SBTPG confiscated my refund, won't pay me

[boristhinky]

TurboTax uses SBTPG to process direct deposits of tax refunds. My refund is in possession of SBTPG as of 6/1/22 and they've done nothing with it.  The status on their website shows that it will be returned to the IRS but is "pending review" as of 6/2/22.  This means they've been sitting on it for well over a month without contacting me.

I spent over an hour on hold with their customer service phone line.  They are extremely unfriendly and can't provide any additional info.  They refuse to connect me to a manager or provide names or phone numbers of anyone who can help.  The amount I'm owed is over $80k and they've simply confiscated it without any justification or accountability.  

This obviously reflects terribly upon TurboTax's decision to use a disreputable partner like SBTPG.  Do I have any recourse here or is SBTPG simply allowed to steal my refund?

[tagteam]

You might want to try contacting Support again. What is the TurboTax phone number? (intuit.com)

Hopefully, you will get a rep who is more helpful.

[SweetieJean]

Well, I wouldn't release $80,000 either without some extensive due diligence.  SBTPG is likely verifying your identity and banking information, and maybe even checking with the IRS to see if the huge amount is valid.

Next time, pay your TT fess upfront with a credit or debit card.

[Critter-3]

If you really have an $80,000 refund then why did you pay an extra $45 for the refund processing service ??? Smells funny.    But I am sure they are checking on this seriously before releasing the refund ... they may have returned it to the IRS for fear of negociating such a large amount.  Banking rules requires  any deposit $10K or more to be reviewed carefully. 

[boristhinky]

It's been over a month.  Nobody has contacted me about this issue, the customer support line is useless and they don't reply to emails.  

Is the only purpose of SBTPG seriously to just deduct TT fees from tax refunds?  Even if I did everything wrong I don't deserve to have my money hijacked for over a month with absolutely no communication or explanation.  The status says "Return to IRS - Pending Review" since 6/2/22.  That's a month and a half!  

Is there any regulatory body I can report SBTPG to?  I can understand investigating things for a day or a week, but a month and a half?? With no communication?  They're clearly stealing my money at this point.