Odds are if you have telephone service, you've probably had an erroneous bill or two ... or more.Several competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) have told me horror stories about their prospective business customers being double-billed or charged for services they don't receive from their current providers. One CLEC executive recently told me he was auditing the bills for a customer he was trying to lure away from the incumbent telco and found more than $18,000 in overcharges that had occurred over the course of several years.
Consumers, too, are frustrated by the confusing bills telcos send them. The Federal Communica-tions Commission (FCC) received so many complaints last year that in mid-April it adopted "truth-in-billing" guidelines to which wireline and wireless providers must abide.
For "truth-in-writing," I must admit that I'm bringing up this topic mainly out of guilt. In January, I received a bill for four months worth of integrated services digital network (ISDN) service from a certain Bell company that operates along the Atlantic Ocean. This was a little odd because I never used this telco's ISDN service. Sure, I had ordered the service in July 1998, but then cancelled it a week later, well before the scheduled installation date. A quick phone call to the telco's customer service department verified that, in fact, I did not have ISDN service, and I should disregard the bill. That was that ... or so I thought.
In early February, I got a letter from the telco stating I was due a refund for the ISDN service I cancelled. Strange, especially since I never paid a penny for the service. That notice joined the bill in the circular file.
Two weeks later, though, I got a check for $378.50 from my telco. Curiously enough, that was the same amount I would have owed had I actually used the ISDN service for four months. Rather than ripping up the check, I decided to call my telco and ask about this. After explaining my story to three incredulous customer service reps (CSRs), a fourth CSR examined my account records and told me there was no reason why I shouldn't keep, and cash, the check. Cha-ching!
But not all consumers have made more money from their telco's billing mistake than they've pulled down in a good night at the slots in Vegas.
In most cases, the billing errors are in favor of the telco. For example, a friend of mine, who is also a telecom reporter, decided to try one of the new kids on the block--Princeton, N.J.-based RCN Corp., which is reselling Philadelphia-based Bell Atlantic Corp. service in the Washington area. During the months that he stuck with RCN, he was consistently billed for services he didn't have. And even after talking with the CSRs, who promised to make amends, his bill was still wrong. Unable to get satisfaction, he switched back to his original phone provider.
Billing is, in my humble opinion, one of the most important aspects of back-office systems. It doesn't matter if you're a new entrant or a long-established telco. If you can't bill properly, you don't bring in revenue. If you constantly send your customers incorrect bills, they won't remain with you for long--unless, of course, the error is in their favor!
By the way, thanks, Bell Atlantic, for a down payment on a plane ticket to Hawaii. I'll think of you fondly as I sip a Mai Tai on Waikiki Beach in December ... but don't expect a postcard.
