Tax preparer H&R Block Inc. reported a 14 percent drop in third-quarter earnings Thursday, but beat expectations as an increase in early tax clients provided the company with record third-quarter revenue. For its fiscal third quarter ending Jan. 31, the Kansas City-based company reported earnings of $91.7 million, or 55 cents per share, compared with net income of $106.7 million, or 59 cents per share, during the same period a year ago.
Consumer watchdog organization Household - HSBC Watch continually inform the public about high interest refund loans by H&R Block, financed by predatory lender HSBC (Household International) and opposed by advocacy groups nationwide. “These rapid refund loans take a portion of the Federal earned income credit away from children in the home. The Federal government should not function as a collection agency for any predatory lender” said Household - HSBC Watch.
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Some consumers may be dismayed to find their Social Security numbers printed on unsolicited packages from H&R Block, the result of a recent labeling blunder at the company.
The packages, which H&R Block mailed in December, contained free copies of the company’s tax preparation software, TaxCut. By mistake, some of the packages also displayed recipients’ Social Security numbers, which were embedded in 47-digit tracking codes above mailing labels.