STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Consumers who were deceived by pre-approved credit card offers from Credit Karma have until March 4 to claim their part of a $3 million settlement.
“Consumers who applied incurred a hard inquiry on their credit reports, and, if they were denied, may have damaged their credit scores unnecessarily,” noted the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which late last year alleged that the personal finance company tricked nearly 500,000 consumers into believing they were “pre-approved” for a credit card, or had “90% odds” of approval, but in many cases, the consumers didn’t qualify.
According to the agency, most of the 497,425 affected consumers have been notified by email, but about 4,000 people who did not have an email address on file received notice in the mail.
A representative for Credit Karma told NJ.com that the organization disagrees with the FTC’s allegations, and it reached the agreement to put the allegations behind it.
“Any implication that Credit Karma rejected consumers applying for credit cards is simply incorrect, as Credit Karma is not a lender and does not make lending decisions,” the spokesperson said. “Rather, Credit Karma helps our more than 130 million members understand their finances, including their likelihood of approval for financial products.”
“We have a track record of positive outcomes, and members shopping for credit cards on Credit Karma have a significantly higher approval rate than the national average,” the spokesperson added.
You can still file a claim online at ftc.gov/CreditKarma. If you have questions, email [email protected] or call (866) 848-0871, the agency said.
It’s still unclear how much each consumer will receive as part of the settlement.
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