Contact Information: Press Contact: Michael Azzano Cosmo PR for Credit Karma 415.596.1978
Credit Karma Recommends Consumers Access Credit Scores at Least Once a Month to Track Improvement
Lapsed Bills and Identity Theft Can Impact Scores in the Short Term; Consumer Credit Resource Suggests Even More Rigorous Monitoring in Advance of Large Credit Purchases
| Source: Credit Karma
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - June 16, 2008) - As part of its ongoing effort to help
consumers better understand and leverage their credit, Credit Karma
(www.creditkarma.com), the free and easy way to access, understand and
monetize credit scores, today recommended that consumers obtain their
credit score at least once a month. The company also suggested that
consumers obtain their scores twice a month in advance of a major credit
purchase such as a home or automobile. A number of factors, including a
missed bill payment or an incident of identity theft, can affect a credit
score within a thirty-day window.
"Consumers know what a credit score is, but few actually understand how to
put it to work on their behalf," explained Kenneth Lin, founder and CEO of
Credit Karma. "An individual should be tracking their credit score from
month-to-month, both to understand the impact of their financial behavior
and to be better prepared to negotiate with lenders."
At CreditKarma.com, consumers can access their credit score as often as
they need, completely free of charge. The company has built a suite of
online tools and simulators to help consumers understand how specific
behaviors such as opening or closing a line of credit can improve a credit
score over time. Credit Karma also helps consumers learn how to leverage
their score through Karma Offers, where advertisers provide preferred
pricing to individuals based on the strength of their score.
"The most important part of a credit score for consumers is not the actual
number, but rather how it behaves over time -- whether it continues to
improve or decline," continued Mr. Lin. "That is why we have guaranteed
individuals the ability to access their score for free whenever they need
it -- so that, in the end, they might become better consumers."
As a staunchly pro-consumer company, Credit Karma never shares consumers'
personal information with advertisers or third parties.
About Credit Karma
Based in San Francisco, Credit Karma is a pro-consumer credit score company
dedicated to helping consumers better understand the power of their credit
score by giving them completely free access to it as often as they wish,
and then providing a host of tools and services to help them improve and
monetize that score. At www.creditkarma.com, consumers not only learn their
score, but they can identify what behaviors will positively impact their
score and then gain preferred product pricing based on their credit score
range.