Tax Refund - Santa Barbara Tax Group - Tax Products Group

[gargoyleg]

Please count me in! I'm going thru it w them right now & its frustrating & ridiculous.

[tmcmulli]

Count me in, I've been with Turbo Tax for 15 years, and have never had an issue.  It's making me rethink TurboTax, Quickbooks, etc.

[awandadejoie1]

People  if you want something done start leaving ways to contact each other if this is gonna fix anything  people have to band together a protest social media is the new wave not reporting to a million  different  agencies  that won't help one person ... contact <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="mailto:xxxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com">xxxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com</a>  leave info about it and we get a class action lawsuit.

[wojcikfamily]

I am having the same issue. I am reporting them to my State's Attorney General (Oregon). Along with Intuit. Look for #SBTGFRAUD on facebook and join the group if you have had a similar problem. This site will not show any personal contact information, so we have to find a different way to get in touch

[laddybuggg]

Food for thought. ..II got calls from both Turboax and SBTPG the day after mentioning a lawyer. .? And my refund was returned to the IRS. Still intend to file a an lawsuit for interesr!

[laddybuggg]

Anyone interested in a class action lawsuit against these crooks pleas e mail me at [Removed]   thanks

[jansett]

As I am not a US citizen I do not know the recourse here, I am losing approx $19 per day the refund is not issued in interest alone, currently 10 days overdue.  I am unable to contact anyone via phone at SBTPG and their website simply says "We have identified unusual account activity and for your security, your account has been placed on hold. ".  Which is bizarre because I have never done anything with this account before (I only heard about it from TT when I called to find out where my refund was).

[Lisa995]

That's an extremely large refund...the amount alone may have triggered a fraud possibility.

[jansett]

I think that is an issue for the IRS not the receiving bank.

[Opus 17]

@jansett You are asking for a $30,000 deposit to be sent overseas on the basis of your tax return?  No wonder it is being held up.  If you had filed with the IRS and used direct deposit from the IRS into a US based bank account, it would have been a lot faster.  If you filed with the IRS and requested a paper check to be mailed overseas, I'm sure they would have held it for verification.

When you use refund transfer, the IRS doesn't know where the money is ultimately going, only that it's first stop is SBTPG in California.  It's a good thing that SBTPG is investigating refunds like yours, either on their own or in cooperation with the IRS. (It might even be a new condition of their being allowed to continue to receive refunds.  If the IRS saw a lot of fraud going through SBTPG, they could blacklist them.)

You asked for a huge untraceable overseas refund, which raises every red flag there is and looks exactly like refund fraud or money laundering.  Even if you are a legitimate taxpayer, you bear some responsibility for that.  Next time, open a US bank account to receive your refund and then do a traceable, legal reportable wire transfer into your overseas account.

[jansett]

Let me clarify, I am using a US bank account (Chase).

[jansett]

Additionally, I transfer very large amounts from my Chase account to international destinations (UK, Aus, Fr, Jp).  I can guarantee that these amounts are never held up because of 'fraud' or 'investigation'.  And nor should they, if the details are correct (as they are in my case) my address, identification, routing and bank account all match, I am unsure the suspicion.  

Fundamentally, my issue isn't with TT (although I will not be using their service again) it is with my in ability to speak with someone at SBTPG for an explanation as to when my funds will be released.

[marketingjeanie]

So what if there was a security issue.  Nobody is complaining about verification - the complaint is the $$ just DISAPPEARS.   We have to spend hours and hours figuring out where it is  - the institution that Turbo Tax chose to go to bed with in this matter is unreachable to even find out about the hold.   I was hung up on by them 5 times before I finally got someone to talk to.  This is after hours with IRS, TT, and my bank just to locate the funds.   A hold for security is fine.  Money disappearing and not being able to find it?  Not ok.   I still don't know if/when they will be released.

[dowensiii]

It's not SBTPG's job to investigate anything. They are just the bank that TT uses - and that's only if you had your fees taken out vs paying up front. I was getting hung up on as well. Then I called and when they ask for my social security number I punched in 000-00-0000 and was speaking to someone within 5 minutes. I received my money finally - after over 2 weeks. Just a way for them to draw extra interest on taxpayers money - IMO. Good luck.

[abrahamlong79]

How did you get them to finely get your money? Did they make you fill out the indemnity bond? Because now that's what they are having me do. This sucks so bad! I know my routing numbers were correct. They CS's at sbtpg are horrible I think one was drunk or something she was so bad. Never ever using turbo again.