H&R Block / HRB Digital
Reviews and Complaints

I to have been lied to and given the run around. No more H&R Block for me and I advise everyone who is in desperate need for their tax refund to go some where else because you they will lie and say they can get you a refund in 15 days. This is total BS.

I went in to HR Block to get my taxes done - they were pretty easy and straight forward to do, I SPECIFICALLY TOLD THE HR BLOCK REP that I did not want any refund loans, I simply wanted it direct deposited into my checking account.

She began by stating that that would not be a problem and it would cost $236.00 to prepare, I told her that I would be back in after my last pay day and have them done. She stated she can do them on the spot without any money up front, and she would just have the IRS deduct the prep fee from my refund.

Figuring that HR Block was an established company that must have worked something out with the IRS to help tax payers with Prep fees during a economic recession, I agreed and was extremely grateful. I must have thanked her ten times over.

She mentioned that the direct deposit from the IRs would go directly into my checking account within two weeks max. After the second week I Google "where is my tax return" and a website for IRS popped up, there I was able to check the status of my return. It reflected it was already sent to bank for direct deposit.

After calling my bank several times and no money there. I decided to open the package received from HR Block to double check the routing and bank information and noticed that above my bank information was a separate set of numbers that did not belong to my account. The sheet reads a title of " IRS DIRECT DEPOSIT INFORMATION" its deceiving because the first two top blocks have just numbers in it (HSBC) they will ask you to verify that the numbers on the bottom are your routing and account number, and never mention what the set of numbers on top are for.

Those numbers turned out to be the routing numbers ( You can google routing numbers to check bank name) for HSBC bank, when I called that bank I was told a refund anticipation loan check had been issued and they were deducting my fees to then redirect my tax return to my bank. Bottom line is they charged me interest, a processing fee and delayed my refund an additional 4-5 days.

I called HR Block and asked where my refund was and the Rep asked me to hold and came back and said your refund is at the IRS, and it will be deposited in your bank account in another week or so. I then told her that I knew where my money was and that I had spoken to the HSBC bank that stated she submitted a "RAC" application on my behalf to pay her fees, which she said would be deducted by the IRS.

I have two small kids, I am recently laid off due to the economy affecting my industry and people are playing games with tax payers money - HR Block turns the other way and played the ignorant role to all this.

Its a damn shame - Our own fellow Americans and established companies screwing each other to make a few hundred bucks. We will never get out of this recession if we as a working class don't start speaking up to get change happening. I have never entered any information on a website. I just hope this helps the next person to get shafted by HR Block.

I have been an H & R Block customer for some time now and my earlier experiences have been fine. But when they changed banks, from BoFi bank to Axos Bank, their stats have taken a real turn for the worse for me. Every Friday, which is my payday, the website is down. Now I cannot logon to pay necessary bills or allocate funds where the need to be. For example, there was a message saying that the site would be unavailable from 2 am to 8 am Sunday for updates. It is now 1 pm and the site is still not working. Called customer service to inquire about the site only to get someone who will not give my a straight answer because I would not provide a zip code as part of an identity check after she had already gotten my full name, ss number, birthday, last 4 numbers on the card, exp. date of the card and the security code on the back of the card. I told her she had already gotten the most important information to know my identity, why do you need a zip code. I am done with these crooks. I have already changed my deposit information for my job. Their customer service department sucks!

the customer service line is a joke them foreign folks have no clue how to handle issues i was put on hold 40 mins twice on vacation with my daughters in ny i honestly think they dont even have supervisors the phone just rings and rings. Ive never been so ready to swing a punch in my life i get text alerts been using this card for years all of a sudden 100 dollars is missing from my account i get no alert about said transaction they claim happen on the 26th my balance and available funds was THE SAME DAMN THING on the 30th i paid my phone bill 50 bucks and withdrew 300 for my trip from 894 i have 430 sumtin left umm no you do the math im not having it freeze my account this they hang the phone up drop calls and like i said have you holding for hours waiting on a supervisor who never shows up. Im willing to go as far as i have to for these people to be held liable for there actions

after falling for the convience asspect, my refund which was to take 1 day took three weeks many phine calls and a three hr wait in the office that did taxs. my card had $2.38 on it in july, yesterday recieved a invitation to return to hr block and they would take the -$32. owed to them off my refund.. where did that -$32 come from? overdraft fees! also for netflex charge. never had a netflex account dont even know what netflex is... will not return to hr block or use that type of card again!

