H&R Block pays $7M to settle FTC allegations over consumers downgrading

Federal Trade Commission said its lawsuit “is leading to changes for consumers who use H&R Block’s do-it-yourself online tax filing products.” A proposed FTC settlement would stop H&R Block “from unfairly requiring consumers seeking to downgrade to a cheaper H&R Block product to contact customer service, from unfairly deleting users’ previously entered data and from making deceptive claims about ‘free tax’ filing,” the agency said in a statement. H&R Block has agreed to a proposed settlement that will require the company to make a number of changes for the 2025 tax filing season in addition to longer-term changes. The settlement would also require the company to pay $7M to the FTC “to be used to redress consumers harmed by the company’s unlawful practices.”