FTC Accuses H&R Block of Deleting Tax Data to Discourage Customers From Downgrading

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against tax preparation company H&R Block for deleting customers’ tax data when they wanted to downgrade their plan. By deleting tax data, customers were forced to start tax return filing from scratch, thus creating “a significant disincentive to downgrading,” the FTC announced on Feb. 23. “This stands in contrast to the upgrade process, where consumers’ data seamlessly moves to the more expensive product instantly,” the FTC said. H&R Block also marketed its products as “free” when they were not for many customers, it stated. Such practices “cost consumers time and money.”...