The FTC removes customers' tax data, requires them to contact customer service when downgrading to a more affordable product, and marks some products as “free” when they're not actually free. It is taking action against tax preparation company H&R Block for promoting it. many consumers.
If that last part sounds familiar, it's because the FTC recently took on TurboTax for the same reason. Intuit can currently sell products as free only if their products are actually free to all customers. If a service is not free for everyone, companies must disclose in their marketing what percentage of users are likely to qualify for a free version of the service.
According to the FTC, H&R Block's online tax filing options push customers toward higher-priced products made for more complex tax filings, even when individuals don't need the additional forms or schedules those products offer. It is often induced.
FTC Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine said in a statement announcing that the FTC would take action on this issue: “H&R Block is pushing its online products through an obstacle course of tedious challenges to consumers. “It was designed to force them to overpay for the product.” company. “Today’s action shows that companies that use coercive techniques that harm consumers can expect to hear from the FTC.”
In addition to pushing customers toward more expensive products, the FTC blames H&R Block for taking the time to downgrade when consumers find themselves using products that are more complex and expensive than they need. He also said he had to call customers. customer service.
The FTC notes that H&R Block allows customers to upgrade without calling customer service.
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Regarding “free” claims, the FTC notes that while HR&Block advertises that customers can file for free with the company, the fine print states that free filing is only available for “simple filings,” and that It may be that they do not specify what exactly a declaration is. The company has also reportedly changed its definition of what constitutes a “simple return” several times in recent years.
The issuance of an FTC administrative complaint marks the beginning of a process in which FTC complaints are heard in a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.
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