I entered the wrong Account number for my direct deposit for 2020 Tax Refund and I still haven't received it. I need help.

[Bevinab]

I accidentally entered the incorrect Account Number for my direct deposit/Tax Return. The routing number was correct but I screwed up the numbers for the Account number. I have been back and forth with the IRS and Wells Fargo ever since June of 2021 trying to get someone to help me sort this out. I've spent hours on hold waiting to speak to a person at IRS and hours on hold with Wells Fargo. And every time they say "the IRS has to contact us on your behalf," or "We are waiting for a response from Wells Fargo" or the representative has literally said.." I don't know who you should talk to."

But several people with the IRS and Wells Fargo I spoke with have agreed that the deposit should of never been made since my name didn't match up on the Account Number. Wells Fargo did say that the Account number I entered is an active account by someone (name they cannot give me, understandable so) and that "Person" did receive the deposit but other than that info I've gotten very little information or help from Wells Fargo. And the IRS said they were sending my case to a specific department and after 6 months waiting for a letter it stated my case was transferred to the Bureau of Fiscal Service and I needed to call the number on the letter. I did that right away and the representative on the phone said "we don't handle this sort of thing in this department. We collect tax debt and payments and don't know why I would of received a letter informing me to contact them...."    It's so Frustrating!!! I've made notes of every call I've made between the two for the past 13/14 months and it's a total of 15 IRS calls (not including the ones when they are backed up and can't take your call so you have to try over and over and then wait on hold for 1 hour and 27 mins. 11 Wells Fargo calls which get no where except the employee saying it's messed up it was deposited because the name didn't match and the bank should prevent it from happening. 

I'm sure at this point this is a lost cause but I needed and still need that money. This will end up just a dear diary post I'm sure. lol Sorry for the Rant. Does anyone have any suggestion at all?? Why won't Wells Fargo take the money out of the persons account whom it didn't belong?? Help!!! Anybody!!!

Thank you

-Bevinab

[NCperson]

@Bevinab - my suggestion - and it is just that - focus your energies with Wells Fargo. 

The IRS has no responsibility in this matter.  the is the link the 'green book'.

note that page 1-8 states: 

https://fiscal.treasury.gov/files/reference-guidance/green-book/greenbook-full.pdf

"The financial institution’s responsibility is to post the Direct Deposit payment to the account indicated on the ACH record. If the funds are posted to a valid account that turns out to be incorrect, the financial institution is not liable to the government for the return of the funds. If the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s agent gave the incorrect account information, neither Fiscal Service nor the IRS will assist the taxpayer with recovering the funds. The taxpayer is free to pursue civil action. If, however, the IRS made the error, it will make the taxpayer whole."

Contact Wells and ask for the "office of the president'. Very clearly state this is a 'complaint' as the banks have very specific processes and definitions of a 'complaint' that are required by their regulator, the OCC.  Keep using that word:  "complaint"

Keep asking the representative you talk to to 'escalate the call' to a more and more senior person.  You may want to contact the local television station who often has reportors that highlight these consumer complaints...and the last thing Wells needs is ANOTHER bad situation in the press. 

Focus Wells on the fact that the account number and the account owner name that was transmitted on the ACH transfer from the IRS did not match, hence, Wells has an obligation to act and resolve that.   While Wells front line workers may be telling you that the account number is an active account number of another account holder, they are not going to be able to dispute that the account NAME on the transaction did not match (although they may not have access to that information).

There has to be a control in place in Wells to prevent this EXACT situation from occuring....and shocking there isn't one.   

In fact, their own website, which advertizes ACH product, indicates they need the NAME and ACCOUNT number 

https://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/wells-fargo-works/financial-management/payments/the-power-of-ACH-and-...

another suggestion: threaten to Wells, and if no satisfaction, that you will contact the OCC, who is their regulator...

https://www.occ.treas.gov/about/index-about.html

post back as I am curious on what progress you make!  

[Critter-3]

From the IRS :

Question

What should I do if I entered an incorrect routing or account number for direct deposit of my refund?

