Disputing your cell phone bill helps avoid unnecessary charges on
your bill. Many times a simple phone call to you mobile phone
company can save you a lot of money.
- Have a copy of your bill in front of you and know the specific
parts of your bill you are disputing.
- Decide up front what the ideal bill reduction would be, and
what you would be happy to settle with. Recognize that if the
charges are valid, you may not receive a credit.
- Call the cell phone company's customer support number. Often
you can short cut the touch tone prompt maze by pressing 0. Read
how to actually reach a
human when calling a business.
- Start with "I have a question about my bill." If you open with
an accusation then they will be on the defensive. Get them to look
at your bill and see what you are concerned about. It is possible
that after you point it out, they may notice it is a mistake on
their own and fix it without you asking - possible, but not
likely.
- Write down the name of the agent helping you, and keep specific
notes of any commitments they make to you. Legally, a
representative does not need to give you their whole name but does
need to provide a valid employee identifier such as a login ID
number or telephone extension number. If the rep gives you an
"extension number" be sure to obtain the state or region of their
call center, so that the extension is actually useful.
- Direct them to the specific problem and explain why you think
it is wrong. Focus on one issue at a time to expedite the call.
Often if one problem is resolved it automatically fixes
others.
- If you are actually at fault then explain that the extra
charges are a hardship and you would really appreciate it if they
could help you out. They will often reduce charges if you ask
nicely, but don't expect the carrier to take responsibility for
your usage. Credits such as this are seldom issued more than once
in any 12-month period. More likely you will be given "courtesy
airtime" as that is less expensive to offer.
- Ask for the ideal bill reduction you want. Negotiate civilly if
they don't give you at least the minimum you are willing to settle
on.
- Call again at a different time if speaking with a customer
service agent doesn't work at first. However "Rep Shopping" as this
is called usually doesn't work unless the next representative
completely fails to read the notes placed on your account by the
previous "rep." Each representative has the same resources,
obligations, and guidelines to work within.
- Try speaking with a manager but only if the representative
can't provide a satisfactory conclusion after investigating all
possibilities. Alternatively, you can ask the representative to ask
a manager on your behalf, since many managers have limited time
available to talk with customers. Also, if the agent in particular
is being courteous, let them know so they won't get defensive that
you want to talk to a supervisor.
- Mail a letter to the company and follow up within a few weeks
to see if they have received the letter and have processed it. In
general with all sorts of companies, this can be a slow,
frustrating process. Written replies from companies often are
formulaic and do not address an individual problem well. Some
people prefer contacting (see below) the BBB and FCC for better,
faster action.
- Contact the Better Business Bureau only as a last resort. They
will send a complaint letter to the company and ask for a formal
explanation. Some companies care about their ratings in the Better
Business Bureau and will strive to make the needed changes if you
were treated unfairly.
- For action that really gets attention (usually within a month),
complain to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). It's easy:
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html. The FCC
regulates the companies; therefore, the phone companies hate to
have complaints there, especially unresolved ones. Complaining to
the FCC helps the agency spot company-wide problems and will help
you personally.
- Bonus Tip: If you want to prevent cell phone overages on your
plan. There is a new free website that will monitor your minutes
for you and email or text you as soon as you go over. This way, you
can upgrade to a higher plan, or be very conservative with your
minutes. www.overmyminutes.com.
- Stay calm. Be nice, courteous and friendly. Say please and
thank-you. Offer to give compliments to a manager for a job
well-done or an especially good tone and demeanor.
- If you are out of contract (not under an X year commitment)
then you have more control.
- Always write down the resolution, the name of the person you
talked to and the date and time you talked to them. If you can, get
their extension and/or ID number.
- Customer service representatives receive extensive, on-going
training working for all major wireless providers and do have the
knowledge to help or can readily research it if you provide
complete, clear information and can assist with troubleshooting any
issues.
- The mobile phone companies calculate the profitability of each
customer based on tenure, rate plan fees and discounts given for
service or equipment. This means that users on higher cost rate
plans usually get bigger credits or discounts.
