Credit Karma fined $3M by FTC for misleading consumers with credit card offers
I have zero debt. Absolutely zero. However, I left the States soon after graduating university, and thus also have (had) no credit history there. Since I've been planning to return soon, I've been trying to build a history, so when the time comes, I can get a mortgage loan.<p>The process of building a credit history has been enlightening and frustrating. I'm in the tech world, as most people in this forum is as well. I make a pretty decent salary in said tech world. However, I qualify for zero unsecured credit cards. I also don't qualify for any small personal loans. I attempted to get both in order to build a credit history. I mean, I can't even get a personal loan for $500.<p>Nothing, nada, zilch. All I can do now is get a secured card and hold on to that for some time -- which is what I have been doing for about a year so far.<p>However, I am constantly, and I mean constantly flooded with emails with special "pre-approved" credit cards and personal loans. I applied for a couple and of course was rejected. Oh, and of course, when you apply for these "pre-approved" offers, they do a credit check, which for some reason has a negative impact on your credit score.<p>It's insane that we let 3 companies (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion) control so much of our lives, with little insight as to what their scores actually reflect. CreditKarma is just a vehicle within this sector. The entire system is broken and needs a complete overhaul.