A Tennessee woman has reported that her bank has frozen thousands of dollars in her account, which she received as a back tax refund from the IRS. The woman, Torrie Jackson, says she deposited the money in her Green Dot Bank account in the beginning of the year, and began withdrawing the money in July. However, Green Dot Bank flagged her account due to suspicion of ‘unusual activity’ and subsequently blocked her from accessing the remaining $48,000 along with denying access to any more funds. Jackson tried to verify her identity in order to regain access but the bank failed to validate her documents and so her funds remain frozen. Green Dot Bank, which is partnered with Walmart and TurboTax and specializes in processing tax refunds for its 33 million customers, stated that it had reached out to the Internal Revenue Service about Jackson’s funds. The bank suggested that the Internal Revenue Service would directly intervene to reroute Jackson's remaining funds back to the government agency. However, Jackson was informed by the IRS that once it has issued a tax refund, it is completely out of its hands.

Jackson also stated that withdrawing back the funds was not only crucial for her finances, but also for the financial well being of her family. It was planned to be utilized for bills and other child expenses. While Green Dot Bank has suggested that Jackson receive help from the IRS, the statement of the Internal Revenue Service conflicted it, and Jackson is left utterly confused.

Unfortunate incidents like this one highlights the great power of large corporations and their associated banks and showcasing how people can be at risk of losing access to their own funds whenever their decisions do not match those of the financial institute. It is not only devastating for the affected person's financial circumstance, but also creates a distrust of the banking system as a whole.



Other News from Today