- Your service agreement details how credits may apply. For
example, all major carriers will credit 100% if the problem is
their fault, but may give just 50% (or less) for unintentional
misinformation or misunderstanding.
- Pay your bill on time so when you call they see you as a
valuable customer.
- Point out that you have been with them X years and that you
always pay your bill on time. That is more effective than
threatening to switch.
- Maybe you might be willing to commit to a new contract, or
extend the one you are on. Let them know if you are.
- Sometimes an adjustment to the bill can take weeks to occur.
Ask about the expected turnaround time and keep in mind that
credits don't always apply to the current balance but may reduce
the amount owed on a future bill. Paying less than the amount due
results in a "balance forward" that doesn't readily appear to be
offset by the credit but the amount is the same in the long
run.
- Ask the representative to put a note on your account of any
price quotes and charge adjustments you are promised. This is your
only way of proving what you were verbally told during the call.
Notes are standard practice with major providers and the
representatives can be penalized for not noting the account. You
should separately record the time, date and the person who you
spoke with each time that you called, and their extension/ID
number. Note any details about what the customer service
representative said about your situation and definitely record any
case numbers that are associated with your issue.
- At Sprint do not ask for a manager. Ask for a Team Lead. They
have the ability to override a person's credit and give out
'retention' bonuses to try and keep you a paying customer. Sprint
also has 2 different kinds of 'Consumer General' customer support.
Some of the agents you may speak to are not Sprint employees but
work for a vendor. Those agents do not have all the access that a
Sprint employee does. They may say they work for Sprint but ask if
they work for a vendor company.
- Nextel (now merged with Sprint) also outsources much of their
care to outside vendors. These representatives are empowered to
credit & adjust as much as an actual Nextel employee, but do
not have access to the same research tools. Sometimes the lack of
information will work in your favor, but also be prepared to wait
longer for certain requests to be processed due to this (changing
to a promotional plan, for instance, or adding courtesy
minutes).
- Ask the representative to review the elements that make up your
account so other surprises won't appear on future bills. Sometimes
a feature doesn't bill immediately because of a promotional period
but may show charges in a couple months.
- Ask for the Cancellation Department. Sometimes the customer
service department doesn't have enough power to make the
corrections you want. The cancellation department representatives
usually have more power to keep you as a customer, and can usually
cut you a better deal.
- Try taking the bill in to the company's store in your city. The
sale representatives there can often give the same credits or
discounts as the national customer support team and its often
easier to explain your problem in person rather then over the
phone.
- If you are on a GSM based network and all other steps above
have failed you can asked the operator to send you not only the
itemised bill but the actual call records. In some countries the
operator has the legal obligation to provide these call records,
and might decide it is cheaper to give you the credit rather than
go and search for your call records. Don't get fobbed off by the
itemised bill, ask for the MAP (Mobile Application Protocol) call
records.
[edit]
Warnings
- Avoid making idle threats. Try not to get worked up or resort
to begging.
- No service provider can be responsible for overages. They
provide the service and it is up to you as to how it is used. Be
sure you know how to check on your usage during the billing period.
This is usually available through the provider's Web site. Cingular
Wireless subscribers can dial *646# then press the <send>
button on the mobile device to receive a free text message that
details usage for that phone. Users on shared plans may need to
check individually. For T-mobile you can use #646# and Send for
your minute usage and #674# and Send for text messages sent and
received during your billing month. No provider promises to have
usage updates that are fresher than 24-72 hours if your call take
place while using their network though the information is usually
current.
- For Sprint the check your minutes of use is *4 and Nextel is
612.
- Calls while roaming outside your coverage area or
internationally can be delayed by as much as 30 days. Disputing
these charges is not usually effective.
- Asking for a bill reduction via email does not seem to
work.
- Have a legitimate reason for calling. Most customer service
representatives can tell the difference between someone who truly
needs a break and someone who is just cheap.
[edit]
Sources and Citations
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