Updated
October 12, 2022
The FTC ordered Credit Karma to pay $3 million to users it steered toward “pre-approved” credit offers they were often denied — the FTC identifies eligible consumers, so there is no claim form to file.
Credit Karma $3 Million Rebate
Credit Karma is issuing a refund of $3,000,000 to customers who were allegedly sent false pre-approval offers. According to the FTC, "pre approval" or "pre qualify" is just as deceptive as offers that include "free", "low-calorie", or "natural" in marketing or advertising. The Federal Trade Commission has arranged that customers would have the $3 Million settlement as part of an agreement with Credit Karma for customers' time that was wasted after applying for "pre-approved" offers.What is the Credit Karma Settlement?
Credit Karma is a consumer credit management company that helps people with a credit check and offers tools to help them get their finances in order. To help users make better financial decisions, the company also sends free alerts about changes in your credit score. Recently, Credit Karma has received several complaints from customers who were targeted with false pre-approval offers from lenders after taking out a free trial of its service. The Federal Trade Commission investigated these claims and found that at least one-third of members were affected by this issue over the last months. In response to this discovery and other privacy concerns raised by its members, Credit Karma has been ordered to pay $3 million in refunds to users who experienced the issues with their credit scores.What's the Problem with Credit Karma?
The company has failed to meet security standards, which is why it has been forced to pay a $3 Million fine. The FTC found that Credit Karma did not have proper procedures in place to protect sensitive information such as credit scores and social security numbers. The FTC also found that the company failed to notify its users of these issues and their implications. In fact, Credit Karma had been aware of the problem for years but did not take any action until the FTC investigation began.How do I qualify?
According to official settlement documents, the FTC will work directly with Credit Karma to identify consumers who are eligible for a payout from the proposed settlement. It is standard practice for the FTC to do this with defendants with whom the agency settles, and most FTC cases do not require consumers to file claims to receive compensation.To be eligible for the compensation, you must have been affected by the issue of and also a Credit Karma user during the time period. The FTC is working with Credit Karma to ensure that all affected customers get paid from the 3 Million Dollar settlement. If you were targeted by a pre-apporval email, or if you received an offer for credit or insurance that turned out to be fraudulent, if you clicked on it but did not complete any action on that offer. If you completed all of the required steps in order to activate this offer, you may still qualify even though no financial impact was made against your account as a result of that activation.
How Much Will I Get Paid?
The amount of your compensation will depend on how many fraudulent offers you received over the course of your relationship with Credit Karma. In response to these incidents, the company has taken steps to ensure that similar problems do not occur in the future. For example, they have implemented procedures for screening offers before sending them out—thus reducing fraudulent ones from being distributed.When and How will Credit Karma Pay Out?
The FTC and Credit Karma will be directly notifying affected customers via email about how much they are owed, and exactly when the payment will arrive. If you're one of the affected users, make sure to check your inbox and your spam in your email. The email may contain a link to submit a claim form online in order to get the money, which can include a brief questionnaire that helps determine if you're eligible for compensation or not. At this time there is no sign up page and no claim form as with other class action settlements on OpenClassActions.com.What If I Don't Qualify?
Credit Karma will certainly not be the only company paying out money in class action settlements in the future. Other credit card companies, and consumer facing corporations have been fined by the FTC in the past, and settled for even larger amounts to repay consumers. If you were one of the victims in the credit karma false advertising case stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter:Free settlement alerts
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