There is a major deceptive ad campaign being splashed all over the television.  I am referring to “free” credit reports.  I was flipping channels one day and I saw Ben Stein advertising “free” credit reports.  I flipped to another channel and I saw another guy singing about how he had to buy a cheap, junky car because his credit was “wack”.  Both of these guys were saying you need to know what’s in your credit report so go to this website to get your free copy.  Guess what, I agree with them you should know and should get a free copy of your report.  The deception comes when you show up at their sites.  Getting your free credit report requires enrollment in their credit monitoring program which costs anywhere from $15 – $30 per month after a “free” trial period.  To me this is deceptive advertising and unfortunately it is usually the people that have the worst credit that fall victim to these types of ads. 

This type of marketing happens all the time.  Just the other day I got a call from my credit card company telling me about this new payment protection service if I should ever lose my job and they would just like to send me the info.  I really didn’t want it but I thought just send it, because I was tired and just wanted to get off the phone.  But he said before I send it I need to verify your address and record the conversation as I enroll you into the service.  When I heard that I immediately perked up told him no thank you and hung up the phone.  This is a very common deception and I am sick of it.  By the way, if someone says they just need to record the conversation they are really asking your permission to enroll you into some service or program.   

I thought all programs were like this until I came across a service called Credit Karma.  My first thought was here we go again, until I dug a little further.  Credit Karma is a truly free credit report service.   They have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The Motley Fool, Bloomberg and blog sites like Me without debt.  What sets this site apart is that it is completely free.  No hidden fees, no 30-day trial memberships and no credit card needed to sign up.  You get complete access to your credit score with no tricks.  The belief of credit karma is simple “consumers have a right to know this information with no charge or without the bait and switch of 30 days free followed by enrollment products with confusing opt outs.”  For this I say a strong amen.

However it doesn’t stop there.  Credit Karma also offers financial tips and advice related to your credit score and they will also offer various financial products that are matched up to you based on your particular credit situation.  What I really like about the service is they are not selling your information and then you end up getting bombarded with ads for specific products.  All of their advertisements and recommendations come one way.  By this I mean the financial partners they have send them the information and Credit Karma will make recommendations on products that fit you.  Because they are recommendations you can take them or leave them but you never have to worry about your inbox or mailbox being flooded with offers.

There is a wealth of information available on the site, all free and all valuable.  If you look up the word karma one of the definitions is aura.  I can definitely say Credit Karma has a good aura and has restored my faith in the free credit report world.