FTC Issues Opinion Finding that TurboTax Maker Intuit Inc. Engaged in Deceptive Practices (2024)

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FTC Issues Opinion Finding that TurboTax Maker Intuit Inc. Engaged in Deceptive Practices? ›

The Federal Trade Commission has issued an Opinion and Final Order that Intuit Inc., the maker of the popular TurboTax tax filing software, engaged in deceptive advertising in violation of the FTC Act and deceived consumers when it ran ads for “free” tax products and services for which many consumers were ineligible.

After independently evaluating the evidence, the Federal Trade Commission has held that “Intuit has engaged in deceptive advertising in violation of the FTC Act” and has issued a comprehensive order against Intuit to prevent the company from future truth-in-advertising violations.

Complaint Counsel assert that Respondent has marketed TurboTax deceptively in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 45 (prohibiting “unfair or deceptive acts or practices”).

The FTC first sued Intuit in 2022 for falsely advertising its products as free, and this January, the FTC issued an opinion that Intuit had violated the Federal Trade Commission Act by advertising practices in which it “ran ads for 'free' tax products and services for which many consumers were ineligible,” and ...

1. What is this settlement about? Answer: On May 4, 2022, a coalition of state attorneys general announced a $141 million multistate settlement with Intuit that compensated Intuit TurboTax customers who were deceived into paying for tax preparation services that should have been free for them.

Acts or practices that have the potential to be deceptive include making misleading cost or price claims; using bait-and-switch techniques; offering to provide a product or service that is not in fact available; omitting material limitations or conditions from an offer; selling a product unfit for the purposes for ...

The Commission's Final Order prohibits Intuit from advertising or marketing that any good or service is free unless it is free for all consumers or it discloses clearly and conspicuously and in close proximity to the “free” claim the percentage of taxpayers or consumers that qualify for the free product or service.

In 2022, Attorney General Bonta, as part of a coalition of 51 attorneys general and with the Los Angeles City Attorney and Santa Clara County Counsel, announced a $141 million settlement against Intuit, resolving allegations that the California-based company deceptively advertised its “free” online TurboTax products.

In an opinion and final order issued Monday, the Federal Trade Commission ruled that Intuit engaged in deceptive practices by running ads claiming consumers could file their taxes for free using TurboTax though many people did not qualify for such free offerings.

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What's going on with TurboTax? ›

On May 4, 2022, a coalition of state attorneys general announced a $141 million settlement with Intuit that compensated Intuit TurboTax customers who paid for tax preparation services that should have been free for them.

TurboTax is a software package for preparation of American and Canadian income tax returns, produced by Intuit. TurboTax is a market leader in its product segment, competing with H&R Block Tax Software and TaxAct. TurboTax was developed by Michael A. Chipman of Chipsoft in 1984 and was sold to Intuit in 1993.

No, we are not detecting any problems with TurboTax right now. The last outage detected for TurboTax was on Monday, April 22, 2024 with a duration of about 32 minutes.

The FTC first sued Intuit in March 2022 over the ads pitching free TurboTax products. The commission said about two-thirds of tax filers in 2020 would have been ineligible for the company's free offerings, such as freelance workers who received 1099 forms and people who earned farm income.

Satisfaction Guarantee/ 60-Day Money Back Guarantee: If you're not completely satisfied with TurboTax Desktop, go to refundrequest.intuit.com within 60 days of purchase and follow the process listed to submit a refund request.

Key Takeaways: The FTC's Final Rule bans all future non-competes beginning in approximately four months. The Final Rule also voids existing non-compete provisions for all workers other than senior executives beginning in approximately four months.

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Intuit cheated purchasers of its Quickbooks Premier Edition 2005 software of millions of dollars by designing it to block access to or disable its online features when an upgrade became available, a class action claims in Federal Court.

For breaches involving 500 or more individuals, covered entities must notify the FTC at the same time they send notices to affected individuals, which must occur without unreasonable delay and in no case later than 60 calendar days after the discovery of a breach of security; and.

The FTC enforces federal consumer protection laws that prevent fraud, deception and unfair business practices. The Commission also enforces federal antitrust laws that prohibit anticompetitive mergers and other business practices that could lead to higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation.