Whereabouts of Chicago area woman's 2019 tax return is a mystery for more than three years
BARTLETT, Ill. (CBS) -- It's almost time to start compiling information for your 2023 taxes – and whether you owe money or are expecting a check, you should keep in mind the patience of the subject of this story.
Ciera Stipe waited years on her refund from taxes filed before the COVID-19 pandemic even started. CBS 2's Lauren Victory unraveled what went wrong for so long.
Stipe talked to us in August about her missing tax refund – from 2019. Before CBS 2 got involved, no one could figure out where her thousands of dollars went for more than three years.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury sent Stipe a trace on her $9,300 refund – showing it was paid out by the federal government in August 2020.
The Bartlett mom kept checking her refund status online, and got really confused. Not only did she not have the money, but it got sent to a prepaid Visa card.
Green Dot Bank distributes the cards, so Stipe contacted customer service and agreed to fork over about $80 for a replacement Visa card – since the first one apparently got lost in the mail.
That's right – she paid to have her own refund resent.
The Visa card came – but not without trouble.
"You had to call to activate it, and I couldn't," Stipe said. "It kept saying, 'This information is incorrect.'"
That was in September 2020. Stipe said she went back and forth with Green Dot trying to figure out how to prove her identity to access her refund.
"My information is correct on my tax return," she said. "I don't understand where the disconnect is coming from."
Eventually, Stipe asked her money be returned to the IRS so the feds could figure it out.
This brings us back to that IRS trace. It hardly solved the mystery.
Stipe was informed by the IRS three separate times that her refund was sent to Civista Bank.
"So I called Civista Bank, and they said they don't handle directly with tax refunds," she said. "That's done through their third party, Santa Barbara Tax Product Group."
That company told her to call Green Dot Bank.
"It was just one big circle," Stipe said. "Everybody's pointing the finger: 'Oh no, they have it. Oh no, they have it. We don't - no, they!'"
Green Dot Bank initially told CBS 2 that Stipe's refund was returned to the IRS on April 23, 2021:
"Our team was able to connect directly with Ciera Stipe about the status of her case and informed her (again as we have previously) that these funds were returned to the IRS on 4/23/2021. It was also recommended that she contact the originator of funds for further assistance.
?For additional context, for privacy and security reasons, we're unable to share specific information related to customer cases or circumstances, particularly those believed to be fraud related. Also, as a general rule, we don't disclose our processes for identifying, mitigating and preventing fraud, which is unfortunately increasingly prevalent across our industry.
"We have communicated our concerns regarding the funds to the customer and have provided guidance on who to contact, including the IRS, for information and updates on the status of the funds."
But we learned that return never really happened.
CBS 2 asked on Aug. 31 of this year if Green Dot could provide us with any documentation that the funds had gone back to the IRS. Soon afterward, Stipe got a call.
"(They said): 'Oh we apologize. We thought it was sent out, but it never got sent out,'" Stipe said.
The bank, in an updated statement, blamed the years-long delay in returning Stipe's money back to the IRS on an "isolated internal processing error:"
"As we shared previously, based on several factors and red flags, including Ms. Stipe's claim that she did not authorize an account to be opened, it was determined the funds should be returned to the IRS so that the IRS could investigate and determine the rightful owner. We take concerns related to fraud very seriously, and this is the process we follow to allow the taxpayer to resolve any issues involving potential fraud with the IRS and help ensure the refund is issued correctly.
"It was our understanding the funds had already been transferred to the IRS (a process that can take time to complete); unfortunately, this refund transfer to the IRS had an extended delay due to an isolated internal processing error, which has been addressed. We have confirmed that the IRS has received the funds, and we have a team member working directly with Ms. Stipe and the IRS to ensure the matter is resolved appropriately and as efficiently as possible."
Stipe's money wasn't sent back to the government until Sept. 5 of this year. That led us to an October meet-up with Stipe.
Victory: "What does it say that you have to do a news interview to get your own money that you worked for?"
Stipe: "It's sad."
She's not alone. CBS 2 discovered a Better Business Bureau alert for Green Dot Corporation.
"Consumers allege experiencing access issues to their direct deposited IRS payments," it reads, among other problems.
"BBB today has over 1,500 complaints in the past 12 months on Green Dot," said BBB spokesman Jason Meza.
Meza said all those complaints triggered an investigation by his Better Business Bureau team in Texas, where Green Dot is based. They want to get to the root of what is causing issues.
"It's a red light that customers are hitting, and it's a consistent red light," Meza said.
Stipe said that description seemed familiar.
After Stipe's three-year, eight-month wait – and CBS 2's many inquiries – there was a tiny bit of tax relief. A check from Green Dot arrived, returning $39.95 to her for a processing fee – and an extra $200 for "inconvenience."
And on Monday – years later – Stipe finally got her check from the IRS.
Meanwhile, Better Business Bureau investigators are still waiting on a response from Green Dot about the pattern of complaints.
A Nov. 1 alert posted to Green Dot's page on the BBB website said alleges Green Dot is ignoring requests from BBB investigators to discuss an increase in complaints. A Green Dot spokesperson said the bank is not required to answer the BBB.
Green Dot sent this statement regarding BBB complaints:
"Our overall BBB complaint volume decreased significantly over the past year outside of the technical conversion period in the August timeframe, which I explained earlier.
"We are committed to providing customers with the access and information they need and expect from us, and we have been working directly with customers (including those who have posted complaints on BBB) to resolve their issues or concerns."
