State investigating ‘isolated’ cases of places not accepting TABOR refund checks

DENVER (KRDO) -- The Colorado Department of Revenue tells 13 Investigates they are investigating reports of isolated issues with people cashing their TABOR refund checks. The checks, $750 for single filers and $1,500 for joint filers, started being sent to people in Colorado, who have lived in Colorado for one year, this past weekend.

13 Investigates received multiple calls from citizens in the Southern Colorado town of Trinidad.

"It crushed me. I cried all the way from Walmart to Safeway," Rachel Pritchard said. "I literally had to pull over and blow my little nose because it upset me so bad. There's a lot of people out here really struggling right now. It really hurts my heart and I know it hurts their tables with no food on it." 

Pritchard told 13 Investigates she attempted to cash her check at her local Walmart and Safeway. She was told by workers there that it could not be cashed. A problem, she was told, hundreds of other Coloradans are also encountering. However, the Colorado Department of Revenue said the issues are not widespread.

"Our teams have confirmed there are no known systemic issues with cashing the Colorado Cash Back checks, or histories of issues with other state checks," Department of Revenue Communications Director, Meghan Tanis, said. "We are actively looking into these one-off cases but they do seem to be isolated instances."

The Colorado Department of Revenue does not list information on if residents can cash their checks are grocery stores. We asked for more answers regarding this. They issued this statement:

"There are no systemic issues with cashing the Colorado Cash Back checks; these are isolated instances at specific check cashing locations. We’ve had 50,000+ checks have been cashed over the weekend for a total of $50.4 million. In the meantime, we encourage individuals to go to a financial institution they have a relationship with or any Wells Fargo location and cash the checks with no fee. 

Meghan Tanis, Director of Communications, Colorado Department of Revenue

However, Pritchard says she does not have a bank to cash it at, nor do other people who live in Trinidad with her.

"People are suffering right now. Don't write me a check that you can't cash. I'm not allowed to as an American," Pritchard said.

The Colorado Department of Revenue said if residents experience issues, they can reach out to dor.citizensadvocate@state.co.us or the call center at 303-951-4996 and the Department of Revenue will follow up individually.