New Website Uncovers Hidden Overcharges On Your Phone Bill - Brief Article

Cambridge Telcom Report, March 27, 2000

Refund2you.com is a new consumer advocacy telecommunications billing consultant that assists clients by uncovering hidden errors in their telephone bills.

Refund2you.com was developed after evaluating various businesses' phone bills and discovering 98 percent contained errors that resulted in a refund to the consumer.

Refund2you.com has learned that many billing errors occur because of complicated billing statements. Both local and long distance phone companies use codes, referred to as USOC, to represent charges. These codes are then translated, often inaccurately, by computer software and used to create a report, called a Customer Service Report (CSR), which in turn is used to create your bill. Each service provider may use its own unique set of codes, calculations, and billing format. As a result, bills are often ambiguous and confusing. Most phone companies pass the responsibility of reporting inaccurate billing onto the consumer. Business owners often can not afford to take the time to learn the meanings of all the codes, decipher their bills, and then work with providers to eliminate possible overcharges.

Refund2you.com makes the process simple. Managers can go online to www.refund2you.com, submit an application, and choose between several different service options. Refund2you.com typically works with companies that have monthly phone bills over $1,000. Other characteristics include having more than two phone lines or a PBX/trunk system and being at the same location with the same phone number(s) for several years.

Refund2you.com cites several case studies to illustrate the severity of phone overcharges:

-- One business paid long-distance charges on three phone lines that were not associated with their business for over five years. The total overcharges amounted to more than $7000!

-- A small business paid the long-distance charges for a line belonging to another business in the neighborhood for 18 months.

-- A client paid for touch-tone and hunting charges on lines that had been disconnected nearly four years earlier.

-- A client had made telephone equipment lease payments 38 months after the leased equipment had been returned.

"There are many types of overcharges, some of which are very difficult to spot by persons not specially trained in bill evaluations," said Chad Bouldin, Director of Business Development at Refund2you.com. "Also, many bills contain more than one type of overcharge. This is why companies benefit by hiring professionals to review their monthly statements."

If Refund2you.com finds an overcharge that results in a refund, a flat rate consulting fee of 50 percent of the total refund is charged to the business owner. Bouldin stated, "This is a win/win situation. If we find errors, you get a refund. If we don't find errors, there is no charge whatsoever and you get the peace of mind knowing no mistakes are being made on your bill."

Refund2you.com is also in the process of developing an affiliate referral program that will pay a 2.5 percent commission on a refund referred by businesses, such as e-zines and current customers. For more information about the company, visit their website at www.refund2you.com, call Michele Johnson at 719-520-5595 x4, or email info@refund2you.com.Refund2you.com is located at 1755 Presidential Heights, Suite 222, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906. DigitalWork ( http://www.digitalwork.com )