Why are our names on our NJ Tax Refund Check badly misspelled? (tax return)

[JerseyFemme]

We just got our NJ Tax Refund Check in the mail the other day, and both of our names are misspelled (first and last). I mean, only one letter is off in each name, so it is still recognizably us! The address is perfectly correct.

I thought it might be a scam or something, but the amount of the refund matches our return to the penny; that information would only be accessible to the NJ Department of the Treasury. Plus, I called the automated number to confirm that our check was mailed out by the State, and they gave me information that matches the check I received, so clearly it is a legitimate check from the State.

The question is: why were our names badly misspelled? On our tax return form, we typed up all our names, and confirmed that everything was spelled correctly. The SSA and the MVC have our correct names on file.

It is our first year living in NJ, and so it is our first year filing a NJ tax return. And this is frustrating! I will call the State Dept on Monday during business hours to hopefully get those typos fixed!

Has anyone else had a similar situation? Does anyone know whether someone is typing up the refund checks (for new residents, perhaps) or whether it is automated? I figure it is likely automated in general, but perhaps for new residents, someone has to type in the information for the first time??

Thanks in advance for any insight into this matter!

[skunj]

It sounds to me like it might just be a typo... Still, you should call the State to fix up any errors!

Good luck!

[86Sebring]

Don't complain, at least you got a refund.
I had to send them a check, that really hurt.

[mattjd]

Don't even worry about it. That's checks going to bounce anyway.