|
By Jeffrey Kagan
If you can't recall what you originally ordered, ask your telephone company to send you the Customer Service Record for your account. This should contain a copy of your original order, a list of what was installed, what you're getting, and what you're being charged. Keep this in a convenient spot so you can review it whenever you have questions about your bill. Make sure you update it whenever you cancel something or order a new service.
Double Check
Many companies also miss out on discounts for which they qualify. Even though some phone companies tell you these are automatically applied, sometimes they miscalculate and you end up paying more than you should. This can mean as much as a 20% overcharge.
You also need to be vigilant whenever you cancel a service or disconnect a line. Make sure the old charges disappear from your bills. And if you have special, dedicated access lines (like WATS lines or data lines), closely monitor your bills to ensure you are only being billed once. With these special services, it is very common to receive duplicate bills from two different vendors.
It's worth noting that the average company can cut its telephone costs by 10-30 percent just by carefully auditing its phone bills, many times without making any changes in carriers or services.
Remember, most phone bill mistakes benefit the phone companies, therefore it is not in their best interest to catch them. That is up to you!
|
