Checks on their way to 89K Coloradans following settlement with TurboTax owner Intuit
The company is accused of deceiving consumers into using a paid version of TurboTax, when they could have filed for free.
Around 89,000 Coloradans will receive checks this month as a result of a multi-state agreement with Intuit, the owner and developer of TurboTax (NASDAQ: INTU).
According to a press release by the Colorado Attorney General's Office, Intuit is going to pay consumers $30 per year they paid for TurboTax Free Edition between 2016 and 2018. Coloradans will receive $2.7million in total as part of the settlement.
According to the press release, eligible consumers will receive an email regarding the settlement. They will also automatically receive a check through the mail.
In a press release, Attorney General Phil Weiser stated that he was pleased with the progress made in returning money to hardworking Coloradans who TurboTax had misled to pay for services which should have been provided free of charge.
Weiser and attorneys from all 50 states settled with Intuit for $141 million last year, after a multistate investigation revealed that the company had used deceptive digital techniques to encourage low-income consumers towards its commercial products instead of its free IRS-supported tax program.
ProPublica, a nonprofit news organization, reported the tactics.
According to the investigation Intuit used confusing terms for its freemium products, and also manipulated search results in order to steer consumers towards its paid product.
Intuit was also accused of blocking the IRS Free File landing pages from search engine results for the 2019 tax season and neglecting to recommend "the right tax solution" for consumers.
Investigators found that about 33% of U.S. taxpayers qualified for "free" filing in TurboTax Free Edition compared to 70% who qualified under TurboTax Free File.