The Emerald card is a rip off. Because you can"t get cash off the card, and then you call the customer service line to talk to someone that is no help you. If you are going to want people to open up an account have the person on the other line of the customer service to speech english or what ever lanugage that the person speechs so that they understand one another. I will never use this emerald card again.

This is one of the Worst pre-paid cards I have ever seen in my life. Besides the fact that they rip you off to file your taxes your supposed to be able to keep the card and load money on it. They have had my money that I loaded onto the card tied up for over thirty days. I haven't received my personalized card and they canceled my original one with even allowing to receive the replacement. Then every time I called to see where my personalized card they told me a different story. As they charged me $2 for every call I made to ask them a question about their mistakes. I had to call and request 3 cards and they tried to charge me for one saying that you only get one personalized card for free which I never got. Finally they have refunded all but $20 but they have had over $180 of my own personal money tied up for over a month. I am not sure how you feel but I don't want anyone to control my money to that degree ever again they are worse then banks because you can't go in and actually talk to someone to get it resolved! Hated them!

ive had 70$ in thier pending transaction perguratory since the 23 rd...its the 12th now.

The Emerald Card has had my money in pending limbo for over 9 days now I canceled my order with the apple company 9 days ago I called with a customer service representative to the emerald card customer service they were rude and snippy with both of us telling us that the apple company had to fax over a stop form of some sort to them which my apple customer service person said they never ever had to do for any other card ever. They said if nothing was faxed then I wouldn't be getting my pending transaction money back for over 20 days! I will never use H&R Block again. My customer service representative from apple had something faxed over to them for me. My customer service representative from the emerald card charged me a 2.00 fee and didn't help me at all. Apparently I'm now supposed to have my money back on the card in 2 days but I'm not holding my breath. Don't use H&R Block and if you do for god's sake don't use the Emerald Card...

I'm been going to H & R Block for 11 years, they have always treated me with respect. They patiently answer any questions that I have. I have a great rapport with my tax preparer and I Love the way H & R Block does business. Keep up the good work guys!

The Emerald card is a rip. I had my taxes done on the 3rd. They said I would have my money on the card the next morning. Well...It is now the 13th, and no money. DO NOT use this method of payment. Get the old fashioned check. I am fuming!

i will do my own taxes next year, i came up with the same amount h&r did when i did my taxes myself, but i was not confident enough to send in, they charged me $368 to do what i can do myself, they also told me i was approved for 1-2 day refund and later said it would be 8-15 days, when i used taxact online it prompted me right through the process for free, i wont pay again

I went to a car lot to buy a used van with my return I was not allowed to get the amount from my card, so we called the number on the back the way the recording said I thought I was letting them know I was allowing the amount taken off was ok because I put the cost for the line of credit in the phone like it said they took the money and now wont give it back even thought I told them it was a mistake, Any one know a good lawyer for this?

H&R BLOCK told me that my state taxes would be on my card in 8 to 15 days and its been well over a month and no money yet.

The Same thing happened to me. and the automated line tells you one thing and the people tell you a completely differnt thing

i was told i had 900.00 on my emerald line of credit and that i couldnt transfer it til feb 19th but when to do so it was gone, , , and said i was too late and that i couldnt get the funds they said i had

I need my tax return money on my card by thurs, but was denied a loan. Is there anyway I could get it by then? Please help! I need that for vacation money lol

H&R block needs to be reported. My boyfriend asked for a replacement card over a year ago and never recieved it. he kept calling back and they report that it has been issued. we still havent recieved the card that contained over 4 grand. they keep giving us the run around. today someone referred us to the dispute office and they report that they can't do nothing because it has been over 120days. they claim the money is not there. that is impossible. they scammed us.

