As long time readers of this blog know I've been especially anxious to get our tax refund back so we can get a new HDTV and Blu Ray Player. I'm doing the old fashioned waiting for the check in the mail routine. Sure, I could have had them deposit in our account, but I was afraid either the government or I would mess up at some point making the wait for the money even longer. And let's set aside the whole "it's your money to begin with that you overpaid on taxes" argument and Monday morning internet quarterbacking where people advise reducing the withholding so you actually do get your money when you made it, not next year in a tax refund. Sure, that's easy advice, but actually doing it is different. Plus, if you mess up on that and don't withhold enough, you could end up paying more in penalties and such. In a twist on that old saying, it's better to withhold more and be thought of as an idiot than to try to change it and remove all doubt.
I've seen some of those companies that do peoples' taxes set up at Wal Mart or Meijer, and the refund anticipation loans they offer. I've read the posters listing the terms and the APR and I'm shocked that people would pay that much just to get their money back sooner. But I blanch at the idea of paying 50 cents to use the debit instead of credit on my ATM card, and work to avoid the balance transfer fee in case of an overdraft on my checking like the plague, so what do I know? And then there's the card you can put your refund loan on, which the Consumerist calls the worst tax product ever with the fees charged to the point that it'll cost you to look at it. More telling was the comments in that post. One commenter pointed out (this is the best I could do to link it, starts with the original post with only his comment after) about a friend of his' mother who worked at H&R Block and tried to get rid of the loans and card until customer demand brought it back. And then there's this guy who had his card's money seized by holds from companies he didn't do any business with, they have no record of any transactions, and Block's reaction is to direct them back to those companies. (In a case like that, from my experience, I would advise to stand your ground when talking to Block and insist they help them and you're not putting up with any runaround. The CSR may not know how to help, but that'll get them on the road to resolving the matter.) And what if the refund amount is wrong?
Yes, it's crazy waiting for the money, but in this instance I think slow and steady wins the race.