City of Detroit holds woman's tax refund for four years

(WXYZ) - Most people look forward to receiving a tax refund but that excitement can turn sour, if the money never comes. 

This is a situation that one Detroit woman knows all too well.  Seventy-five -year-old Bertha Colbert-Provost knows what it is like to have money taken for no reason. 

Fortunately, she got it back, thanks to Call For Action.

For four straight years the City of Detroit held her state tax refunds.  They did this from 2008-2011. 

When she questioned this act, she was sent a letter stating that she owed the city $204 from 1987. 

However, they had no paperwork to prove their claim.  Bertha also made several trips to the City Ombudsman office but that didn’t get her results. This retired nurse who spent thirty-eight years helping others at Mott Hospital, needed some help of her own.

Bertha decided to contact the Call For Action team. After she called and spoke to Linda, it wasn’t long before she received a follow up call. 

“Linda asked me, did you hear anything yet? I said no.  She said ok, I will call Mayor Bing again.” 

Then about a week later, Bertha got a check for one-thousand twenty dollars!  It was about two-hundred dollars less than what she was owed but Bertha was thrilled to get most of it back.

Bertha says, “There is no doubt the Call For Action team got my money back.  I tried but they wouldn’t respond to me.  I’m happy.

If you need help with a consumer problem contact the Call For Action team at 248-827-3362.  You can speak with a live person Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 11:30am-1:30pm or leave a message anytime.