Complaint Review: GreenDot Prepaid Card/Synovus bank - MONROVIA California

I am a tax preparer & I have clients that do not have bank accounts.  There were only three of my clients that asked me to have their income tax go to my account.

What kind of tax preparer does this?  What kind of tax preparer needs to use Green Dot or any other prepaid debit card?

Kindly explain just what you're doing having tax refunds for others deposited in any account of yours? 

Could it be that you're unlawfully providing RALs (refund anticipation loans) without meeting the proper regulatory requirements?  I suspect this is exactly what you're doing, otherwise these 3 clients would be screaming for they refund money and report YOU to the IRS!  No other reason would make sense.

Tell us, how much in interest and FEES did you charge these 3 "clients" of yours?

I hope they return the money to the IRS rather than release it to you.  Then you'll have to explain to the IRS, in detail, just what the heck you're doing.

I am going through the same thing with Synovus Bank / Green Dot Corp. I've sent them the requested documents and everytime I call them to request a status, they give me a new date. I have contacted the IRS to let them know that they are not releasing people money and are keeping it for themselves. The IRS said that the banks are suppose to reject the ACH not keep the money for themselves. This is ridiculous....in addtion, they charged me maintenance fees  for a frozen account.  I am going to tell any and everybody about their practices. I have an apointment with my local TV station next week...mabey you should contact yours too.

We truly apologize for your experience and assure you we are here to help. Green Dot understands the importance of our customers need for immediate access to their hard earned money.  However we must comply with regulatory requirements for the monitoring and prevention of unusual card activity and, with regard to the Turbo Tax card, we must follow Internal Revenue Service requirements.    "Unusual activity" is defined as compared to the vast majority of our customers' ongoing card usage.  Green Dot is committed to assisting all customers whose card activity is not in compliance with our policies and to  satisfactorily resolve the issues.  We have sent a message directly to you so we can further assist you.  You can also contact us directly at [email protected], please provide your full name and contact number.   

If I read this correctly you are depositing other people's tax refunds into your account.  If that is what you are doing your bigger problem may be the IRS.

From the IRS web site:
Can I direct part of my refund into my tax professionals checking or savings account to pay my tax preparation fee?
You can direct your refund to any of your checking or savings accounts; you cannot direct your refund to someone elses account (except for your spouses account, if this is a joint refund).

It is very likely it is the IRS that notified Greendot, and the "investigation" is actually going on between Greendot and the IRS.  So you may want to call an attorney, but not for the reason you said.  It may be to make sure you don't end up in Prision.  I also noticed that you said this card has their funds and your funds as well.  I really hope that at least "your" funds are your business account and not a personal account.  Because if this is a personal account you may have even more issues with the IRS.

The real question is why could your clients not get a Greendot card themselves?  Why couldn't they get a check issued and just go to someplace like Walmart to cash it?