No, there is no way.

I have the same situation with THE H&R BLOCK EMERALD CARD I made my car payment with this card and they are denying to pay the bank the money in a mean whie the late fee charge is 200.00 dollars already and every time I call them they give me a diferent story AND THEY CHARGE ME $2.00 every time I try to speak to some one in customer service. And the best thing of all that my payroll goes to this account. Not any more because I stoped the direct deposit and getting a lawyer that will take care of this situation since The Emerald Card customer service doesn't work for me neither I can get a hold of a Supervisor then the correct channel is leagally.

i am very very unhappy with H&R BLOCK & emerald card! our return should have been 4156.00 we only got 2800.00 why noone really knows why ! and every time we call it costs 2.00 and we never get a straight answer.it took 6wks for them to figure out that they made a 1027.00 mistake to return it!after sooooo many calls! and since reviewing a paper statement weve found a 1600.00 transfer off card that we do not agree with ! now we begin the phone games agin wander how many phone calls this time ? how much will it cost us ? and will we grow tired before we get a straigt answer?

by the way they also charge your card $2.00 everytime you talk to someon in customer service!
I donot feel that I should have to pay to speak to a person.It should be free!

I also received an Emerald Card from H&r Block, However my wife lost the card.We called the toll free number to get a new one issued, and spoke to a gentleman who told us he would get one out to us in 7-10 business days.Around the seventh day we called to inquire as to when we could expect it, and the guy got rude and said it will be there in 24 hrs, when we called back the next day he said the same thing .We asked to speak to a supervisor and he hung up, this happened several times.When we did ask the gentleman to speak to a supervisor the 6th time he said he would get fired if he transfered and then hung up.So anyway we waited untill thirteen days after the first call we then called back and hit a couple of numbers on the phone and ended up in the wrong department, the lady who answered transfered us to another women in the rite dept. Who looked up our account and told us that there was no replacement order placed in the system, She corrected the situation.I asked about the supervisor thing and she told me that yes it is true that they would get in trouble for transfering to a supervisor.So this is why I will never get an H&R Block Emerald card again.

It comes down to this...

You were right to claim your daughter... File a complaint with the IRS with documentation. The "EX" will be investigated.

H&R Block was right to enter the information given. If the preparer entered information wrong, blame THAT preparer. The office manager should!

If your preparer suggested you defraud the Govt, THEY ARE WRONG! That preparer and maybe the site manager should be reported to the distarict or regional H&R Block office.

Finally, keep in mind if the "EX" and/or the Preparer intended to defraud the IRS, they are in danger of being fined and jailed. It sounds like the steps you have done so far are correct, but more needs to be done. (Except defaming a whole company for the acts of a couple bad employees)

Please do not paint ALL H&R Block employees as criminals. There are bad employees in every company. This does not make the company bad.

BTW: I also work for H&R Block and am a retired Police Officer. The employees who do this at our office are let go and NOT asked back in following years. Most go to our competitors for jobs...

I have been in custormer service for over 10 years and I know for a fact that people only hear what they want to hear. I also work for HR Block in Grand Rapids, MI, and I know that people don't always tell the truth. If a person had all the correct information to claim a child- and answered all the questions correctly as well-then more than likely that particular child will be placed on the return. As a tax preparer we don't know if a person is telling the truth or not. If a person wants to commit fraud they will. If a client comes in with the SSN#, D.O.B., Name, and etc., and they know how-key word-know how to answer all the questions correctly-yes the child will be placed on the return.
To begin with the X-husbands girlfriend wasn't supposed to claim the child from the beginning-so it was wrong to start. Don't balme HR Block for the stuff that they had already did wrong.

