AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
Cell-phone bills: how to decipher them.(CR Money)(telephone billing systems)
It's easy to feel as if you've been had when you receive your cell-phone bill each month. You chose your monthly service plan for its $29.99 advertised price, not to mention that free nifty flip phone. But with all the taxes and unexpected fees and surcharges tacked on, you pay far more than that amount. The extras can add some 20 percent to your monthly tab, and that's on top of any charges for minutes you used over your plan limit. So what exactly are all those charges? Here's a quick guide to sorting out the fee clutter broken down into four basic categories, which may be summarized on one page of your bill. Note that you might also get socked with hefty one-time penalties for starting a new cell-phone service--the so-called activation fee (up to $36)--or for terminating a plan before the contract expires (as much as $200), not to mention charges for paying late or for downloading ring tones and games. (You can find more information on understanding cellphone bills as well as tips on lodging complaints about them at www.hearusnow.org, a new Consumers Union Web site.)
1 MONTHLY SERVICE CHARGE It's what you saw advertised and includes extras you added to your plan, such as unlimited text or photo messaging, which may be listed separately on your bill. Plans can range from $19.99 a month to $299.99 a month excluding taxes, depending on the geo graphical coverage, minute amount, am extra services you choose. (Voice mail typically comes standard on monthly plans.)
2 USAGE CHARGES This section can include a wide variety of charges. It might also have a detailed summary of your calls so that you can check the bill's accuracy, but the convenience may cost you a few dollars a month. (The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is suing Nextel for issuing unitemized bills unless a customer ponies up $2.50 a month.) Here are some usage charges you might find on your bill:
Overage charges. Going over your plan minutes can cost 7 cents to 45 cents per extra minute, plus taxes. To avoid overage charges, find out how your carrier defines the minutes in your plan, which might include night, weekend, peak. and "anytime" minutes. Not all carriers consider 6 a.m. a "peak" Lime, for example. Also remember that most plans bill for incoming calls and that you might be charged for unanswered calls you make.
Roaming fees, Calls made outside your "home" area could cost 49 cents to 69 cents per minute. You might also get socked with long-distance fees. Make sure you understand the "local" and "regional" areas your plan covers. Carriers ...
- The excise tax has been set at 2 - 10 per cent for phone companies - Krungthep...
- News wire article from: Asia Africa Intelligence Wire January 29, 2003 700+ words
...excise tax for fixed-line phones would be two per cent and for mobile phones ten per cent, the price of many telecom sector stocks rose...instituted a new telecommunications tax of two per cent for conventional telephone services and ten per...
- The big hang-up; Tech.view; Phone companies overcharge for long-distance calls.
- Magazine article from: Global Agenda November 30, 2007 700+ words
...distance, and around 16 cents for international...for free. But the phone companies still see them largely...members a 3.9-cent access charge plus 2.1 cents a minute when calling...believe that the phone companies are not passing on...
- Phone companies seek to increase local rates.(A SECTION)
- Newspaper article from: Sarasota Herald Tribune August 28, 2003 700+ words
...heraldtribune.com Local phone companies will charge residents...Florida's primary local phone companies -- Verizon and Sprint...make a decision. The phone companies say the proposed changes...companies will pay 5.8 cents per minute in the first...
- Phone Companies Impose Fee for Convenience of Having All Charges on One Bill.
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News March 30, 2001 700+ words
...relationship. Local phone companies charge Sprint an average...from incumbent local phone companies. AT&T Broadband...bills through local phone companies, she said. When it...generally costs 60 cents to $1.40 per bill...
- Tennessee phone companies back bill to allow rate increases.
- Newspaper article from: Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, TN) March 9, 2005 700+ words
...repeal a rate system the phone companies agreed to abide by...bill, which allows phone companies to shift customers...up an average of 85 cents per customer, although...bill also would allow phone companies to eliminate the touchtone...
- The CAT may let mobile phone companies all handle their own billing.
- News wire article from: Asia Africa Intelligence Wire July 24, 2002 700+ words
...with all mobile phone companies about making agreements...networks. The mobile phone companies will be given a 20 per cent share of the money...and about 50 per cent came from mobile...CAT allows mobile phone companies to handle their...
- Phone companies looking to recoup cost of keeping area codes in check.(Knight...
- News wire article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Garcia, Beatrice E. April 22, 2002 700+ words
...July 15. BellSouth and the other phone companies operating in Florida have started...more area codes. In early July, the phone companies will provide the state's Public...Commission has already ruled that phone companies can recoup the costs associated with...
- Phone companies file for increases; Verizon, Sprint and BellSouth take...
- Newspaper article from: Sarasota Herald Tribune September 17, 2005 700+ words
...month. Combined with a 22-cent annual price adjustment the...but predictable that the phone companies are once again going to be...the state's three largest phone companies to raise the rates they charge...the same amount. All three phone companies made their filings at the...
- Phone Companies Charge Highest Rates in Africa.
- Newspaper article from: The Monitor (Uganda) February 27, 2007 700+ words
...60 and Kenya with US cents 40 is in the third position...Rwanda leads with US cents 15, followed by South...third position with US cents 7.6. The research...regulatory check on the phone companies, the Uganda Communication...charges are 40 per cent cheaper than those of...
- Phone Companies Joining Wireless Brethren to Offer Service Packages.
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News June 13, 2003 700+ words
...approach traditional phone companies seem to be taking...interchangeably. Phone companies are joining up to...05 in 1970 to 10 cents in 2001. Cellular...s attractive to phone companies because it creates...