Consumer complaint received 2025-04-29 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account — Banking errors
Company: Credit Karma, LLC
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I first became a Credit Karma user ( or XXXX based on the term they use for individuals who sign up for their set of services via the Credit Karma app ) back in XXXX after filing my taxes with XXXX. As part of XXXX, both of these businesses are sister companies that promote each other. Credit Karma is promoted as a company with which users can closely monitor our credit reports as well as receive our Tax Refunds allegedly XXXX  days early when we have a Credit Karma Spend account and use that as our account in which the IRS and XXXX XXXX XXXX can deposit our refunds after processing our tax returns. 

In XXXX, I had a horrible experience with the way they conducted their banking-like services including fees, delays and lack of compatibility with many other financial tools for being their Credit Karma Spend Card considered a Prepaid Debit Card rather than a regular Debit Card like the ones we get from actual banks. I also noticed some issues related to the use of my private data, specially Information about my credit and finances including the sharing and sale of private, privileged and confidential information that started raising red flags on me. 

XXXX and all the non-bank financial software technologies that are now everywhere and keep growing in number, pose as banks but are NOT banks nor follow the most basic rules and protections that the traditional naming system follows so everyones financial information has become a tool for them to profit jeopardizing for many of us, the access we have to personal and business funding, money for emergencies, access to certain services, and even employment opportunities. And it has become almost impossible for individuals to be able to exercise our right to stop them from accessing and using our information at their leisure. Worse, the profits made by these companies in the modern exchanges of data for profit, are not shared with us, the users and sole source of the commodity they use for profit. 

Why is this relevant to my complaint? Because back I XXXX I thought I was clear enough With them indicating that I didnt want to behave an account with them and what they did was simply, close the Credit Karma Spend account I had with them thus closing my access to their services but they continued, week over week, using my information to actively monitor me and all of my financials. If you look in my credit reports, week over week, the name of Credit Karma consistently continued appearing as an entity that continued Requesting the Credit Bureaus to give them access to my credit score and related info in my profile. I was not aware of this until last year, and I tried to access again my Credit Karma account but I was unable to under the pretense that my account was closed and for security reasons they couldnt given me access to that closed account. 

Fast forward to XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX I filed my taxes with XXXX XXXX again, driven by the repetitive emails in which they advertise as free tax filing with a special option to use their XXXX XXXX option. Before finalizing my tax return, I selected them option that would allow me to get a XXXX XXXX this year. The selection yielded a notification where I was informed I would be eligible to {$250.00} XXXX XXXX. In order to use this tool, XXXX XXXX once again put the name of Credit Karma in front of me making their service necessary in order to get the XXXX approved. That is the sole reason which I chose to open again a Credit Karma Spend. 

This choice had me spending about XXXX hours navigating their more complex and intrusive sets of requirements having now yet another partner business that would be given personal documents and biometrics because now, verifying My identity by interacting with them via my own personal Devices and confirming I am who I am via the email and XXXX codes are simply NOT enough for them. Now my drivers license and face, eye cornea, and other biometrics were required for me to benefit from the offer to get XXXX XXXX. So I did what was asked. 

After this I filed my taxes and after submitting them in XXXX the real surprise was that the {$250.00} approved XXXX XXXX  was nowhere to be found. So I was left without it and with a Credit Karma Spend account with XXXX real perks and benefits compared to what checking accounts in normal banks actually offer. After enquiring with XXXX about the whereabouts of the Advance, their response was that such XXXX had not been approved by Credit Karma. Since I am not reporting XXXX here, I am going to stop the details about this matter here and move now to the most important issue. 

I have reviewed some of my banking and similar financial accounts because I am in desperate need to go see my mother in XXXX and some of the monies I have been expecting to have in order to do this, keep getting denied or simply dont seem to reach my hands and I dont have time for non-sense. Credit Karma doesn't offer actual monthly statements to their users of Credit Karma Spend and with good reason. If statements dont exist, it becomes very unlikely that we can properly monitor our finances and money can be juggled in very interesting ways, specially when most of us dont trace back our financial transactions. 

Well, I did just that yesterday and what I found was that from my total transactions incoming deposits vs outgoing transfers and purchases my balance of {$0.00} cents is short {$250.00} today. This will become clear if you can get access to a screen recording and/or screenshots I took for anybody who needs proper evidence of my claim. Why, how, who Did this? It doesnt matter to me at this point. 

Further, XXXX days ago, my account was placed in negative ( - {$130.00} ) after XXXX attempted to withdraw {$130.00} to pay itself for me doing my taxes with them. Again the XXXX matters will be left out as they are a separate matter, but Credit Karmas inaction in preventing that XXXX placed my PREPAID Credit Karma Spend account is not normal nor something to celebrate. 

XXXX XXXX accounts are precisely tools that are meant to prevent the highly expensive overdraft fees that destroy many peoples access to their checking accounts in traditional banking. So I have informed Credit Karma that it is strictly forbidden to allow any more money to be approved or transactions from occurring under my Credit Karma Spend and that my tax refund monies are mine. All companies salivate from XXXX to XXXX trying to get our XXXX Monies which is why so many have turned to the business of tax reporting. Many, like XXXX XXXX, are NOT the ideal players for this but this is also a matter that needs to be addressed elsewhere. Its a very complex and delicate matter for XXXX. 

In my communications with actual humans - when I can find them in the wild jungle of obstacles and human-like bots labeled now more often called AI - I was able to ask why Credit Karma continued monitoring my private Credit Reports XXXX XXXX XXXX credit bureaus. I very professional lady I explicitly want to congratulate on the level of customer service she provided, explained that back in XXXX I had not ended my membership with Credit Karma. Rather, she clarified, I had just closed my Credit Karma Spend account. I feel this is very important for anybody reading this because it seems that in present times, many new businesses do not end their privileges over our data when we put an end t the use of the service for which we first signed up with a specific company via the now common apps. In Credit Karmas case, closing your XXXX Accounts doesnt mean they will stop their deep monitoring or a users financials unless, I hope, we ensure that our membership is closed. 

regardless of what anybody these days may want you to believe this was true until XXXX - I was informed hat are rapidly destroying Americas edge in XXXX XXXX of Accountability and Customer Satisfaction

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation