Hey, at least he didn't use "the box" and he "had people" to make sure there were no mistakes.

This should definitely dissuade anyone from working with H&R Block. I hope this guy gets every dime of his money back, and the police find out who the money was given to.

Would the person mistakenly given the money be brought up on charges of any kind? I think in general, it's a case of mistaken funds, but everyone should know precisely how much they're getting back and if you're expecting $500 and you get $2,000...something's awry. But I might be assuming here that a great majority of people are still moral, ethical people who would not spend the money despite thinking it was a mistake.

And I can certainly see how the person who got the funds mistakenly spent it if they were expecting an amount in that range.

If H&R Block filed the police report, what are the chances the police station address has been copied down incorrectly or they contacted the wrong station?

@donnie5: That's a federal crime and H&R have aided in it. I would take them to court over this, and sue for triple damages.

The comments section of that article degenerated into 'he's poor and that's not really his tax money!' in record time :\

They didn't give his "return" to someone else, they gave his REFUND to someone else. The return is the 1040 form you send to the government; the refund is the check the government sends you.

Big difference.

At least H&R Block does not have to worry about their finances. Their profits are up despite a decrease in people filing with them.

How is that possible?

Easy, they raised their fees.

Considering that there is documentation somewhere that shows which routing and account number were used to deposit the funds, it's pretty obvious that they'll find out which account it was actually deposited into, and the bank will take the funds out of that account.

Ultimately though, if it's proven that H&R Block incorrectly processed the given information, they should be held liable for the money. If the guy wrote his information wrong, then it sucks to be him.

Of course, H&R Block is only as good as its employees:

[www.sacbee.com]

Look, the man trusted H&R to do as they contracted to do, deposit his return. They are liable.

Once the return was accepted by the IRS, it is likely that H&R Block couldn't stop the process. Presuming, however, that only the account number was wrong and the routing number correct, it is the same bank. H&R Block should have proactively contacted the bank to notify them of the impending deposit, I would think. I don't know if that would have prevented the problem, but it seems like that is the VERY least they could have done to begin with.

They should give him one of those "refund anticipation" loans free of fees and charges until the issue is resolved.

When I used H&R Block once to get Direct Deposit, I was told three times by the Preparer to verify my account information. Then, right before they eFile'd it, they asked one more time.

I am curious if this did not happen here...

now it is time to do what is right for him instead of what is right for H&R Block:
File a claim against H&R Block in Small Claims Court

@Skankingmike: True . . although it was a simple error . .hmm . .litigants?

So, bank account numbers don't have any sort check digit?

That's the real WTF here. I suppose it's only my imagination that banks are usually filled with smart people.

I mean, for crying out loud, they even put check digits on your chocolate bars... Your money should be better protected than this! (Looks like Norway and Belgium are the only places that understand this).

@savdavid: Not necessarily, H & R Block is not responsible for depositing his refund, only responsible for assisting in his filing of the return, in which, an error occured . .

I bet they assumed that their low-income customers wouldn't raise a stink in the media when they screw up. Good for him for getting the attention.

It could cost HR a fortune actually, if a decent lawyer found that easy to catch problems like this are more common than just one person. Then it becomes a class action suit and a PR nightmare.

Though honestly, for direct deposit you need a routing number and an account number, don't you?

As for the guy who got his refund, it's really no different than finding out the bank accidentally put an extra 2500 in your account then you spent it. It's still theft. The difference is with the bank it's usually sufficient funds that it's grand larceny, here it's under the 5000 cap.

@Skankingmike: This will only work if he has opted out of the mandatory binding arbitration clause. You have to register within ten days of filing your taxes in order to opt out.

I usually do, but I missed it this year. Fortunately, I have already received my refund, so I know I'm okay.

There's laws covering this sort of thing (ie someone benefiting from mistakes of others) and the person who mistakenly received the funds is obligated to repay it. But barring that they ever get it back from this guy, mistake was caused by H&R so if they don't make adequate amends to this poor guy, I'm sure Judge Judy or joe Brown would be open to take this case.

