Consumers who were deceived by pre-approved credit card offers by Credit Karma can now sign up to get their part of a $3 million settlement, federal regulators said.
The process to file a claim comes after the Federal Trade Commission’s 2022 enforcement action against Credit Karma, which alleged the company told consumers they were “pre-approved” for a credit card or had “90% odds” of approval, but in many cases, the consumers didn’t qualify.
“Consumers who applied incurred a hard inquiry on their credit reports, and, if they were denied, may have damaged their credit scores unnecessarily,” the FTC said.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) started a claims process for nearly 500,000 consumers who may be eligible for a payment, the agency said.
The agency said most of the 497,425 affected consumers will get an email, but about 4,000 people who don’t have an email address on file will get a notice in the mail.
You can file a claim online at ftc.gov/CreditKarma.
Those with questions can email info@CreditKarmaSettlement.com or call (866) 848-0871, the agency said.
A Credit Karma spokesperson said 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 said.
The deadline to file a claim is March 4, 2024.
Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on X at @KPMueller.
