MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - The Federal Trade Commission has ruled that Intuit Inc., the maker of the popular TurboTax tax filing software, cannot call its services 'free' anymore as it is deceiving its customers.
The FTC issued an Opinion and Final Order that Intuit 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.
The Commission upheld the Chief Administrative Law Judge Michael Chappell's opinion that Intuit has engaged in deceptive advertising in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.
Chappell had announced the initial decision in September, which the commission upheld. Intuit had appealed to the FTC as part of the process.
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.
The order also requires that Intuit disclose clearly and conspicuously all the terms, conditions, and obligations that are required in order to obtain the 'free' good or service.
The order also prohibits Intuit from misrepresenting any material facts about its products or services such as the price, refund policies or consumers' ability to claim a tax credit or deduction or to file their taxes online accurately without using TurboTax's paid service.
The FTC had first sued Intuit for its deceptive advertising in 2022.
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