That Home Depot employee in Phoenix saved my credit score over a $37 fee

I almost paid 6 months of late fees on a store card I forgot existed until the guy at the self-checkout pointed out my balance was sitting at 28% utilization, has anyone else had a random stranger spot a credit mistake before it wrecked them?

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blake7921mo ago

That article I read the other week said something like 30 percent of people have no clue what their credit card balances actually are until they get hit with a fee or a rate jump. So maybe the guy didn't do anything amazing, but most folks aren't checking their statements every week like some people on here. Catching a mistake before it becomes five or six months of late payments is worth more than a pat on the back, even if it should've been caught at home. The real problem is how easy it is to forget these store cards exist at all, especially when they're not in your main wallet. Sometimes the stupidest little thing, like a stranger's comment, ends up being the wake up call that actually sticks.

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the_leo1mo ago

Hell no, that guy didn't save you anything. He just told you what you could've figured out yourself with a five minute look at your own statements. Being at 28% utilization isn't some hidden trap, it's a pretty normal number for most people. You're giving way too much credit to a random worker for doing the bare minimum of reading your account screen. Yeah, missing payments is dumb, but a single fee isn't what wrecks your score. That's on you, not some hero at the self-checkout who happened to glance sideways at your screen.

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