I worked for H&R Block for 2 tax seasons. The district manager in NYC will place so much pressure on us to help the taxpayers in cheating the IRS. The more returns we prepared, the larger his bonuses.

TAXCUT is the biggest RIPOFF of them all! I am sooo sick and tired of playing their little games! You buy the program for $40! and then you have to pay to EFILE! EFILING IS SUPPOSED TO BE FREE! AND THEN IT'S ANOTHER $20 FOR YOUR STATE TOO!? SO $20 FOR STATE AND $20 FOR FEDERAL! WHAT A RIPOFF!

What was the issue?

Did you pay the extra fee for Peace of Mind?

BTW: Peace of Mind is supposed to cover errors, not give you peace of mind. Maybe they should have called it error insurance. I guess Peace of Mind has a more catchy ring to it.

hey, sunshine, guess what else?!? They are not doing RAL b/c they CLAIM they aren't making enough profit from it?!? REALLY?!?So, I am taking my return elsewhere, jeeping my $900.and paying yippie tax 200 for the 10 day wait. I know its wrong to screw h and r outta the 900 I borrowed, but I have done it for four yrs and always paid it back, but THIS year they say, AFTER I got the xmas loan, that they no longer had the RAL, so if I pay 500, I still have to wait 2 weeks, (or more!) for the refund anyway, so why the hell are they allowed to charge 500 for a regular return from the IRS? You can do it easily online straight to the IRS for 40 bucks! and STILL get it in 2 weeks! They are immoral, they target poor people who are desperate, I am sure they will HUNT ME DOWN for the 900, but it will temporarily feel good to screw them over!

H & R Block Melbourne is a rip off. Amongst all the accountants I have come across, the reception lady on the phone was the most impolite, all the time. And, the fees are charged at high rate regardless how bad the service is. They do not make clear of service charges, they just go with the flow and send you big bill at the end of the deal (unless you ask for the price). Despite of all the ads on tv, which is why I am giving this company a try, they had been such a big disappointment to me. Although, I managed to find ONE employee that actually treats human as human. Other than that, what am i paying for? service? No. way. This is a one-off and I will not go back to H & R Block and WILL NOT recommend ANYONE to go to them, ever!

I have read some of these comments and I am sick to my stomach about this. My best friend is in the same situation, she has 4 kids and her and her husband filed there taxes and they did not apply for the rapid refund but they did pay $465.00 to have their taxes done. They said that the money would be there in 7 days, well still nothing and no help from HR Block or the IRS.. I know the IRS is not behind like some people say. I filed my taxes on TURBO TAX! No I do not work for them or have anything to do with them, just a normal working dental assistant. I have used their services for the last 3 years and I have only paid $60-$70.00 to file my taxes.. I filed my taxes with them and checked the IRS website and it said the 21st is when I would get my money, well today is the 15th and to my surprise my return is in my checking account! I feel so sorry for my friend and the people on here having this problem! I wish you all the best of luck, and for next year I reccomend turbo tax, they have online support and they helped me with any questions I had in less then 5 min. It is not hard to file your own taxes, it is a full proof system and will not let you make any mistakes( I know b/c I tested it) :).. Best of luck to you all!

Yeah I wish I had known too...I got the rapid refund last year and did my taxes this year and was told I had to wait 8-14 days to receive it, tomorrow will be 14 days and I was told that it would be here until Friday...If I would have known that I would have did my own taxes or had it direct deposited into my bank account and would have received it a week ago...I will never do this again, I am gonna cut this stupid card up and run the other direction...I can't believe it, people really rely on getting their money sooner and this how they want to treat their customers...This really sucks...But I'll know better next year!

i will never go back to H&R BLOCK Denied rapid refund for first time ever . They know if you qualify before you leave the office. Now i am stuck with Emarld card What a scam

My husband and I just went through the same thing. I have gotten the Rapid Refund for eight years and was denied this year. We went over the contract word for word and no where on there does it say that there is a possibility of being denied yet alone anything about fees being reimbursed or kept. However it DOES say that we will receive our return in 1-2 days. Due to their lack of information as well as them stating that you will recieve the return in such an amount of time, they should be obligated to give you the refund. Although they may have 'changed their criteria' they forgot to change their contract this year. I suggest everyone go through the packet that H&R Block gave you and read it word for word and then you have a great case after all they do state that you WILL receive your rapid refund, and they have you sign it before they even do the credit check (that alone should be a red flag for a scam). Good Luck! I'm going down Friday to contest mine, I hope you all do the same!

