the actual date the check was mailed out and was told no one had that information, so now the question for me is what date do I actually start calculation the 11 days if you can't even tell me what date it was actually mailed. I cannot understand how a financial institution has no quality control or records of checks being mailed, money is a huge deal and should be treated as such. This is the absolutely worst structured business i have ever dealt with in life, Turbo Tax should consider a different Bank Product group because you will lose many clients because of SBTPG. You've lost me and I'm pretty sure you will lose thousands more.