 |
 |
There are thousands of cases of horror stories, or poor
choices involving phone bills. It is becoming more difficult
to keep up with all of the billing options, features and
plans. These are some of the stories taking place today.
|
 |
Minutes
that appear late on bills vex cell phone users
Carriers
blame roaming issues, glitches in billing
By
Andrew Backover
USA TODAY
The
cell phone calls you made months ago might come back to haunt
you.
As
wireless customers buy monthly plans that give them a set
number of minutes, some are unknowingly busting through their
caps. That's because the calls may not show up on bills until
months later - putting even careful callers over their limits.
Billing
glitches and delays are to blame, carriers say. But consumer
advocates say users shouldn't pay the price. "It's a
fundamental unfairness," says Gene Kimmelman of Consumers
Union. "If your minutes don't show up in the month that
you use them, how can you budget for wireless service?"
Scrutinizing
corporate telecom billing pays off
By Jan R. Costello
American City Business Journals Inc.
Contributing Writer
In the last five years, Rhodes Furniture, a national chain based
in Atlanta, has cut its telecom bills in half, saving more than
$500,000. How? By meticulously scrutinizing its data service
charges, getting refunds for billing errors and negotiating
more favorable contracts.
"It
made me look like a hero," said Richard Hunt, Rhodes'
vice president of information technology.
With
102 stores and distribution centers from the Great Plains
to the East Coast, Rhodes was spending close to $1 million
a year on private data lines alone. Hunt called in Global
Solutions Inc., an Atlanta telecom auditing firm, to check
the bills and cut a new contract.
Global
Solutions Inc. President Erny Bonistall said 80 percent of
the companies his firm audits have billing problems. The company
reports saving clients close to $30 million in the last seven
years, cutting telecom costs an average of 23 percent per
client.
Why
Georgia Businesses Pay Too Much For Telecom
Published February 2002 TechLinks
By Erny C. Bonistall
Global Solutions, Inc.
Global
Solutions, Inc., the leader in telecom cost reduction, has
compiled the top 10 reasons the company views Georgia businesses
paying too much for their telecommunications expenses. The
results are based on audits, contract evaluations, and negotiations
performed by GSI.
“It is amazing to me to see businesses still trying to
negotiate their own telecommunications services, as well as
actually paying the bills without first having a proven third
party telecommunications consulting firm audit and verify
that the bills are correct. In fact, most of the clients that
I talk with don’t even understand their own home telephone
bills,” states Ernest R. Bonistall, President and Chairman
of Global Solutions, Inc.
|