Oh and i AGREE with this complaint, i thought i was posting on "DefJux619"'s comments so i clicked on Disagree because i do not agree with "DefJux619"

DefJux619,

You are correct they DO have a right to approve or deny anyone, but to be sneaky about it is another thing, my wife and i know we have aweful credit and would NEVER have had H&R block do our taxes if we knew about this credit check, we ONLY went to H&R Block for their Rapid Refund, we needed to pay our rent and our electric bill and were short this month, i am a teacher and get paid ONCE a month, and could have done this at home for free and it would of taken the same amount of time, now i am stuck paying $235 basically for a card to put my money on, This is an illigal action called " a bait and switch" they advertise "do your taxes with us and recieve your money in 1 or 2 days NO Credit check Needed!" so of course with the Economy being crappy as you said so above people need their money as soon as possible and put their trust into H&R Block to uphold their Advertisment promise.
There is nothing you can say that will make them right on this, and i bet you most likely work for them, that or your a rish person that does not care about us lower middle class people who struggle to make EVERY dollar stretch as far as we can.

I WILL NEVER USE H&R BLOCK AGAIN! and i am going to the attorny General for the State of Illinios and hope they follow The State of New York and Sue H&R Block.

Thanks,

Illinios Tax Payer

I think everyone should quit crying about this. You all signed papers agreeing to the terms of the Emerald Card. I too had my taxes done @ H&R Block this year. They explained my options, told me how long is would be before the money would be deposited and I'm waiting. The reason for people being denied this year even though they have been approved every other year is the economy. They aren't lying to you & they have every right to approve or disapprove anyone they want.

Quit crying over this, you'll get your money & life will go on. I would think most people would have more important things to worry about than getting approved for a loan because they can't patiently wait a couple weeks for money to come via mail or direct deposit.

Guess I was wrong.

I say lets all get together and file a class action suit.
sharonlreed2000@yahoo.com

I still wait as well. I would have never filed in this fashion had I known I would not recieve my money in a timely fashion

My refund also says it was deposited friday to my emerald card and still nothing so as of right now im on hold with h & r block because this money is very important I was told 1-2 days for sure, then the 31st for sure now the 10th for sure. I checked the IRS website tonight which said my money was there friday! Where is my money? I payed nearly $300 for nothing. Also found out when checking the IRS website that h & r block made a mistake and I'm getting less money! Still on hold!

Wow.. sorry to hear about your luck in life, but I think you need a reality check.

The image of people pulling their hair out because of stress/anxiety has absolutely nothing to do with chemotherapy... yes, losing your hair due to chemo is terrible. Letting it become so terrible that any image of a bald(ing) person upsets you.. well that's just beyond reasonable.

What people say and do only becomes a problem when you make it about you...

Adopt this line of thinking and you'll be in a better position to support your loved ones in their time of need.

I agree with John. The purpose of this commericial was to let people know the dreaded tax season is here and there are people to help, so you don't have to pull your hair out over your taxes.I found this commericial funny and one of their better ones that points out what some people do go through as the tax season approaches us.
The only ones that are truly getting hurt by this commericial are the actors who were counting on a steady income until April. In these hardtimes, it could be the actors only income to put food on their table or pay their rent. I'm sure the actors would not have wasted their time if they thought this commerical was offensive and would be pulled.H&R Block should bring this commericial back. Just because some people do not like it, there are many more that enjoyed it.

