Instant Tax Service LIES...SCAMS...ALL AROUND RIP OFF!! Orlando, Internet
Do not use this company IF you value your hard earn tax money! They use the classic bait and switch to lure unsuspecting victims into their store.
The advertisement says everyone is approved for a $1000 RAL loan. LIE #1
My husband never used this service before, but we needed our tax money quick, and stupidly believed their ads. We went to ITS on 1/15/11 with his last check stub. We were told they could qualify us for th loan, and we would need to come back with the w2 IF we chose to do our taxes with them. WE NEVER signed any forms to do our taxes. Only for the RAL. We were told they could not file without the w2. So we applied for the RAL, and the agent said we were going to get 50 upfront, and we would get the rest in 24 hours. 24 hours turned into NEVER. I tried contacting the company several times, and I was given excuse after excuse. First it was MLK birthday so the bank was closed, then it was after the holiday and they were backed up...then it was promised to be deposited by 5pm on the 4th day...never happened....then I was told no one was qualifying for the loan, so when I asked to not be charged any fees (of which we were not told of while we were there, and realized this when we got home) we were told they could only "discount" $50 off their fee of $500!!!!!!!!!!!! I told them then that we did not want them to file for us, so why is it $500 for the stinking $50 loan, and I was told that they did file for us, without the w2, without our consent, and we had to be charged that for their convenience fee, and the RAL WHAT RAL? is taxes came 3 weeks later, the same time it would have taken me to file my taxes myself for FREE!!!!!!
I reported them to the BBB, and the owner replied with all lies of course.
Beware...I will never in my life use this SCAMMING COMPANY AGAIN. They will suck $500 right from you. Don't fall for their "bait and switch" advertising like we did. It's NOT WORTH IT. Someone should start a class action lawsuit against this company for the lies and scams they have told to innocent people, and for stealing MILLIONS from Americans each year!!!
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Susan
This City,Illinois,
USA
Wondering
#3Consumer Suggestion
Mon, August 15, 2011
You said " I was told that they did file for us, without the w2, without our consent, and we had to be charged that for their convenience fee, and the RAL WHAT RAL? is taxes came 3 weeks later, the same time it would have taken me to file my taxes myself for FREE!!!!!! "
Did they send you a copy of the tax return you supposedly signed? This was January 15th, IF income was the only thing to report the IRS FreeFile would have worked and with a a bank account you would have had your refund in days.
If more than just income, you probably jumped the gun.
Joseph
New Orleans,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
A suggestion
#3Consumer Comment
Mon, August 15, 2011
Not to beat a dead horse, but you know never to go back to this company again.
With that said, the IRS is trying to steer companies away from offering RALS because of the high cost of interest associated with them. They also prohibit the use of last pay stubs, but want companies to use valid W2s instead.
The probably is that you did authorize the company to file your tax return because they cannot offer a RAL or RAC without first having some indicator of how much you would get in a refund. You may not have known you were doing this becuase the company representative did nto properly advise you of this.
You should not have complained to the BBB because they are not really going to do anything to help correct this. They would only get a statement from the company's owner and resolve the complain. It is basically a He Said, She Said situation.
The better place to go to file a complaint of this nature is with the IRS. They investigate companies that engage in questionable or illegal tax practices. I suggest you file a complaint with the IRS. It will not resolve your tax issues with the RAL, but it will serve notice to this company to clean up their act or lose the right to file taxes.