After over 100 years of practice, telephone companies
still cannot seem to get it right. In a study of clients
over a five-year period, TelCon
Associates found that 77.4% were incorrectly charged
on one or more of their telecom bills. The bulk of these
errors were uncovered primarily for local and intralata
services.
While
the percentage of errors is high, billing errors usually
account for only a small portion of total savings during
telecommunications
audits.
Nevertheless,
it is a good idea to be familiar with the most common errors
that will appear on your local telephone bills. Keep in
mind that errors may take the form of "overbilling"
and/or "underbilling".
Routine
examination of your local phone bills will, sooner or later,
turn up the one or more of the following most common types
of errors:
#1
- Intermittent Errors
Intermittent
errors are just as the name implies - they appear on a non-regular
basis. This type of error is usually associated with the
"Other Charges and Credits" pages of the phone
bill. Examples of intermittent errors may include:
-
Other charges and credits for installation or changes
are often found to be incorrect, especially for services
provided under many negotiated deals or contracts.
- Incorrect
applications for refunds or credit adjustments is another
typical intermittent error. Surprisingly, you may find
this error soon after your carrier representative has
agreed to the refund or credit!
- Charges
for uncompleted calls are sometimes found on billings
from two types of vendors-resellers using feature group
A connections to carrier central offices, and vendors
that are reselling service from a virtual private network.
- Facility
malfunctions can result in you being charged for lines
that are not working resulting in higher charges for usage
forced onto other lines or services.
Recurring
errors are the result of incorrect information and data
in the vendors' customer service records. These types
of errors can be very costly simply because they appear
each and every month until they are corrected.
Examples
may include: inventory discrepancies, contract discrepancies,
differences in tariff or rating regarding grade of service,
mileage charges, enhancements, etc.
Recurring
errors are not as easily uncovered as are intermittent
errors. This type of error can only be corrected through
a thorough audit of customer
service records. A routine examination of phone bills
will not reveal all recurring errors.
#3
- Tax Errors
Tax
errors are most commonly associated with exemptions or
incorrect taxing districts. When facilities are taxed
incorrectly, the associated usage charges may also be
taxed incorrectly. Examples of tax errors may include:
For
more basic information on telecom taxes, refer to this newsletter
article - Understanding
the Taxes Imposed on Telecom Bills.
#4
- Metering and Database Errors
These
types of errors are commonly associated with local and
long-distance calling charges. They can occur through
metering malfunctions or clerical transcription errors.
Examples include:
#5
- Telecom Agent Errors
Agent
errors continue to be a problem as more and more agents
are accepting either partial or end-to-end responsibility
for service segments provided by vendors.
Agent
misfeasance occurs when a supplier orders or assumes responsibility
for service segments provided by several different carriers
or vendors, then fails to exercise responsibility for
those services. Examples may include:
Telecom
billing errors will never disappear. However, even a little
knowledge in what kinds of errors to look for can go a long
way in reducing telecom expenses.
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The
5 Most Common Telephone Billing Errors
