Bad credit car loan shoppers looking for a good deal need look no further than the Credit Karma web site which provides registered users with a free credit score.
Your credit score
Here at Auto Net Financial, we’ve written about the availability of free credit reports as well as more comprehensive services provided, for a fee, by web sites such as freecreditreports360.com. But while the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) are required by law to furnish you with one free credit report per year (plus additional reports if you are turned down for credit or to see if a mistake has been corrected), they are not required to furnish you with your credit score. For that privilege, you have to fork over anywhere from $25-$35 each time (per provider).
Finding instant karma
That all changed in 2007 with the founding of San Francisco-based Credit Karma. Now, for the low, low price of free (as in zero, zilch, nada) this web site (www.CreditKarma.com) will furnish you with a credit score (300 to 850) based on information received from TransUnion. And while this score may differ from your actual FICO score, evidence suggests that it is within 5%. Not only that, but you can go back to the web site as often as you like to re-check it.
The catch
Everyone knows that there’s no free lunch. But right now, the only catch to Credit Karma is that you have to endure marketing offers from various companies (based on your credit score) in order to view the results (this subsidizes the free credit score tracking for members). Naturally, you also have to furnish the site with your personal information, including your social security number. Still, it’s not a bad deal.
According to Credit Karma, this is the philosophy behind their web site:
“The principle of Karma is common to many beliefs. The general idea is that any action a person takes either positive or negative, will have an inevitable equal effect in the future. Your credit score is kind of an expression of this concept; an index of your credit history: your credit karma.”
The Bottom Line
As far as we’re concerned at Auto Net Financial, any time you can receive such vital knowledge as your credit score for free it’s certainly a bargain. And as long as you feel that sharing your information (it’s BBB accredited, TRUSTe certified and McAfee secure) and viewing a few online offers is worth the price of admission, it would be well worth your while to check it out.
The web site address is: www.creditkarma.com
