Santa Barbara Tax Products Group Scam

[roberthenley]

I got duped using Santa Barbara Tax Products Group too.  I've used TurboTax for years and trusted them, but not anymore.  I was helping my daughter file her return, and we saw the option of paying the $25 state filing fee by using her federal refund.  We certainly did not understand this third-party arrangement.  Got charged $40 to pay the $25 state filing fee.  Very disappointed in TurboTax for not making this clearer.  Also, very difficult to navigate to the FAQ page to find out about this.  Things have gone downhill at TurboTax.  My question is can we undo this SBTPG ripoff and just use a credit card to pay the $25 state filing fee?

[DoninGA]

When you requested to pay with the refund, the $40 service charge was clearly shown on the screen.

[roberthenley]

This was not disclosed until after completed:

When you agreed to pay for tax preparation with your tax refund using the Refund Transfer, we created a temporary bank account to receive your refund.1 Your tax return was filed with the temporary bank account information included on your tax return. Once we receive your tax refund from the IRS and/or state, all authorized fees including the Refund Transfer fee and tax preparation fee are deducted from your tax refund. The remaining balance is paid to you by the method you requested.

Have more questions about how the pay-by-refund process works? Find more information about how it works. Watch your email for more critical updates on the status of your tax refund.

Thank you,

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

This is a complete and total scam.  TurboTax needs to fix.