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H&R
Block refuses to stop marketing refund anticipation
loans (RALs),
predatory products that carry equivalent Annual
Percentage Rates of up to 700% and strip wealth from
consumers, especially those with the lowest incomes who
qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. In response, CRA-NC introduced a Shareholder Proposal to be voted on at H&R Block's annual
meeting of stockholders, to be held on September 7, 2006 in Kansas City.
The company responded by refusing to allow shareholders
to vote on the proposal. N.C. State Treasurer
Richard Moore has called
on Block to reverse its decision & put the
question to a vote.
State
leaders in New York and Connecticut have joined
Treasurer Moore in calling
on H&R Block to stop making RALs. We are continuing to
support the nomination of CRA-NC
Executive Director Peter Skillern to H&R Block's
Board of Directors.
CRA-NC
Proposal - H&R Block must cease issuing high-interest RALs
Nomination
of Peter Skillern to H&R Block Board of Directors
Background
Report - Why H&R Block Needs to Reform its Predatory Lending Practices
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H&R
Block needs to reform its ongoing predatory lending practices and improve its
overall corporate governance.
The company currently peddles tax refund loans, high-fee IRA’s, and
subprime mortgages, primarily to low-income consumers.
It has faced numerous lawsuits over its tax refund loans, including a
February, 2006 lawsuit by California’s Attorney General alleging the company
had violated 15 state and federal laws, and was most recently hit by a $250
million civil lawsuit by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer over fraudulent
marketing of its Express IRA’s.
The company even has faced trouble with the IRS over understatement of
its own taxes.
A
coalition of national consumer groups, including the National Consumer Law Center and the California Reinvestment Coalition
(CRC), has joined CRA-NC in speaking out against H&R Block's
abusive lending practices.
National
Consumer Groups Protest Approval of Bank for H&R
Block, Announced Same Day Spitzer Sues Block Over
Rip-Offs
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