Besides, it would probably cost H&R a lot more to send a representative or lawyer to court than to just fix this for the guy.

Odd that it went into an incorrect account. I guess there isn't a check on it like direct deposit for paychecks. I do payroll and I get ACH notices from the bank if something on an account doesn't match or if the bank has changed account or routing numbers.

@Its_Miller_Time: That's what I was thinking. Now I'm a bit dyslexic, so I can see how I might mix up some numbers when checking, but that's also led to me being extremely careful when setting up transactions.

I think this is a good illustration of why you have to check things yourself, even if you pay other people to do them for you. That doesn't exclude the other people from responsibility--and H&R Block should definitely have asked.

"this guy's return was $2,696"

Refund. You got it right in the title.

Does H&R Block not make their customers look over everything to verify that the information is correct?

When will people learn that the bank NEVER makes an error in your favor. Who ever got the refund and spent it, well have to pay it back.

How could something like this actually happen? If he noticed that they copied the wrong information down, why didn't he refuse to sign the 8879 or 8453 before they e-filed his return? Or was he not given a copy of his return before it was e-filed? Not too familiar with how H&R operates. I know they charge obscene amounts for the simplest returns, but I work for a firm that has caught many errors on H&R returns. I guess if I didn't do this for a living I don't think I could trust a company that can't even do it's own taxes right.

From what other articles have said it seemed the person who got the money thought it was "their" tax refund...and that can make sense.

But if ( as it seems to be the case) HR block messed up they should be giving the custoemr the money and they either eat it or they deal with getting it back

@pecan 3.14159265: Most likely the IRS will force an ajustment from the bank so that the bank will end up being out the money and because (most banks) indicate that the you are required to report problems (Deposits or Withdrawls) to the bank and if they have to correct an error and you spent the money they can take you to collections or court to get the money back from the person who should not have recived it.

Just because money ends up in your account does not suddenly make it yours.

Why would anyone go pay good money to have a part-time, 3 hours of training, probable college drop-out do their taxes?

@microcars: you beat me to this answer. It only makes sense. I'm assuming that the guy brought a void check or something with his ACCT number on it, so whoever filed the return didn't put it in right. The incorrect recipient might have been expecting a refund ofthe same amount, so I can't blame them for it (I'd be happy to see that much in my bank account).

Someone still uses the Blockheads?

@Its_Miller_Time: I do wonder about this--it sounds like he checked the number on the return, but only after it had gone in. I suspect if Block wants to fight, those would be the grounds.

The news report made it sound like Block would be trying to find out who the money really went to, but I'd be surprised if the bank would disclose that information, since that user probably had no relationship with Block (unless the error was putting another customer's number there).

@djsyndrome: The guy seems young. It's quite possible that he's not "poor" really, but a student that receives financial aid in loans, and who also works part time...etc. As a student, I got a hefty return on my taxes, but never that much though.

This is only half H&R Blocks fault. He most certainly had to sign off on the final return, including the direct deposit account number, before the return was submitted. The fact that he failed to verify the information was correct, and signed the form saying the information was indeed correct, will likely work very strongly against him should he decide to try and sue. He can only place so much blame on them for his failure to verify that his account number was correct.

@WisconsinDadof2: Only the ACH originatior could stop the deposit, which is the IRS. Calling the bank would be a waste of time.

@shepd: An account and routing number was provided for an electronic deposit, there is not really a person processing each of these deposits and there was not a true direct deposit ach file established because it was a one time thing. Also some people may have there wife's and husband's return put into one account but the account may not be joint.

In my opinion, there's some amount of shared responsibility in this case.

H&R did make a mistake in copying the account number incorrectly. It's a human inputting the data and humans make mistakes.

However, the victim here also had a responsibility to review that tax return before H&R released it to the IRS to ensure everything on that return was correct.

Pylon, it helps if you read the article before giving half-cocked legal advice. The guy gave H&R block his bank deposit slip.

