H&R Block: cancellation problem
Downgrade H&R Block Online with the automated option the FTC order requires; call online support if it fails. Cancel Tax Identity Shield by phone; a refund needs a request within 30 days of purchase.
What does this mean?
Grade C (use with care: check the source of each value before relying on it). 100% of 11 sources are the organization's own pages or government sites; 3 value(s) were read from a search snippet or an archive copy.
Collect
- account email or Blockcare ID
- product and price shown before and after
- purchase date
- cancellation reference
Steps
To leave a paid H&R Block Online product, use the in-product downgrade option. Under the FTC order it must not require a call or live chat.
If the downgrade does not work, call H&R Block Online support and say "downgrade".
To cancel Tax Identity Shield, call within 30 days of purchase to get a refund.
If H&R Block makes you call or chat to downgrade, or deletes your entered data, report it to the FTC and cite the January 8, 2025 order (Docket No. 9427).
More contacts for this issue
Facts you can cite
- Policy
The FTC's final order requires that, "By February 15, 2025, the company is required to allow consumers to downgrade products using a chatbot" or other automated means, and, "by the 2026 tax filing season, to stop completely deleting consumers' previously entered information."
Source: ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-13
- Policy
The November 2024 proposed order said downgrading must have an easily noticeable, always-available option that does not require calling or chatting with a live agent, and a downgraded user must return to the point where they upgraded.
Source: ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-13
- Deadline
Tax Identity Shield (2026 terms): "you may contact us at 855-472-8657 to cancel or request a refund." "Cancellations and refunds will only be made if requested within thirty (30) days of purchase." Benefits run until April 30, 2027.
Source: taxidentityshield.hrblock.com, verified 2026-10-13
- Process
FTC In the Matter of H&R Block (Docket No. 9427): administrative complaint February 23, 2024 (data wiping on downgrade and "free" advertising); matter withdrawn from adjudication October 21, 2024; proposed consent order November 12, 2024; final Decision and Order January 8, 2025 (vote 5-0). The FTC case page shows status "Closed".
Source: ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-13
- Policy
The final order requires H&R Block's "free" advertising to disclose either the percentage of taxpayers eligible for the "free" products or that the majority of taxpayers do not qualify.
Source: ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-13
Rules in force
- Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) negative option requirements15 U.S.C. 8401-8405
A seller that charges consumers online through a negative option feature (for example an automatic renewal or a free trial that converts to paid) must clearly disclose all material terms before taking billing information, get the consumer's express informed consent before charging, and provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges. The FTC enforces ROSCA.
Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12
3 citable points
- Policy
Before obtaining the consumer's billing information, the seller must provide text that "clearly and conspicuously discloses all material terms of the transaction".
Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12
- Policy
The seller must provide "simple mechanisms for a consumer to stop recurring charges" on the consumer's credit card, debit card, bank account or other financial account.
Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12
- Process
A ROSCA violation is treated as a violation of an FTC rule on unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and the FTC enforces ROSCA with its FTC Act powers and penalties. Report violations to the FTC.
Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12
- Policy
Rules not in force (do not cite)
- FTC "Click-to-Cancel" amendments to the Negative Option Rule (2024) Vacated16 CFR part 425 (2024 amendments, published November 15, 2024)
Vacated in full by the Eighth Circuit on July 8, 2025 (Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC, 142 F.4th 1060). The FTC removed the 2024 text effective February 12, 2026 and restored the pre-2024 prenotification rule. A new rulemaking is only at the ANPRM stage (March 13, 2026), with no proposed text as of 2026-10-12. What remains in force: ROSCA (rules/rosca-negative-option), Section 5 of the FTC Act, and state automatic renewal laws (for example rules/ca-automatic-renewal-law, rules/ny-automatic-renewal-law).
Not in force. Do not cite it as current law.
If that fails, escalate
Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.
Customer service
Written complaint
MailTax Identity Shield mailing address H&R Block, One HR Block Way, Kansas City, MO 64105Card or bank dispute
Fair Credit Billing Act billing-error and purchase-dispute rights (Regulation Z)
Electronic Fund Transfer Act error resolution and unauthorized-transfer liability (Regulation E)
Card dispute for charges after a cancellation.
Federal regulator
State agency
Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON:
states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).
Watch out
- hrblock.com blocked automated fetches (HTTP 403) on 2026-10-13; the phone numbers, hours and software guarantee terms here come from search-result text and should be confirmed on the live page.
- The software guarantee needs a mailed request; the mailing address was not verified, so confirm it on hrblock.com/guarantees before sending.
Let your AI agent handle this
Escalate Anything is a free, open-source MCP server for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, Codex and other AI apps. Your agent gets this playbook, keeps a case log with reference numbers and follow-up dates, and drafts each message for you to approve.
1. Set it up (needs uv):
uvx escalate-anything setup2. Ask your agent:
I cancelled H&R Block on [date] and they still charge me. Use Escalate Anything to stop it and get refunded.Source code, other install options and the Claude Code plugin