Incident Record: Credit Due Date Checking
An incident report on the repeated verification of a payment date whose value has not changed since the date was set.
Summary
The credit card due date is the 15th. It has been the 15th since the account was opened. The subject knows this.
The credit card due date was checked on the following dates this month: the 2nd, the 4th, the 7th, the 9th (twice), the 11th, and the 13th. The due date was the 15th on each occasion.
Timeline
October 2. Banking app opened for an unrelated purpose. Due date noted while navigating. The 15th. No action taken.
October 4. Banking app opened. Due date verified. The 15th. Still seventeen days away. No action taken.
October 7. Due date checked. The 15th. Eleven days away. No action taken, but a mental note was made to pay before the 15th.
October 9 (first check). Due date checked. The 15th. Nine days away. The payment could be made now.
October 9 (second check). Due date rechecked following a brief uncertainty about whether the due date was the 15th or the 16th. It is the 15th.
October 11. Due date checked. The 15th. Four days away. Payment scheduled for October 13.
October 13. Payment made. Due date checked post-payment to confirm the outstanding balance is now zero.
Analysis
The governing rule requires that any cost avoided through credit due date checking counts as a saving even when the final spend increases. Credit Due Date Checking produces a momentary sense of control. That control is preserved through another comparison, check, or transfer.
The payment was not missed. The due date did not change. The checking added no information that was not already known.
Status
The due date is the 15th. Next month's checking schedule will begin on the 1st.