 |
Newsletter -
Summer 2008 Plus, If You Don't Act Now 7/15//2008
Submitted By:
Joanne Klabon We’ve all heard those TV and Radio ads that offer those amazing new miracle products for an unbelievable price only to be topped by the “plus, if you act now” statement that gives you a two-for-one deal that can’t be beat. But have you ever heard the statement, ‘plus, if you don’t act now’? In the past, they typical statute-of-limitations on billing errors was anywhere from 3- to 7-years. In this ever-changing telecommunications environment it is becoming more difficult to get credits and adjustments on billing errors back to the origination date. Many of the service providers are writing six-month clauses into contracts and re-writing service policies or tariffs to shorten the credit periods to as low as two months. The service providers are stating that the customer has a responsibility to audit their bill for errors and report them in a timely manner. As many organizations shrink their Telecommunication Staff, this becomes an almost impossible task. Errors can occur in many ways. Whether it’s being billed for services that have been removed or an incorrect Long Distance rate per minute of use. Or, what about any trial services that were put on your bill and never removed but bill a monthly charge? I recently had a customer who never removed a trial feature and because of the cellular providers policy only received 3-month’s credit for a service they didn’t order but paid the fee for a year. A perfect example of ‘if you don’t act now’…on verifying bills and getting errors corrected. There are also other areas where savings can be found. With competition and many of the ILEC’s (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier) de-tariffing or declaring services competitive, there are opportunities for discounting and bundling that were not available before on many services. Digital Services that seemed financially out-of-reach are now on par or more economical than analog services. Many of your contracts may have clauses that allow re-negotiation after a certain portion of the term of agreement has elapsed or upgrades to higher speed services with no Termination Liability on the existing service. Consider, also, how many mergers and acquisitions have taken place in the industry melding former competitors into employees of the same corporation. How many of your services or contracts were effected by these changes? On the flip side of the coin, what changes have occurred in your organization? Were there recent mergers / acquisitions that would give you more leverage with your service providers? Is it time to consolidate the number of service providers you use? Can you get a lower rate with the providers that you use today? What new services can actually lower you cost of doing business? Eric Ryan Corporation’s services are more important today than ever. The place to begin is with a comprehensive audit of what’s in place today to identify any errors and find ways to future savings. So do contact us for more information or to discuss how Eric Ryan’s services may be able to help your business. You can contact Eric Ryan Corporation at 724.752.8999 or e-mail ericryancorporation@ericryan.com
|