My Phone Bill

**lizard22** · 09-17-2006, 08:24 AM

I was looking over my phone bill last month an noticed all of these 'extra's' that we don't use. Things like voice mail etc., so I call the company to have them taken off in an effort to reduce my monthly bill.

The woman was great. She explained that they were part of the package and if I removed them I would no longer have the package and in turn, pay more. I asked if there was another way to reduce the amount. She checked all the promotions and found one that fit our needs at a $20.00 savings per month. The best part is that I had to upgrade my DSL service with faster speed to get this discounted rate. I'm thinking this is great, faster service and a $20.00 per month for the next year.

Well the bill came yesterday and was $40.00 higher than usaul. I call them immediately and tell them about the mistake. They appologize and also tell me I'm not the only one this happened to. They have credited my account the $40 and will honor the lower price for 13 months instead of 12.

Remember to always check your bills after you have made a change of service on any of your utilities. The "oops" factor is very common and sometimes I think they try and see if you realize the mistake. I wonder how many people blindly pay the bill and are overcharged each month.

**dwallyfam** · 09-17-2006, 08:41 AM

Congrats on saving money on the phone bill

**cspp04** · 09-17-2006, 08:45 AM

good that you noticed the extra on your bill! i check all of my bills when they come in.

as for phone features......i bought a phone with an answering machine attached for a one time expense of $70, then i cancelled my call-answer service. that feature alone cost me $7/mth. since my answering machine is digital it doesnt require tapes or anything to keep it going. in less than a year my phone has paid for itself and i have saved the monthly fees.

if i could have gotten away with having no answering machine i would be saving more. unfortunately, life is busy for a family and having people leave messages is great....they can't hardly get ahold of us otherwise! lol

**couponchic** · 09-17-2006, 01:26 PM

Smart lady! I had the same thing happen to me when I changed the features on my plan. They overcharged and I caught it. They were nice about correcting the problem, but I think it is very common that it happens.