As a person who just completed Chemotherapy and lost alot of hair, I do not agree that this commercial is annoying OR insensitive to those going through Chemo treatments. There is not intent to make fun of people who loose their hair from such treatment. It depicts the stress of the tax season and frustration of our tax codes.

I actually think this is one of H&R Blocks better commercials. The commercial that aired on the Superbowl with the grim reaper was, in my opinion, more annoying and the commercial with the one-eyed people was even more disturbing.

The nice part about living in America is that you have choices. You can simply choose not to watch the commercial and not to patronize H&R block. However, instead, you and others have take the right of the actors involved in these cammercials to earn a living and now that will not be paid for their work.

A better use of your time would be to write to the networks about the violence shown on TV.

I find it difficult to believe this 15 second commercial is the worst anyone sees on TV, with all the violence, the sexuality and the blood and guts of shows like the vaious medical series and cop shows.

I tried to withdraw money out of my bank account from an ATM the ATM gave me $0 and said that they cannot process the transaction at this time the money was taken out of my account from H&R Block and now H&R Block refuses to give me any of my money back for 10 days what am I supposed to do for 10 days I have zero money and a ton of bills to pay everybody H&R Block has been 0 help to me.

I am so disappointed in the new standard of low at H&R Block.

I went in there on Feb. 19, 2009 to have what seemed like a simple enough tax prep done. The first thing that I noticed was the completely sloppy appearance of my consultant and her inability to correctly fill out the info that she was supposed to be trained to handle. I took her four tries to spell the word "nonresident" on one of my forms. I really just wanted to jump in and do her job for her. She had to be told three different times about one tuition deduction that I wanted to take out, and she flippantly handed me 'Refer-a-friend' vouchers like they were an afterthought. I wouldn't refer my dogs there after the service I got, and it was certainly not worth the $260 price tag I got afterward. Thanks, Block, you helped steer me to where I WON'T be going next year for tax help...

I spoke to collections and told them I could pay $50 what I was paying H&R Block. I feel this was a scam and they were not truthful from the beginning. They led me to believe I was getting a certain amount and then told me no I wasn't.

i to have been fighting with hrblock my money was desposited on the 30 of jan 2009 onto a emerald card not it was sopposed to be a check i have been on the phone everyday trying to get access to my money they have lied everytime stating a card was fedex 4 different times was supposed to get card today well guess what no card call hrblock back spoke with a supervisour she said the card was sent today call fedex back fedex does not have any information at all i live in missouri the main office is in kanasa city if i dont have a card by thursday iam heading to kanasa city friday morning anybody else have this problem

I have been a loyal client for H & R Block for well over 30 years. I can remember taking my first w-2 to them when I was 16 years old. Needless to say I have past my 50 birthday and am still doing business with them. I even encourage family and friends to do so. I tell them how one time the CPA of my church did my taxes for me. I was a recently made single parent so I accepted the offer. I then took his numbers to H&R Block to see if I could sweet talk them into electronically filing for me. They requested to see my papers. they went over them and found me 1200 more dollars in deducation. So naturally I went with them and have stayed there. For 2 years I have also recieved the Emerald advance and have always paid it back by the end of January. This year has been to economically hard on me. I lost a job in June. Was denied unemployment in July. I have out over 300 apps and only one interview. I even tried to sign up for TANF and did not receive it. I begged charities to help with utilities to be told their out of funds. I really really need my emerald advance. This year I was denied because I don't have a "current" paycheck stub. The number they gave me to call is a recording and they just repeated what the agent at to Block said and said they could not override the banks decision. So my question is why have people call if nothing can be done? I think it's there way of getting upset peopel out of their office. I am not being dramatic, we will be on the street soon. I never thought my life would come to this.

