JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- From catchy costumes to even catchier phrases - they lure you in. "Get your income taxes fast!" "Refunds most in one day time."
At Debbie's Accounting Service on the Southside, they even plaster the product, "Refund Anticipation Loan," right on the business card.
"It's $1500 fast and I mean fast. This year they're getting that money in 15-30 minutes," said Debbie Crego, the owner of Debbie's Accounting.
But quick doesn't come without a catch.
"The interest rate is 124.14 percent and the bank charges a $61.22 bank fee," Crego said.
A 124 percent interest rate and a $61 fee, all to get your own money just two weeks early.
It's called a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL). According to the Better Business Bureau, the interest rate on RAL's typically ranges from 40 percent to more than 700 percent of your refund. In 2009, Americans spent $664 million on RAL's and other fees for money that would arrive in two weeks.
This year, the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers not to fall for it.
"That's a lot of interest to pay just to get the use of your money a couple weeks earlier than it would be if you just filed it normally," said Tom Stephens, President of BBB of Northeast Florida.
But yet, by the hundreds, people come to Crego's company to get it. She says this year she's already done 150. By the end of tax season, she expects that to jump to 500.
"It's outrageous, but like I said people are desperate. I know it's a bad deal for the person, but they accept that," she told Action News cameras Wednesday.
And although tax preparers selling RAL's to customers is a completely legal practice, don't expect to catch Crego herself ever buying in to her moneymaker.
When we asked Crego if she would ever take an RAL loan out, she laughed. "No. No way. I wouldn't need to do that," Crego said.
To avoid RAL's, consider filing your taxes electronically and requesting to have your money direct deposited. While this process usually takes 10-14 days, you will receive 100 percent of your money and not have to worry about paying off a high-interest loan.