I feel this was posted as an pop quiz for Consumerist Talk-backers.

I know it's already been stated, but...the next step is 3 little words:

Small...Claims...Court

@noone1569:

Right, but it was their error. They're the ones who told the IRS the wrong account. They're definitely liable for this, and they have Professional Liability coverage in place for exactly this eventuality. Of course the amount is likely well under their deductible, at least until attorney fees and punitive damages start eating into it.

First, you can't mistake the tax refund as yours, when the process of doing your taxes is done, you know how much you are getting or owe before it is deposited.

I personally would not have spent the money, knowing that it is all traceable and that I most likely would be liable for spending money that wasn't mine, regardless of how it arrived. If I had an unexpected $3000 I would call my tax preparer to be sure if it was mine or not or what to do.

Who cares what this guy's situation is, if he's poor or student? $3000 is a lot of money to a lot of people in this economy. My return was $5k. Some people, like myself, actually claim the lowest deductions possible and add in more in order to get a higher refund. A free loan to the government? Yes, but I much prefer the higher refund than the few dollars in every paycheck. The larger check is easier to save away.

mythago, you clearly entirely missed the point of my post. My point was, regardless of how the number got on there, he HAD TO SIGN OFF ON IT! His failure to verify that the return was accurate before he signed it still places some blame on him.

customer.accountNumber = userEnteredValue;
irsDataContainer.customerAccountNumber = customer.accountNumber

?

i wonder where h&r block would have hand copied user entered data. unless he didn't use the website, then they're fail sauce.

I don't see how this happened actually.

I made a mistake with my account number when I set my tax refund to direct deposit. IRS told me to call the bank, bank said it was near impossible for a mistaken account number to actually match an account and that within a couple days the IRS would realize the direct deposit failed and send me a paper check to the mailing address I provided when I filed.

Which got to me no problem...

Did he even consider that as an option?

In my city, we have a city earnings tax. If you live or work in the city limits, you pay 1% of your earnings to the city. A friend of mine (who lives in the city) was using H&R Block for years, and started getting letters from the city that she hadn't paid. She didn't know anything about it (yes, her cluelessness makes her culpable), but H&R Block (who was operating in the city)took no responsibility for not doing this city return ... they said they're only liable for mistakes they make on returns they prepare. Which sucked for her, but seems to say that they're responsible for this guy's problem.

I am still waiting for my 2006 tax refund, because the check was somehow issued in my sister's name. Twice. I keep getting letters from the IRS saying, "we are working on it, you will hear from us in a month" and then I get another letter saying, "we are still working on it, you will hear from us again in a month"

How hard is it to print my check in my name.

Doesn't H&R Block make you sign a final copy of your return before they file it?

@dwasifar: Not to those of us with deduction skills. We know what the article meant.

@mythago: I don't see that contradicting Pylon, though. Nobody's disputing that Block made a mistake entering the number, whether it was from the guy's deposit slip or from what he wrote down. However, if the preparer, as is usual, instructed Iowa Guy to verify his account information and IG failed to do so, Block's going to use that as an out (though I do think it's also possible that they cut corners and filed before he saw the copy).

The second deposit slip was provided after the ACH had been initiated, so it couldn't stop the process at that point--it seems to be in the article because Iowa Guy and Block are disagreeing about how long it took him to provide the information and thus whose fault the delay in action is.

Or he can file a police report against H&R Block, since they're the ones who rerouted his money. Seriously, H&R.

@IT-Chick: I think there are times when you could make an understandable error--if two Block clients' accounts got swapped, for instance, and they both had roughly the same refund amount, I could see somebody figuring the math must have been slightly wrong. But this is somebody who got $2k more than s/he was expecting, if a refund was even forthcoming at all. Let's hope that they simply moved the unexpected deposit into a separate account so as not to mix it in with their own money. (I probably actually would do that, since my bank wouldn't charge me extra for it, but no, I'm not betting that that's what's happened here.)