Capturing loose traffic

If you have loose traffic, immediately inform your local carrier and your long-distance carrier. To get rid of loose traffic, the following steps, listed in order of urgency, should be followed:

- Change your PIC code. Make your local carrier change the PIC code on your lines, both in its billing system and at the central office. Then have the company put a PIC freeze on all lines.

- Add the lines to your long-distance account. Ensure that your longdistance carrier is aware of the line numbers. Make sure it adds the line numbers to your main account.

- Dispute the charges. Dispute the charges with your local carrier. You have the option of withholding payment for these charges. The local carrier will not disconnect your local lines for nonpayment of another carrier’s charges.

- Negotiate a refund. Negotiate a refund of the overcharges with the carrier that charged you. If the loose traffic is due to a carrier error, insist that it issue an invoice credit equal to 100% of the charges. The carrier will probably refuse to issue a full refund, but it will agree to rerate the traffic and issue a partial refund.

Although these are simple steps, many things can go wrong when trying to eliminate loose traffic. It has been my experience that a business with 10 or more locations will have loose traffic almost every month. A wise customer checks his bills every month for discrepancies, especially loose traffic errors.

Loose traffic rerate credits
Ift a customer has had his long distance billed as loose traffic, he is usually entitled to a refund. Unless the problem is the customer’s fault, customers should not be required to pay more than they would have normally paid if the long-distance calls had been billed correctly. Loose traffic happens for a variety of reasons, and it may be impossible to figure out how it happened and who is at fault. If you cannot convince the carrier that it is the company’s fault that you were overbilled, the carrier will resist giving a refund. The customer should steer the negotiation away from faultfinding and concentrate on the fact that the rates paid were too high and unfair.

Loose traffic may only involve two carriers: your local carrier and your authorized long-distance carrier. At other times, however, three carriers may be involved: the local carrier, your authorized long-distance carrier, and another long-distance carrier. If you have been slammed, however, it is likely that a fourth company has joined the party—a billing company. Billing companies such as USBI and Enhanced Services Billing (ESBI) are legitimate companies that handle the billing for fraudulent companies such as NOS and Hold. What follows is an example of how carriers operate using Luigi’s Automotive Supply, a fictional Los Angeles company.

Luigi’s local carrier is SBC Communications. Sprint is his long-distance carrier. A representative from Scamco Long Distance places an order with SBC to switch Luigi’s long distance to Scamco. Because Scamco is a small new company with no billing agreement with SBC, Scamco has USBI process the billing. USBI represents hundreds of small telecom carriers and has a shared-billing arrangement with SBC. SBC is happy to make the change because it keeps a portion of the billing. In this fictional, but nonetheless realistic, example Luigi has four phone companies to deal with: SBC, Sprint, USBI, and Scamco. Table 8.2 shows how Luigi’s long distance cost has drastically increased as a result of the slam.

The full recourse option
If the customer cannot negotiate a refund, a full recourse of the charges can be requested with the local carrier. Explain to your local carrier that you are disputing the full amount of the charges billed by the fraudulent company. Be sure to exclude that amount from payment of your local carrier’s bill.

The local carrier then notifies the fraudulent carrier that the charges are being disputed, and the fraudulent carrier has a limited time (usually 60 days) to respond. Fraudulent carriers usually do not respond, and the local carrier credits the customer’s bill in the full amount.

Unethical phone companies rarely fight these disputes. In fact, many fraudulent companies are so eager to avoid customer complaints to the FCC that could result in stiff fines that they readily offer refund credits. Their phone greeting is practically “Thanks for calling Scamco, would you like a refund?”

Collect calls
Collect calls are handled by AT&T, WorldCom, Sprint, and a host of collect call niche providers. The charges for these calls usually appear in the last pages of the local bill.

Collect calls are fairly straightforward: You call collect and the person you called is charged. Encourage your employees to use 800 numbers or calling cards instead of calling collect. You can also block collect calls with the local phone company. This forces the caller to use another method to complete the call. But this is not a solution for everybody. Organizations such as law enforcement, hospitals, bail bondsmen, and lawyers regularly receive important collect calls.

900 calls
900 calls are expensive because the caller is paying for the information given by the 900 provider in addition to the long-distance charges associated with the call. Almost all 900 calling is billed on the local bill. In this way, the call is handled much the same as collect calls. 900 services are usually provided by the big long-distance companies. If you call a 900 number, you will probably see a charge from AT&T on your local bill.

900 calling has a well-earned stigma, but some of the calling is legitimate, such as technical support centers that use 900 numbers. If you have determined that your business does not need 900 calling, call your local phone company and have it block all 900 and 976 calling. 976 numbers function like 900 numbers but are based in your local market.

The block is ineffective against some 900 numbers, however, because they are accessed by dialing an 800 number first. 900 service providers are aware that most businesses block 900 dialing through their PBX or through the local carrier’s central office, so they have invented a way to get past this obstacle. A caller dials an 800 number to get past the PBX, and then the call is transferred to the 900 number.

Miscellaneous monthly fees
If loose traffic, slamming, collect calls, and 900 calls are not bad enough, local bills are now fair game for a whole host of miscellaneous fees. The charges already described are all usage-based, but fees are a fixed expense each month. I have seen businesses waste thousands of dollars a year on fees that should have been canceled.

Some fees are legitimate, such as charges for voice mail, Internet access, and Web site hosting. Vendors that supply these services choose to do their billing through the local phone company because it makes collecting their money easier. As long as the customer verifies the charges on the bills each month, misbilling should be minimal.

A big problem for customers is that phone companies charge fees as a part of almost every service. Customers moving their loose traffic from their local bill to their main long-distance account will still be billed a monthly service fee of $5 to $20 just to maintain an account with the old carrier. Some carriers bill a monthly fee for each individual line on the account. Not only is it important to move the traffic, it is also necessary to inform the carrier to cancel the account.

Cramming
Cramming is the process of adding services or fees to a customer’s phone bill without permission. The services are often legitimate, but the customer does not want them. A local phone company representative may have added them intentionally or accidentally. Customer service representatives are often paid a commission on each additional service they sell a customer.

Another way to accumulate fees is to make collect calls or 900 calls. Some 900 numbers, when called just one time, will enroll the caller into a monthly “membership” program. If one of your employees calls a psychic line one time, you may be enrolled as a member. Your local bill will then include a $50 membership fee each month.

Many unethical companies add monthly fees to your local bill and provide nothing in return. They deceptively give the fee a legitimate sounding name, such as “network management” or “call reporting.” When the average accounts payable clerk sees the charge, she simply pays the bill rather than question the charges.

The key to avoiding or reducing the risk of cramming, slamming, collect calls, and 900 calls is to spend a few minutes each month scanning your local bills. Large companies should consider hiring an outside consulting firm for a telecom audit once a year. Discrepancies should be corrected immediately. Be firm with carriers and insist on refunds.