FTC Alleges H&R Block Deleted Customer Tax Data to Pressure Upgrades from Free Services
• H&R Block allegedly deleted tax data of customers who wanted to downgrade from paid services, pressuring them to pay more • FTC complaint states H&R Block makes it tedious and time-consuming for customers to downgrade after entering data • H&R Block designed system so data easily flows to upgrade to paid services but is deleted on downgrades • FTC alleges H&R Block has for years engaged in deceptive ads marketing its services as free when not the case for many • Complaint comes month after FTC barred TurboTax from advertising as free, calling practice deceptive as most pay