Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

[charise-reid]

if it's $10 or $10,000 what difference does that make?  I don't have all of my money

[VolvoGirl]

It can make a difference.  You said you only got 1/4.  How much are we talking?  If you are missing $40 it could be the extra 39.99 Refund Processing Service charge (44.99 in California) to have the fees deducted.  

Or are you missing a state refund?  Federal and state come from different places at different times.

[charise-reid]

I'm missing a 1/4 of my refund after all applicable fees have been deducted.  The total fees with the $40 fee from SBTPG have all been deducted and my full refund has not been deposited.

[taylorrhe]

Seems the IRS is taking a lot of people's money this year.

[dwmmlm]

Shame on TurboTax for funneling their customers to this scam of a company. Just do a web search. Lots of really bad stories and all related to TurboTax and this company. I am out over $25K. Not sure I'll ever see the money as Santa Barbara Tax Group has it and won't let it go. I will no longer be a TurboTax customer. I am sure they're getting a piece of this so they have a financial stake as well in this, but long term its going to be a problem for them.

[Wegotthis]

You signed an agreement and they don't just hold your money. You either had an offset or you file a fraudulent return

[dwmmlm]

Yes, you check the box to pay the TurboTax fee with your return. Like many, I didn't realize that meant sending my refund to a third party. There's no fraudulent return or offset as the IRS has sent them my refund. They have this bogus scheme where they say they need to verify your ID and it takes weeks or months to do so. So yes, they do just hold your money. In the meantime they ask you to send them a copy of your passport or DL before they will release your tax refund and that may or may not happen quickly. Do some online searches and you'll see I am not alone. They don't answer the phone and you really have no idea when or if you'll get your money. You obviously are smarter than many of us and probably didn't check that box so good for you @shalissehopkins2.

[SweetieJean]

You were due a $25k refund? That sounds highly unusual.

[dwmmlm1]

It's not highly unusual at all.

[SweetieJean]

For one tax year? Per the IRS,  the average refund is only about $3k.

[VolvoGirl]

Maybe it's not unusual for you but it sure it for everybody else.  Why are you having Turbo Tax deduct your fees?  Do you realize they charge an EXTRA 39.99 Refund Processing Service charge for that?  It is shown and explained to you about the extra charge and 3rd party bank on at least 2 screens before you file.  You have to agree to it.   Or you can pay the fees with a credit card to avoid all that.  I can post several screen shots of it.

[dwmmlm1]

Yep. That was dumb of me. Now I guess I have to take my medicine.

[dwmmlm1]

Back to the point; this company that Turbo Tax promotes won't send your tax refund to the bank account and routing number listed in your tax return until they get a copy of your DL or Passport. Really? My personal lack of judgement using this service aside, this smells very wrong to me and to a lot of others. I am guessing many of you haven't dealt with this company or you wouldn't be so focused on things other than the fact the company has thousand of complaints and is making it very hard for many users on this board to obtain their refund. I am a little surprised at the lack of empathy for fellow TurboTax users.

[SweetieJean]

Think of it this way: Would you release $25k  to someone without verifying who they were?

[dwmmlm1]

Good Lord. You verified who you were when you submitted your tax returns and agreed to let them deduct the fee. The IRS sends your refund without any such additional requirement. Google the company. Lots of complaints and very questionable business practices.