“the first thing that Credit Karma is doing is making Noddle’s previously paid services free to use from now on, to align it closer with Credit Karma’s business model”
We never want data breaches to happen but we know they are inevitable in this day and age,
Hmm, I’m not sure they’re “inevitable” if you follow best practices.
Would be interested in knowing why there are three credit reference agencies in the UK, and why some lenders use one and not the other. Wish I could just use one site/app to have a look at my entire credit history, rather than it being split up.
And the question becomes, what’s their business model going to be then? You don’t pay $$$ to “acquire” a business if you’re going to make their products free. There’s gotta be some other revenue stream, and (as usual with this industry) it’s less than ethical.
It’s says right in the article, in the same sentence as where it’s mentioned they are making the service free.
“In an interview, Wagoner said that the first thing that Credit Karma is doing is making Noddle’s previously paid services free to use from now on, to align it closer with Credit Karma’s business model of offering all credit scoring and monitoring services for free, and making money when a user purchases (not just clicks through to) other financial services on its site from partners. Previously, Noddle offered free credit scoring but charged for other services like ID monitoring (more on that below).”
So they want to shill other financial services to you when you are looking at your credit report, which is what Clearscore seems to do.
and making money when a user purchases (not just clicks through to) other financial services on its site from partners
From partners in crime they mean.
These kinds of “deals” are never good deals and prey on the less fortunate and/or those who have a bad credit history (if you have a good history why would you even use their service to find deals in the first place?) so definitely unethical. This is outright illegal when you realise what’s happening behind the scenes in regards to customer data (and nope, GDPR ain’t gonna save you, they will all claim “legitimate interest” and there’s zero enforcement given that the two biggest violators - Google and Facebook are still around).
Just to be clear they are offering the exact same model that Monzo are looking to offer. A marketplace for service that if purchased will provide and an affiliation payment back to the company. 
The difference will likely be how tailored each companies ‘marketplace’ will be. For example ClearScore shows pretty much any company willing to sign up to them that you have a chance of being successful applying for.
Monzo have stated they will only offer services up if they have a similar ethos and ethical view to Monzo.
Random question: could anyone start a ‘credit reference’ company and claim legitimate interest? It seems counterintuitive that that’s true - but otherwise how would new entrants come into the market? 
Check out the Credit Reference Agency Information Notice (CRAIN).
There are many Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, not just three. They are regulated companies, so any company that passes FCA registration can become a CRA if it registered as such.
I’m surprised at this. I thought Noddle was one of the reasons TransUnion bought Callcredit?