Class Action Lawsuit Accuses TurboTax of Deceiving Military Servicemembers with Its “Free Filing for Military” Scheme
OAKLAND, Calif. - 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.
source: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190517005103/en