From CNET: H&R Block is in the Federal Trade Commission's crosshairs, for similar reasons its archrival TurboTax has been in recent years.
On Feb. 23, the FTC filed a complaint against H&R Block alleging the company deceptively marketed its tax-filing software as free to customers who don't qualify for its Free Online tier. And even if they do qualify to file their taxes for free, H&R Block pushes customers to upgrade to paid tax-filing products they don't need, the complaint says.
H&R Block also makes it difficult to downgrade from a paid tier to its free tier, according to the FTC. If you start your return with H&R Block Deluxe (which currently costs $35 for a federal return and $37 per state return) and realize you can file for free, you have to call H&R Block to downgrade or contact a customer service agent via live chat. There isn't a button you can just click online, unlike TurboTax. All of your previously entered tax information may be deleted.
"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, in a press release.
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