Fox LA reports that the makers of TurboTax will have to pay out $141 million over misleading ads suggesting their services were ‘free’.
The company has been sued by Attorney Generals in all 50 states for promoting its services as free when really they weren’t. Instead, TurboTax deceptively steered many users towards its paid products, saying they had to pay to continue. Now, the settlement requires Intuit to pay restitution to over 4.4. million taxpayers.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “For years, Intuit misled the most vulnerable among us to make a profit. Today, every state in the nation is holding Intuit accountable for scamming millions of taxpayers, and we’re putting millions of dollars back into the pockets of impacted Americans. This agreement should serve as a reminder to companies large and small that engaging in these deceptive marketing ploys is illegal.”
You actually might be entitled to a share of the settlement if you used the TurboTax Free Edition between 2016 and 2018. And, if you were told you had to pay to file, you could be eligible for a payment of roughly $30. Notices and checks will be sent by mail.
Are you one of the people who got snookered by TurboTax’s ‘free’ service? What service do you use for taxes?
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