The Ontario Superior Court of Justice certified a class-action lawsuit against Intuit, the firm that owns the taxation software TurboTax, and a large segment of users may be eligible, the law firm leading the suit said.
The action was brought on behalf of all consumers who purchased the TurboTax online software since Jan. 1, 2015, to prepare and/or file their Canadian taxes, Toronto-based Ronchon Genova LLP said.
The lawsuit stems from an advertising campaign for TurboTax, where the software was advertised as “free,” the law firm said.
“For taxation years before 2021, Intuit advertised the software in Canada as free without qualification, including in television, print, online and social media campaigns using the tag line ‘free, free, free.’ Beginning with the 2021 taxation year, Intuit changed its advertising to state that the software was ‘free for simple tax returns,’” Ronchon Genova LLP said in a press release.
The plaintiff alleged that both of Intuit’s advertising campaigns were “false and misleading,” describing the company’s strategy as a “bait-and-switch” and “drip-pricing” scheme.
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“Intuit designed its software so that consumers only discovered they would have to pay after investing significant time entering their personal and financial information,” the firm alleged.
Global News has reached out to Intuit and TurboTax for comment.
Ronchon Genova said Intuit has “signaled that they intend to appeal this decision.”
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