Approaching the building hidden from Old Montgomery Highway, nearly 50 cars crowded the area and surrounded the New Selmont Baptist Church Thursday afternoon. Many anxiously sat or stood outside under the hot sun, holding sheets of paper, while hundreds more crowded the air-conditioned hallways and rooms.

In less than a month, some have said hundreds have come to the church to collect refunds on cellphone, telephone and cable bills. And though some have their suspicions, others insist there’s no racket.

“As a church, we’ve given out groceries (and) helped pay church members’ light and water bills, so why not do something like this at the church?” New Selmont pastor David Perry said. “If the church can help on one end, why not help others on the other end?”

Spearheaded by DC Tax Service in Dothan, the project has been a success in surrounding areas.  Perry said according to the Telephone Excise Tax Refund (2003-2006), communication companies such as AT&T, Bellsouth and Charter had been illegally overcharging customers in extra excise taxes, prompting a ruling from the U.S. Appellate courts to put a burden on phone companies to refund its customers. According to its website, the tax service said refunds can range anywhere between $30 to $60 and can include long distance or bundled services charges.

Perry was first approached by the tax service in December with the idea, but Perry said he had doubts.

“I did a lot of research,” Perry said. “We haven’t gotten any negative responses from the IRS yet and we’ve had positive responses from the public — some people are already getting their refunds back. A lot of people’s credit have been ruined by cell phone bills, so if this program can help those individuals, then why not?”

Interested applicants must fill out a sheet with such information as name, social security numbers, spouse information, street address, telephone number and filing status.

The refund is calculated through a computer program. There is a processing fee of $22 that can be paid before the refund is distributed or afterward.

“If someone chooses to pay that processing fee, it’s placed in a separate church account to protect the individual,” Perry said. “Your refund will come in the mail in about four to eight weeks. If you don’t pay your processing fee, you can pay it later, but you’d have to pick up your refund from the church.”

Perry said the tax company charges the $22 fee for expenses it uses to print materials.

“The owner spends about $600 in ink and stamps every week,” Perry said. “We provide the lighting, space and the daily air conditioning. We have workers who are volunteering, and they get a stipend for helping. We haven’t gotten any of the money, and it’s up to him (the owner) to give us the money back. We hope he will.”

A woman, who asked to be unidentified, said she thinks what the church is doing is a good idea.

“Times are rough and so I took a chance on it,” she said. “I think it’s a blessing the church is trying to help us out. I think they’re charging a fair price too. If this isn’t legit, we’ll find out.”

According to the IRS website, more than 70 percent of individuals who were eligible to request the TETR refund did so. The IRS warns the public to avoid tax preparers who falsely claim most phone customers will get hundreds of dollars from the program.

Representatives from DC Tax Service were unavailable for comment.