Making Sense of Your Phone Bill

2007-01-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

As recently cited on CBS's 60-Minutes, many long distance carriers are billing you for MORE than the rate they quote you. How so? The are not only billing you for the metered rate per minute, but they are also adding fees, surcharges, and in some cases, even marking up FCC charges above and beyond the government's mandates. Heck, sometimes, carriers even MAKE FEES UP and charge them to you.

Most people just pay their bill rather than scrutinize it. This common practice is making telecom companies extra millions of dollars. Don't become one of these people. Research your bill and see EXACTLY what you are paying. Below we provide you with an brief explanation of many common taxes and surcharges that appear on long distance phone bills.

Municipal charge: This fee is charged by your local municipality to defray the costs of community services such as the local Emergency Services (911) operation.

Number portability service charge: A Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-approved charge that pays for the administrative costs incurred by your local phone company in allowing you to switch long distance carriers.

Universal Service Charge or USF: This fee is put into the Universal Service Fund, which helps make telephone service available to everyone, including low-income customers, customers in high cost rural areas and to serve customers with disabilities. More recently this fund has been used to wire schools, libraries and hospitals for access to the Internet.

Presubscribed interexchange carrier charge (PICC): Long distance companies pay these charges to local telephone companies for access to their local phone networks. The FCC regulates the price but does not require that long distance companies pass the charges on to customers. As a result, some long distance companies pass this cost directly onto their customers while others include it in the per-minute charges.

Subscriber line charge (SLC): A charge similar to the PICC, the SLC is billed to you by your local phone company instead of your long distance carrier.

Are there still charges on your bill that you do not recognize? Click Here For More Info and we'll do our best to help you.

Four Easy Ways to Lower Your Cheap Long Distance Phone Bill

2007-01-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

Introduction

Though most of these companies offer excellent deals, no single rate plan is best for everyone. Be sure to compare these programs carefully to determine which plan is the best for you. Some tips on choosing the right long distance program for your needs:

Check for monthly service charges. If you have a relatively small T1 connection long distance bill, even a monthly service charge of $3-$6 may make a huge difference in how much you actually save. Consumers spending less than $20 monthly should generally look for a plan that has no monthly service charges.

Check for monthly minimums. Some carriers have a minimum amount that they will bill you for, otherwise your bill will be raised to that amount. If you are a low biller, make sure that you will spend at least as much as the monthly minimum, taking discounted rates into consideration.

Check your intrastate rate. If you make many calls within your state, it is important to choose a rate plan which gives you the best rate for in-state calls. Some programs will lure you with a low interstate (state-to-state) rate, but will hit you with high charges to make calls just a few miles away. Make sure that you take intrastate rates into account when choosing your service provider.

Check billing increments. This is a must for those who use the phone for business long distance , faxes and make many short phone calls. Most long distance carriers simply "round up" the charge for your phone calls to the next full minute. If your call lasts 1 minute and 5 seconds, you will probably be billed for two minutes. Full minute billing does not affect most residential customers who make calls lasting an average of 6 minutes or more that greatly. However, if you make many short duration calls, it pays to find a long distance carrier who bills in T1 line connection six second increments. Be sure to check the fine print.

Cheapest Long Distance Telephone Services

Making Sense of Your Phone Bill

Four Easy Ways to Lower Your Cheap Long Distance Phone Bill