© Reuters. A construction worker walks past a H&R Block tax office in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 26, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Friday it had filed a complaint against H&R Block (NYSE:) for deleting consumers’ tax data and requiring them to contact customer service when they downgrade to more affordable online products.
It also accused the tax preparation company of “deceptively marketing their products as ‘free’ when they were not free for many consumers.”
FTC said a number of TV ads and online promotions by H&R Block indicated that consumers could file for free while including language – sometimes in fine print – that those free offers only applied to simple returns.
The ads did not explain what a simple return was, and the company has changed the definition of the term “multiple times in recent years,” the commission said, while noting that H&R Block was aware of consumers’ frustration and confusion with the ads.
“H&R Block designed its online products to present an obstacle course of tedious challenges to consumers, pressuring them into overpaying for its products,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
H&R Block did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
