The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a complaint against tax company H&R Block for allegedly deceptively marketing products as “free” when they’re not, and for deleting customers’ tax data when they try to downgrade to more affordable online services.

“H&R Block designed its online products to present an obstacle course of tedious challengers to consumers, pressuring them into overpaying for its products,” Samuel Levine, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “Today’s action demonstrates that companies using coercive techniques that harm consumers can expect to hear from the FTC.”

The FTC filed an administrative complaint that alleges H&R Block’s online tax filing products have led consumers to higher-priced items for more complex tax filing, even when most people do not need it.

https://thehill.com/business/4486911-ftc-complaint-hrblock-deceptive-marketing-deleting-tax-data/