How on earth is it legal to charge money from someone who hasn't gotten their return yet

[AbsolutelyApopleptic]

Apparently, Intuit has decided that with the largest tax backlog in recent history, it is somehow appropriate to charge people for their services directly because the return is taking too long to process. This is, of course, awful behavior on their part and I strongly recommend to anyone who has made the mistake of working with Intuit that they find a firm with at least a few scruples to replace them. Clearly, they see no problem screwing people over because of issues on the IRS's side.

So, yeah, how is this legal? What could possibly justify such terrible behavior, aside from "we're evil and we can get away with it"?

[VolvoGirl]

It's always been that way.  So what if the IRS changes your return and you don't get the refund you were expecting?  Turbo Tax still needs to get paid.

See What if the IRS reduces your refund or delays it.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/payments/help/what-if-my-federal-refund-isn-t-enough-to-cover-my-t...

Then when the IRS does send your refund they won't take the fees out again.

And, Why you got charged,

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/why-was-my-bank-account-auto-debited-for-tur...

You should have received about 4 emails asking for the fees.  If you don't pay they will debit your account.  You had to agree to it.

[AbsolutelyApopleptic]

You've clearly not read what I posted. If you had, you'd note that this is simply the IRS taking too long to review a filing, not me making a mistake or my return being too small. 

Like I said, this is scummy as heck, which is to be expected, I suppose, from such a disreputable firm.

[Opus 17]

Here's the point.  You obtained a service (tax preparation).  You have to pay for the service. 

If you had not used refund transfer, you would have paid for tax prep with a credit card before you filed, either online or by buying the boxed software in a store.  You pay for the service, you get the service, end of story.  Imagine going into Best Buy, picking up a boxed copy of the software, and telling them "I'll pay when I get my tax refund."  Isn't going to happen, is it?  Any more than you could go to Best Buy, pick up a gaming PC, and promise them "I'll pay when my Twitch stream starts making money."

You chose to use refund transfer.  You agreed that instead of paying before filing, you would pay after filing, plus a $40 service charge.  You also agreed that if your tax return was delayed, you would pay Turbotax what you owed.  Turbotax can't guarantee that your tax return will be processed at any specific time, nor can it guarantee that your refund will be paid.  (You might use incorrect information, or have an offset, there's no way for Turbotax to know.)  Turbotax isn't responsible for IRS delays.  You got a service, and you promised to pay "later".  Now, it's "later" and you have to pay.

If you don't like it, pay up front and don't use refund transfer.   This is only one of a dozen reasons why refund transfer is a bad idea, and I don't think you will find anyone on this board (except Turbotax employees) who will recommend it.

[gerun]

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 Good morning!
Is it possible in reality? How is it implemented in practice? Thank you in advance! 

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@VolvoGirl wrote:

It's always been that way.  So what if the IRS changes your return and you don't get the refund you were expecting?  Turbo Tax still needs to get paid.

See What if the IRS reduces your refund or delays it.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/payments/help/what-if-my-federal-refund-isn-t-enough-to-cover-my-market-code.ru 

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[Opus 17]

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@gerun wrote:

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 Good morning!
Is it possible in reality? How is it implemented in practice? Thank you in advance! 

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@VolvoGirl wrote:

It's always been that way.  So what if the IRS changes your return and you don't get the refund you were expecting?  Turbo Tax still needs to get paid.

See What if the IRS reduces your refund or delays it.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/payments/help/what-if-my-federal-refund-isn-t-enough-to-cover-my-market-code.ru 

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If you select "pay my Turbotax fees from my refund", you also agree to the $40 extra fee for the service, and you agree in the fine print that if your refund is delayed, Turbotax can extract their fees from your checking account (using the same account number where you have directed your refund to be deposited).  Then, if you refund is finally paid, the $40 service charge will still be extracted but the balance of your refund will be deposited to your checking account without deducting the program fees again. 

[VolvoGirl]

"Is it possible in reality? How is it implemented in practice? Thank you in advance! "

Yes it happens all the time.  There are many posts in the forum complaining that they haven't got the refund yet but Turbo Tax took the fees out of their bank account.  Turbo Tax debits your bank account.

If you don't pay they will automatically debit your bank account.  You had to agree to it.  Then when the IRS does send your refund they won't take the fees out again.  Here's a FAQ on why you got charged,
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/why-was-my-bank-account-auto-debited-for-tur...