Choosing a Bank

[TheGoodnShawn]

Good Afternoon Groupies,

Just wanted to get some additional opinions from those who offer bank products. I normally use Chase, but this year they will no longer offer an incentive package.....so I am now researching Santa Barbara and Republic.

Has anyone had any experience with any one of these banks?

Thanks

[thomtax]

Republic

I dealt with Republic Bank two years ago. It may be fine, if you do a large volume. If you do a low volume, you get nothing extra.

Also, one of my clients had been getting a loan for years. When I changed to Republic, they rejected him. When I called to ask for reconsideration, I was told that they were not interested in dealing with people that did not have a checking account or good credit rating. Foolish me, I thought that the RALs were sort of a loan of last resort. If they had these qualifications, they would not think about RALs.

LT

[lenboush]

We signed up this year for www.refund-advantage.com.

[dmann]

I am considering switching from Chase to Republic Bank. They seem to offer the highest incentives.

[thomtax]

Good luck

As I found out the hard way, promises are easy to make - keeping them is a different thing. Unless you do volume, you may be disappointed. For some, they are probably a good deal.

LT

[TheGoodnShawn]

Hmmm

Hey Thom,

I feel ya. I have been using BankOne/Chase for years and then this year they cut out their incentive program. I just submitted an application to Republic because Chase is the only bank to cut the incentives out.....

I will say this, I would rather not have any extra incentives if the bank is going to treat my clients right...I would be highly upset about having a client's Ral rejected because they didn't have a checking account....and their credit score should have nothing to do with it

[jeff501]

Using Refund Advantage for 2008

I've used Republic for years and have been happy with them. But with my RAL volume I may not qualify for rebates any more. Switched to Refund Advantage for this coming tax season.

One thing I liked about Refund Advantage is they offer information on your competitors with a Tax Market Report Card. It's by zip code and part of their service. I market to several zip codes and was able to get data on all of them by e-mailing customer support. The data seemed a year old as it was probably the most current available (at least data on my office was). Still it was a good thing to see.

[thomtax]

Shawn, they may work out fine for you. My year with them was the first year that Drake has allowed their bank. I had the impression that they did not anticipate the volume that would come with Drake and were not only unprepared but never did catch up that year.

Another thing that frustrated me with them was that the software never worked right that year. They were paying me, and deducting from the RAL checks, more than they were supposed to. I was writing checks to the customer for the difference, since the alternative was much more distasteful.

LT