It seems that is credit card companies wanted to be fair to the consumer, they would report the balance on or after the due date. What the card companies are doing seems like a deceptive business practice.
It isn't a scam, it isn't complicated, it isn't difficult.
It is two simple questions. How much total do you owe on revolving (mostly credit cards) credit today? How much total credit do you have on all of your revolving credit put together?
Both questions can be answered in a few minutes by anyone. If the ratio is over ~20%, there are minor credit score hits. The higher the ratio goes (especially over 50%), the bigger the credit score ding.
But keep in mind, that is just one minor portion of your credit score. The credit utilization portion is only 30% of your credit score, and the ratio is only part of that 30%. A lot of the rest of the 30% comes from factors such as having a credit card you don't use (big benefit to your score as you now have a source of funds in an emergency), the total amount owed (if you owe a lot, it can hurt your score), the number of debts you have (smaller is often better), and how much of the loans have you paid off (paying off more is better). With all those factors competing for that small 30% of the score, the balance to total credit ratio just isn't a big deal for most people.
Your friend can address this problem by:
1) Getting more revolving credit. She can ask for a credit line increase. But, it is best if this is done with another credit card that she doesn't use and puts it aside for emergencies (use it once a year to keep it active as a few credit card banks monitor the length of time it is unused).
2) Using her credit card less.
3) Paying her credit card more than once a month so that she never owes much at any point in time. This one depends on how often the card reports the balance though, so it is hardest for her to control.
4) Ignoring it, as it isn't likely hurting her score much.