We have always used H&R block. But this year has been such a hassle! First off we made an appointment for the Emerald Advance and nobody showed up. We sat in that parking lot for over an hour waiting. When we called we received an answering machine saying they were closed that day. It was about 7 or 8 that evening that someone finally called back apologizing and she didn't even sound sincere.
And as if that wasn't bad enough when we finally did make it into the office, they told my husband that he was denied because of identity. Wouldn't give a reason why this could happen. No printout of the denial. Nothing! She said she sent our info off and we have yet to receive anything back (supposed to take about 5-6 weeks).
I went in again and saw the original man I usually go to since he was finally not busy, and he had to do her job all over again and give me details. We did it in my name and I was denied for credit. But at least he gave me a printout showing why and explained everything very politely. He had me send off more info for my husband just in case. Now we are having to play a wait game. But Mr. Porter is the only one that I trust up there.

I went to H&R Block and I was denied for the Emerald Advance. I am 5 months pregnant with a 3 year old at home and I was just laid off for a month and denied unemployment because I made $40 too short. I heard about the advance and thought there was hope for me for the holidays because I would feel like a horrible parent if I couldn't put at least a few presents under the tree for my daughter. I was denied because of 1 late payment on a loan I have. That is the only thing on my credit. The payment of $55.00 was 14 days lied and they denied me. I wanted to cry. Later on I talked to a few people that were approved for the advance who have way worse credit then I do. Tell me how someone with bankruptcy, foreclosure, repo's, etc. gets approved but I get denied because of a late loan payment...which was made by the way.

If you cant afford "The Holidays" dont go borrow money. You have opportunity every where to go and "earn" extra money for the holidays. Turn off cable or find creative ways to reduce you budget to pay for "The Holidays." Its not H&R Blocks fault people have bad credit and chances are if they did inform you that it was based on having good credit you would apply anyway. I know...I work for H&R and even people with "not so perfect" credit were getting approved. You just didnt im assuming.

Someone said to everyone that got denied for the advance line of credit is lucky. That person is right. I applied for the advance line of credit back in january. To my surprise is was approved for a 500 dollar limit. I was told it would be available immediatly and when I received my irs refund they would then deduct my line of credit balance from the irs refund. This all went well and good. Although after it was all paid off and their system finally updated, when I called my card it said my advanced line of credit had an available amount of 500 dollars. I then went to a store to use this when my card was denied. After arguing on the phone with their stupid half automated representatives for about 20 minutes I was then told that there was a glitch in their system and didn't have 500 dollars available for my use that there is a resting period between feb 1 and feb 19 and I'd have to wait until feb 19 and go back to h & r block and apply for it again, when customers have already been informed that the advance line of credit applications are no longer available at h & r block anymore. So to all that were denied feel lucky, as this was a scam, not a credit line, to charge you more fees for getting the damn card as well as interest for using the card as well as the wonderful 2 dollar fee to speak to a representative. Buyer beware. Next year im paying 42 cents or whatever it is for a postage stamp and im doing my own taxes.

the H&R block emerald advantage is a major ripoff. I was in a bind and needed the money to pay my rent. well, i had to first pay $45 for a "second look" so that they could put my in their system. i qualified for $355, but $50 was for fees. acceptable, that left me $305. okay. the clerk at H&R said that I could get my money by getting cash at a store instead of paying an atm fee-- as if any store is going to give you $300. i went to my bank to get the money put into a cashiers check. they couldn't do it because H&R were charging a $20 FEE, which would overdraw the account. so i decided to get it out of the atm. i tried to pull it out but even though the $5.00 should have been enough for customary fees. during that one transaction i kept on trying to get a balance but whenever i tried to cash out that balance it wouldn't let me do it. AND every time i rechecked the balance, i could see it going down. i wound up being only able to cash out $280. when i went to a local grocery store, i tried to get the remaining balance out-- less than $20-- just like the H&R clerk said that i could. no way. the store cashier said that these cards are treated like credit cards and there is no cash back on them.
so i'd say DON'T get this card. it's a major ripoff. worse i'm now up to having to use H&R blocks overpriced services for doing my taxes which i've done myself for the past several years. If i do get a refund after this card and the H&R fees i am surely going to get the money on direct deposit and never use H&R's services again.