Answer

The IRS assumes no responsibility for tax preparer or taxpayer error. Please verify your account and routing numbers with your financial institution and double check the accuracy of the numbers you enter on your return prior to signing and submitting it. You should not request a deposit of your refund into an account that's not in your own name.

The IRS handles account or routing number errors the same for both split refunds and regular direct deposits.

Scenario:

• You omit a digit in the account or routing number of an account and the number doesn't pass the IRS's validation check. In this case, the IRS will send you a paper check for the entire refund instead of a direct deposit.
• You incorrectly enter an account or routing number and the number passes the validation check but your designated financial institution rejects and returns the deposit to the IRS. The IRS will issue a paper check for the amount of that deposit once it is received.
• You incorrectly enter an account or routing number that belongs to someone else and your designated financial institution accepts the deposit. You must work directly with the respective financial institution to recover your funds. See the last solution bullet below.
• You requested a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) or Refund Anticipation Check (RAC) through your preparer or preparation software. Usually this occurs when you authorize the fee for preparation to be taken from your refund. Even if you didn't request a direct deposit, these types of refunds are directly deposited into the preparer’s financial institution, so you should contact that institution for resolution. See the last solution bullet below.

Solution:

• If the return hasn't already posted to our system, you can ask us to stop the direct deposit. You may call us toll-free at 800-829-1040, M - F, 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
• Generally, if the financial institution recovers the funds and returns them to the IRS, the IRS will send a paper refund check to your last known address on file with the IRS.
• If you have contacted the financial institution and two weeks have passed with no results, you will need to file Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund (PDF) to initiate a trace. This allows the IRS to contact the bank on your behalf to attempt recovery of your refund. Banks are allowed up to 90 days from the date of the initial trace input to respond to our request for information.
• If funds aren't available or the bank refuses to return the funds, the IRS cannot compel the bank to do so. The case may then become a civil matter between you and the financial institution and/or the owner of the account into which the funds were deposited.

[Bevinab]

@NCperson .. I didn’t expect anyone to read what I wrote let alone get a response that literally made me tear up because I feel some relief reading your suggestions. Everything you said is spot on and I’m going to do exactly that. Wow, I wish I could hug you. I know there’s more important things in this world than to worry about stuff like this and you taking the time to help me is nice and appreciated. You’ve been more help than anyone working at either place lol. I wish I could send you flowers. In fact, if I succeed I will do exactly that 🤣 

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I will pay your kindness forward. And I’ll keep you updated!!!

-Bevin 

[Critter-3]

The program used to require you to enter the routing and account numbers twice in the blind (where you don't see what you entered already and you cannot "cut & past" the prior info) but sadly they stopped that safety feature.  In the future I highly recommend you "sleep on it" before filing and come back later to review your return again before filing  and/or have another human check your DD entries before you file ... remember you are acting as your own preparer and the program cannot possibly know that you made a data entry error in these fields. 

Good thing my professional tax program still requires it to catch my "fat finger/dyslexic" data entry errors.   

[NCperson]

@Critter-3 - in the CD/ download version of TT, it only asks for your account number and routing number ONCE if you are using the same account as last year.  (It knows what you used previously when it pulls foward all your data from the prior year return). so it is able to do a double match for accuracy.

If you are creating a new return or changing the bank account from last year, there is a double entry required. 

I suspect the online program works similarly (but can not test), that if you used the same bank info from last year, it only requires you to enter it once and uses the information from prior year as the double match.

are you using Taxslayer for your business? it requires routing and account numbers to be double entered for accuracy.  it will not pull forward the banking infor from the prior year. 

[Critter-3]

We use DRAKE which is not only easy to use and cost effective but  they have the best tech  support in the business. 

[Mattplew08]

Please tell me the outcome of your situation

[JohnW152]

This is an old thread and you may not receive a response from earlier posters.  If you haven't filed your return yet, you can still update your Direct Deposit information.  See the TurboTax Help article Where do I enter my bank's routing or account number? for guidance.

If you've already filed your return, no changes can be made. Your refund method can't be changed after filing.

If this isn't what you're referring to, feel free to post back.  @Mattplew08