TurboTax tricked active military members into paying for
tax-filing services that should have been free to them, according to
lawsuit
OAKLAND, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/search?q=%24INTU&src=ctag” target=”_blank”gt;$INTUlt;/agt; lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/military?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#militarylt;/agt;–Gibbs Law Group LLP and Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP have filed a class
action lawsuit on behalf of active military members who were charged
money to file tax returns that should have been free to them based on a
government-mandated agreement between TurboTax and the IRS. The lawsuit
alleges that TurboTax’s parent Intuit, Inc. created a marketing campaign
targeting active duty servicemembers with promises of “free filing for
military,” but then intentionally hid those services, and purposely
diverted them to its paid product offerings. This scheme resulted in
TurboTax collecting millions of dollars in revenue from U.S.
servicemembers who should have been able to file their taxes at no cost,
according to the lawsuit. Attorneys at Gibbs Law Group and Stueve Siegel
Hanson are reviewing potential claims on behalf of additional
servicemembers throughout the country who were affected by the TurboTax
“free to file” scheme.
Servicemembers assert that TurboTax violated an agreement with the IRS,
which provided that for the 2018 tax season, all active military members
whose adjusted gross income was $66,000 or less were eligible to file
their tax returns for free. According to the lawsuit, TurboTax
intentionally violated that agreement and broke the law by hiding its
free file webpage from the TurboTax website, preventing the free-filing
services from being found by servicemembers through Google and other
search engines, and only alerting customers that they would be charged
money at the very end of the filing process after they had spent hours
inputting their personal information on the platform.
Intuit also tries to advance its scheme by imposing forced arbitration
on servicemembers. In prior cases, TurboTax has utilized a forced
arbitration clause in its online Terms of Service to prevent customers
from joining together as part of a class action and suing in court.
“TurboTax must be held accountable for illegally reaping profits off the
backs of those in the military who serve our country, and denying them
the opportunity to file their taxes for free,” said Eric Gibbs of Gibbs
Law Group LLP.
“If anyone deserves their day in court, it is the men and women who have
dedicated their lives to serving our country,” said Norman Siegel of
Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP. “We call on TurboTax to do the right thing,
and not attempt to force them into confidential arbitration.”
Active servicemembers who believe they were wrongfully charged for
TurboTax tax-filing services and would like to learn more about their
legal rights in the Turbo
Tax Military Free-to-File Class Action Lawsuit may contact our team
at 866-344-1901.
About Gibbs Law Group
Gibbs
Law Group is a national litigation firm representing military
members, veterans and consumers in lawsuits in state and federal courts.
The firm serves individuals in cases involving financial fraud and
consumer protection laws. Gibbs Law Group’s attorneys have been named
among the Best Lawyers in America © and have been recognized
among the 2019 Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar and Top Plaintiff
Lawyers in California.
About Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP
Stueve Siegel Hanson represents individuals and businesses nationwide on
a contingency basis. The firm has recovered over $1 billion for its
clients and has appeared back-to-back years in the National Law
Journal’s list of Top 100 Jury Verdicts for its work representing
victims of corporate fraud.
Contacts
EILEEN EPSTEIN
PHONE: 510.350.9728
EMAIL: [email protected]
