Long-distance pricing : One-time charges

When you make changes to your long-distance account, beware of one-time charges. These charges are often listed on the bill as “set-up charges” or “installation charges.” Even if the amount of the charges is correct, carriers can almost always waive one-time charges. They are not always willing to waive these charges, but they are almost always capable of waiving the charges.

Because one-time charges are manually entered into the billing computers, the chance for human error is great. A manufacturer in the Midwest recently experienced a significant billing error with its carrier. The company added T-1 service in its domestic facility and at one of its Latin American facilities. The associated one-time charges should have been $1,060. These charges were never quoted to the company in advance because it routinely adds service at its various facilities, and the company trusted that the carrier would always bill it correctly.

When the company received its bill from the carrier, the charge was $106,000. The amazing part of the story is that the customer paid the bill and only months later began to question the charges. Its regular monthly bill was over $100,000 each month, and the extra $106,000 was not significant enough to immediately draw attention. When the company first questioned the carrier, the carrier’s representative simply explained that the charge was a one-time charge for installation of the T-1 in Latin America, and that charges in Latin America are higher than they are domestically. After months of research, and hiring a consultant, the puzzle was finally solved.

One of the carrier’s representatives explained that the overbilling was due to a simple data entry error. The person typing in the order accidentally typed in $106,000 instead of $1,060. Once the carrier admitted its error, it put a refund credit on the customer’s next invoice.


One-time charges