Suit charges AT&T overcharges as much as 300% for iPhone data
Isn't AT&T the one that overestimated data use on wired nets by 4,700%? Yes, it was.
Read the entire article written by Kevin Fogarty May 20, 2010, on IT World, and watch the video on MSN. The lawsuit claims AT&T routinely overcharges for data usages for every single transaction and no undercharges, or credits were found. One client cited that their charges were billed at night when they were asleep. Hendricks said he hired an independent consulting firm to measure the overcharges, including testing one iPhone after turning off all push notifications, location services and all other apps or services that could be expected to check in to the network for regular updates.

The consultants let the phone sit for ten days, turned on but not being used. AT&T allegedly billed for 2,292KB of data the phone is supposed to have used during that time.

Fogarty continues “Charges per month added up to about $15 more than they should have been, the suit alleges. There are about 20 million iPhones and iPads connected to AT&T's network. If the charge on overcharging is true, that's $300 million in straight profit to AT&T. That doesn't sound like the kind of accuracy business or consumer customers would be happy to see in their net-access billing. It also doesn't sound like the kind of self-knowledge necessary for consumers, businesses or regulators to trust that AT&T is being honest and accurate in its imposition and policing of data caps. It's the kind of abuse you'd expect the FCC and FTC to get interested in and investigate aggressively as part of their mission to protect consumers against exploitation by companies with near-monopolies in their industries.

So far, though, the FCC continues to sit on the sidelines.”

T-Mobile Apology for Billing Error and Overcharges
UK mobile firm T-Mobile apologized for an error that saw thousands of customers charged for calls they did not make. This billing problem may have affected 4% of T-Mobile's customers, all of whom will be fully refunded. According to a recent BBC Mobile report T-Mobile says this occurred due to a "glitch in our billing systems". T-Mobile said the problem was down to a technical error. "Some T-Mobile customers wrongly received call forwarding charges when they used their voicemail," the firm said in a statement. "This problem has now been fixed. We'll be fully refunding every customer affected by this, a process which has already begun. We're really sorry and wholeheartedly apologise to any customers who have been affected by this issue," it added.

FCC Uncovers Mystery Fees inside Verizon Wireless bills up to $90 Million in Refunds Expected
Over 15 Million customers will get money back from Verizon! This report seems farfetched, so we dug into the evidence. Our story comes from two reliable sources, an October 3rd, 2010 Verizon Press Release, and an October 3rd, 2010 FCC Press Release. The FCC broadcast "We can confirm reports of an FCC investigation into mystery fees that appeared on Verizon Wireless bills costing over 15 million Americans tens of millions of dollars. Reportedly, Verizon itself has put the amount of overcharges at more than fifty [.....]


Do Your Homework Before Outsourcing Telecom

Millions of dollars are lost each day in telecom billing errors and some of them are entitled to refunds. Have you ever cancelled a line and heard the disconnected tone only to find out months later that the billing never stopped? This is a simple billing error but it's tiny compared with the volumes we find in tariff violations and over-billing. Now the area you are in, any contracts or agreements signed, and the tariff determine whether you will be eligible for a refund. Many people are under the impression that any mistake found on their phone bills qualifies for a refund on all the overcharges. Unfortunately, this just isn't true. The Phone [.....]


Auditel Inc. of Florida asks “How Many Errors Are in Your Phone Bills?”

Auditel Inc. of Florida (www.auditelinc.com) desires to educate the business and government communities on one important fact; they are almost certainly paying for errors in their telecom bills. USA Today, July 31, 2003, reporter Andrew Backover noted, "Phone company billing complaints jumped 5,523 in the first three months of 2003, up 65% from a year earlier, the Federal Communications Commission says." In the same article, SBC says, "Most often, customer complaints center on being overcharged, rising fees and confusing bills." "We have found most companies don't have a trained billing auditor, and most have never had a detailed [.....]


The Worst Telecom Expense Management Ever?

If your company doesn't identify billing errors they will continue to pay them forever. Some contracts stipulate a term on refunds of 60 days. It's time to have a telecom expense management team working on your invoices to determine your strategy, eliminate waste, and obtain savings. Barbara Clements, President of Auditel Inc. says "We've found that most companies put little thought into billing errors, they focus on contracts. This leaves so much room for billing errors, mistakes in line inventory, and the list goes on, and on with possible overcharges." CFO’s, CEO’s, Controllers, and Telecom Managers are getting thoroughly frustrated. [.....]


Telecom Expense Management, Bill Cost Reduction Solutions

There is absolutely nothing to lose with a telecom bill audit. We also offer telecom expense management. We begin with telecom refunds and provide solution. We can decrease your 2011 telecom budget without selling you anything. We can place disputes for our clients and have found over $100M to date on phone lines, features, cell phones, frame relay, data circuits, surcharges and taxes. We can put you in control of your invoices, you can be certain you are paying accurate telecom tariff. Telecom expense management and telecom refund /recovery requires persistent hard work and years of investigative experience. For over 18 years we have been auditing telecom invoices with proven results. Our research finds involuntary overpayments to telcos, [.....]


Telecom Survival Guide News

If your business still gets its phone service through the old "Ma Bell" local phone company (as opposed to one of the newer competitive phone providers) then you need to double check your phone bill each and every month for charges you did not authorize. You may not know it but the local phone company allows other companies to bill you through your local phone bill. And while the local phone company allows other businesses to bill you through your local phone bill, the local phone company does not verify that the charges being billed to you by the other company are valid. When these unauthorized charges fraudulently appear on your phone bill it's called "cramming". [.....]


Is Your Telecom Technology Up to Date?

If you think you are overwhelmed by telephone bills and contracts as a consumer, how do you think Corporations keep track of their phone bills? If you can’t be certain all your telephone calls on your bills are correct, just imagine having tens of thousands of bills paid monthly without anyone reviewing them or analyzing them! Most Fortune 500 Companies don’t have a dedicated telecom auditor on staff and they rely on the information they obtain from their carriers. Over the past 14 years we’ve seen only a handful of Corporations with an accurate inventory of all their phone and data lines. Do you think Corporations and mid sized companies have time to check their advertised lines monthly, or even annually? I've disclosed several opportunities above, but I think you may still be skeptical so here are further details. [.....]


What Can Your Company Gain by having a What Can Your Company Gain by having a Telecommunication Bill Audit? Bill Audit?

Barbara Clements, President of Auditel, Inc. says “Millions of dollars are lost each day in telecom billing errors and many of those are entitled to refunds. After analyzing a large newspaper’s telecom bills we found 52% in refunds! Another example is a large medical supply firm’s audit produced $2.5 million in telecom expense reduction. Your company is most certainly paying for more errors than you think. Have you ever cancelled a line and heard the disconnected tone only to find out months later that the billing never stopped? Are you getting the most from your telecom department? Assuming most of their time is spent on keeping your services operational [.....]


Why Have a Telecom Audit? Are you getting the telecom services you’re paying for, or just paying for what you get?

It’s becoming more common for companies to outsource their phone and telecom bills to bill processing companies for bill payment and auditing services. While it can be efficient and convenient you must be certain the company you chose can do the job you require. If not, you may become isolated from what’s really happening within your telecom expenses. You must be able to trust the accuracy of all the reports. Having your Telecom BPO independently reviewed is to your advantage. Make sure to hire an unbiased telecom professional by contacting many references. [.....]