First off, the H&R Block Emerald Card is not a secured loan. It is a line of credit that is based off of your credit and in anticipation of you receiving a tax refund from the IRS. I don't believe that anywhere there is anything to tie your refund to guaranteeing that card. You may elect to return to H&R Block to file your taxes and in turn pay off your card but it is not required. With that said, I find it interesting that one with bad credit would expect to just be given a line of credit, no questions asked. I have bad credit myself and have just resolved that I'm not in the market for a line of credit and am working on creating a more positive financial circumstance that would afford me the luxury of opening a line of credit later in life. BUT I'm pretty much hellbent on creating a situation where I won't have to rely on credit and will be able to live a cash based existence. Yeah, some might think its tough but the rationale is, if I can make it now with bad credit and having to learn new ways of 1) getting the things that I need and 2) fixing the bad credit situation, when I pull out of this, I should be a lot smarter to not want to get into the same predicament. Well, that's just me. It is all about making the tough decisions to be fiscally responsible to myself and family and in the end living a better life.

Good luck to you in your endeavors and I really do know that in instances of identity theft, it is tough to come out of but you can. I've met many who have. No walk in the park I know. It sucks when you made the mistakes yourself so I can imagine it being 10 times a harder pill to swallow when someone else messed you over.

first off the h&r block emerald card was and still is a secured loan. They give you the money and your tax refund is AUTOMATICALLY deposited into the card. Sooooo those of you who are complaining about why give people with bad credit more credit is by far inaccurate. There is no loss for the company issuing the emerald card only gain. Yes i am one with bad credit why? I'll exsplain. first of all i am a Jr. With having the same name as my father some of his credit has somehow merged onto mine how? Because of as a child our addresses matched. Same goes with a driving record that took months to straighten out. In 2003 i filed bankruptcy and it was closed in 2003 as federal law requires yet for the last 2 years i have gotten the emerald card with no problems what so ever yet this year i was denied saying i have an open bankruptcy. I have here with me all 3 of my credit reports right in front of me and all 3 say they have been closed in 2003. Therefore i was denied for no reason what-so-ever. In all honesty all of us who have been denied have been denied for no reason what-so-ever. As ive previously stated that this is a secured mastercard remember the key word being SECURED backed up by H&R Block themselves if they make a mistake on your return. So why were we denied to begin with, ? As far as idenity theft. Suprise i too have been subjected to that not once, not twice but three times. my bank accounts were sucked out 4, 000 dollars 4 or 5 years ago right in the xmas time of the year, from november 17 to december 17th 4, 000 poof gone. I recieved a call from a goverment agency that said i would never see that money again nor was there anything at the time that i could do about it but to just close my accounts which by the time they called me in january i already have done that, . still to this day there isnt nothing i can do about it. So you can find all the forms you want to online but if the idenity theft was before these new idenity laws came out you are still screwed.

Most of the comments seem to be supporting HR Block...which amazes me.
Its is terrible that HR Block is not disclosing that they will be reunning a credit check, I'm sure it's in the application that is signed. I have a credit score of 650, used HR Block's online software for the past 5 years and was still denied for the Emerald Line of Credit...

I think that we all have to do our part in reading the information provided to us. The line of credit invitation letter clearly states on the back that it is subject to approval based on guidelines set by H&R Block Bank. Also, when you got your line of credit last year, you were given information on how to maintain the line of credit and turn it into a year-round line of credit (not just something to have at the holiday). If you followed the incstructions, after paying off the original line you could have set up a year round line of credit that you could use whenever you needed it as long as you make your payments on time. Just in case you are wondering, I am a loyal H&R Block customer and I do my homework. How can you get mad at a bank for requiring a credit check in today's economic straints. Did you ever consider that they may have actually lost money on people who never paid them back.

Also, if you are a victim of ID theft, you can file the proper paperwork and have information relating to ID theft removed from your credit report within 4 days of the credit reporting agency receiving your documents.

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