Consumer complaint received 2022-10-20
Company: Credit Karma, LLC
State: FL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card

Complaint:
I, XXXX XXXX, a consumer was bombarded with several emails that expressed and implied that I was pre-approved for credit card offers and had 90 % odds of being approved when in fact I wasnt. I thought that if I applied I would be approved or given at least some type of adverse notice as to why I wasnt approved, which is a violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. To have an influx of offers only to know that I would not be approved was deceptive, misleading, emotionally damaging to me, and a waste of my time. 
From XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, I received 11 emails with subject lines : Review your loan offers, XXXX, XXXX : You are pre-approved for {$7200.00}, and Outstanding Odds for {$12000.00}, See Exhibit A, attached. Despite what Credit Karma sent to my emails, implying that I was pre-approved for these offers, I was not in fact already pre-approved for these financial products. I felt the influx of these emails was an attempt to give me a false sense of certainty and to influence me as a consumer to apply, which would only waste my time and put more hard inquiries on my credit report lowering my credit score. 
Exhibit B attached, shows the emails that I received indicating that I received offers from {$7200.00} up to {$36000.00}. I received numerous of these emails. The email even advertised Less stress, more strut. How do I have less stress, when Credit Karma kept sending me offers that I did not qualify for at the time? These false and misleading actions by Credit Karma actually made my life more stressful because I actually needed these offers at the time but would not qualify. What did they want from me, if they knew I wouldnt qualify? The process of applying included asking me how much I wanted, what was the loan for, the last four of my social and my income and employment. 

Upon discovery, I have learned that Credit Karma was fully aware that it misled consumers into believing they were pre-approved for credit offers when in fact they were not. The FTC has already commenced its internal investigation on Credit Karma with the exact same type of violations, with initiating consent order, File NO. XXXX XXXX. It makes sense now why I was getting so many emails because the FTC investigations indicated that Credit Karma knew these ads were deceptive by having already conducted A/B testing showing that consumers were more likely to click an offer that had the term pre-approved. This type of testing demonstrated dark pattern practices by Credit Karma. Well, their test worked. I saw the pre-approved offer and clicked on it, regrettably. 
Additionally, the FTC has proposed alleged complaints from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, leaving out a number of consumers like myself who were affected from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. This is proof that the FTC may not be aware that these actions have been going on much longer and may continue to be going on, which shows willful intent and non-compliance by Credit Karma. 
When it comes to advertising, promotion, and offering of financial products, directly or indirectly, expressly or by implication, where I, XXXX XXXX, consumer was pre-approved for credit products, and promoted to have 90 % odds of approval ; Credit Karmas representation was false and misleading, and were not substantiated at the time the representations were made. I am an injured consumer emotionally, psychologically and monetarily.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation