When I was looking for another job I decided to write my resume with the latest version of Microsoft Word, which I didn't have enough money to buy at the time. I chose to go with the monthly payment subscription.

Now I had a couple of credit cards; one was currently carrying a balance and another with nothing on it. I figured I could put the Office subscription on the card with nothing on it and pay if off every month so it wouldn't accrue interest.

Soon after I initiated the charge I received a notice from Capital One asking me if I wanted to sign up for paperless statements. I thought why not as I was only going to use this card for one thing I could save a few trees by going with eStatements for that card.

A couple of months pass by and I forget about paying the Capital One card that only had the Microsoft Office bill.

Another month goes by and then Capital One emails me a warning that 2 months of late payments are due. I realized I had completely forgotten about paying it off. I logged into my account that day to see I had two late charges; one for $10 and the other for $35 in addition to a couple of months of interest on the unpaid bill. I ended up paying off the entire amount due.

How did this happen? I'm a type of person that regularly checks my email, and not once did I see an email from Capital One with my statement.

Read More...