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Nowadays, pretty much everybody has a cell phone, and the associated bill that comes with it. On some months that bill can be so high that you almost get a heart attack when you open it, especially on those times where you had no idea it would come up to that amount. I'm going to give you a couple of pointers that should help you avoid such unpleasant surprises in the future. Keep reading if that catches your interest.
1. Going over your allotted quota. This is the major culprit. If you get your bill and it's uncharacteristically high, most of the time it's because you went over your limit whether in minutes, text messages, or Internet use or a combination of those. The problem with going over your limit is that the charges are ridiculously high compared to what your rate is for the services within your limit. Fortunately, you bill will not bundle everything together: you will get the detail what you went over on and you will be able to see exactly what your overage charges are.
How to take control of this: move to a higher tier minutes plan and/or sign up for unlimited text/Internet. At first this piece of advice might sound counter-intuitive, but there's no doubt that, unless you move to a plan that's considerably higher than what you currently have, going over will cost you more than the new plan. If you don't want to (or can't afford to) move to a more expensive plan, then track how much you're using your included cell phone services. If you realize there's a risk of you going over, exercise some self-control and stop using that service. It's not easy, but it's not complicated.
2. Third Party Subscriptions. You've probably seen their commercials on TV. These subscription providers are known for their shady business practices, but they never seem to go away no matter how many complaints and lawsuits are filed against them. Their offerings can range from a "free ringtone of the month" club to "horoscope of the day", to a "naughty picture of the day". Theoretically, you can only subscribe by sending a text message to an advertised number or by visiting their website and entering your information there. Yet, they seem to have this knack for appearing on people's bills out of nowhere, which is made easier by the fact that they're not always required to inform you of the new subscription. So be sure to analyze the "direct bill" portion of your bill, because that's where their charges will be listed.
AT&T recently settled a class action suit involving the way those subscriptions are handled. The company now has to notify the customer via text message every time such a subscription is about to be added to their account. If there's no reply to the notification, then the company has no grounds on which to apply the subscription, and so the customer doesn't get charged. The other mobile carriers should adopt this practice as well and avoid the class action lawsuit cost altogether.
3. One-time fees. The final cause for a higher than usual bill is those fees that typically are a one-time affair. such as activation (or re-activation) fees, upgrade fees, or non-payment fees. Cell phone companies (and utilities companies for that matter) do not miss the opportunity to charge a hefty re-activation fee in order to get service turned back on after the account has been suspended because of a past due bill that the customer failed to pay for. Those fees will rarely ever get waived or credited back to your account, but you can ask for discounts. Ask about discounts or waived fees for employees of the company you work for. You can also wing it and try and ask nicely to have the fee waived/credited back. This will be a lot easier if you've been a customer for a few years and have a good record of paying your bill on time.
Strategy. Your cell phone habits will go a long way towards determining which strategy you use to keep your cell phone bill to a manageable level. If you do most of your talking in the early evening, paying a little bit extra for early night and weekend minutes might be economical. If you're home a lot, look into the various Voice Over IP phone service providers such as you cable company, your phone company, Skype, Vonage, T-Mobile @ Home, and so on. This can save you a lot of minutes. And never be afraid to ask for a discount: employee discount, student discount, senior discount, and so on. If you own a business, you can even ask for a business discount.
In case the bill is really high or you're really in a bind, there's always the option of calling customer service and making payment arrangements with the company. Just like I mentioned earlier, if you're a good customer, they will try and work out something with you. As you can see, with a little research, and with some discipline thrown in for good measure, you can definitely find more than one way to lower your phone bill.
1. Going over your allotted quota. This is the major culprit. If you get your bill and it's uncharacteristically high, most of the time it's because you went over your limit whether in minutes, text messages, or Internet use or a combination of those. The problem with going over your limit is that the charges are ridiculously high compared to what your rate is for the services within your limit. Fortunately, you bill will not bundle everything together: you will get the detail what you went over on and you will be able to see exactly what your overage charges are.
How to take control of this: move to a higher tier minutes plan and/or sign up for unlimited text/Internet. At first this piece of advice might sound counter-intuitive, but there's no doubt that, unless you move to a plan that's considerably higher than what you currently have, going over will cost you more than the new plan. If you don't want to (or can't afford to) move to a more expensive plan, then track how much you're using your included cell phone services. If you realize there's a risk of you going over, exercise some self-control and stop using that service. It's not easy, but it's not complicated.
2. Third Party Subscriptions. You've probably seen their commercials on TV. These subscription providers are known for their shady business practices, but they never seem to go away no matter how many complaints and lawsuits are filed against them. Their offerings can range from a "free ringtone of the month" club to "horoscope of the day", to a "naughty picture of the day". Theoretically, you can only subscribe by sending a text message to an advertised number or by visiting their website and entering your information there. Yet, they seem to have this knack for appearing on people's bills out of nowhere, which is made easier by the fact that they're not always required to inform you of the new subscription. So be sure to analyze the "direct bill" portion of your bill, because that's where their charges will be listed.
AT&T recently settled a class action suit involving the way those subscriptions are handled. The company now has to notify the customer via text message every time such a subscription is about to be added to their account. If there's no reply to the notification, then the company has no grounds on which to apply the subscription, and so the customer doesn't get charged. The other mobile carriers should adopt this practice as well and avoid the class action lawsuit cost altogether.
3. One-time fees. The final cause for a higher than usual bill is those fees that typically are a one-time affair. such as activation (or re-activation) fees, upgrade fees, or non-payment fees. Cell phone companies (and utilities companies for that matter) do not miss the opportunity to charge a hefty re-activation fee in order to get service turned back on after the account has been suspended because of a past due bill that the customer failed to pay for. Those fees will rarely ever get waived or credited back to your account, but you can ask for discounts. Ask about discounts or waived fees for employees of the company you work for. You can also wing it and try and ask nicely to have the fee waived/credited back. This will be a lot easier if you've been a customer for a few years and have a good record of paying your bill on time.
Strategy. Your cell phone habits will go a long way towards determining which strategy you use to keep your cell phone bill to a manageable level. If you do most of your talking in the early evening, paying a little bit extra for early night and weekend minutes might be economical. If you're home a lot, look into the various Voice Over IP phone service providers such as you cable company, your phone company, Skype, Vonage, T-Mobile @ Home, and so on. This can save you a lot of minutes. And never be afraid to ask for a discount: employee discount, student discount, senior discount, and so on. If you own a business, you can even ask for a business discount.
In case the bill is really high or you're really in a bind, there's always the option of calling customer service and making payment arrangements with the company. Just like I mentioned earlier, if you're a good customer, they will try and work out something with you. As you can see, with a little research, and with some discipline thrown in for good measure, you can definitely find more than one way to lower your phone bill.
About the Author:
There are plenty of ways to keep both your home phone bill and your cell phone bill in check. Learn more about how to reduce your phone bill by visiting Reduce Phone Bill.
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