Forensic Analysis for Revenue Optimization

Introduction

There is “found money” for virtually any business from up to a year or more of current and past monthly telecom bills for voice, data and cellular services. The actual amount depends on the location of the customer, the specific contract with the carrier and the regulatory tariffs in place for the location. The customer can save going forward by allowing us to continue monitoring for any new overcharges on the bills.  

The Problem

   

  • Almost 100% of telecom bills have errors, however, most business owners, their bookkeepers, accountants and even some “phone bill auditors” only have the ability and knowledge base to find superficial and obvious errors – such as long distance calls they did not make, wrong rates, etc. This means virtually all businesses are paying a premium on every single bill, even if they have the lowest negotiated rates available. This is a preventable cash leak that costs these entities between 5%-35% of their total monthly telecom bills, depending on the types of services used, their industry, number of locations, applicable tariffs and the individual contract. The average amount lost is between 10%-16%.

     
  • Only an estimated 2% of monthly telecom bills are ever disputed, because the overcharges and billing errors are invisible to the untrained eye. That means an estimated $5-$10 billion in telecom industry overcharges annually are never discovered, challenged, or recovered by customers -- at least until now.

     
  • The telecom industry is extraordinarily complex.  A variety of factors affect a bill, including ever-changing tariffs and taxes, which are confusing to customers. Even industry insiders are often baffled because of the tangle of tariffs and taxes.

     
  • Many other factors cause billing errors, including technical problems that can occur when telecom companies merge, but don’t have identical billing platforms. Technology can cause any number of glitches that generate billing errors, which are routinely missed. In addition, businesses with PBX and/or multiple locations often have DID (direct inward dialing) numbers that are not in use, yet are billed monthly. The national monthly average is $42 per line. Similarly, Internet or cell services that are charged, but not actually provided by the carrier or not used by the customer, add needless excess costs.

The Solution

   

  • As former owners of a national telecom company, we developed proprietary systems to monitor our own voice, data, and cellular bills from carriers. Working within the industry, we saw the enormous need to help businesses discover and recover overcharges. Alsatian was formed to help clients using the same solution. Discovery and recovery of telecom billing overcharges is all we do. Our only job in this program is to identify and document the telecom billing errors and get overpayments back for you.

     
  • Our team members have 25 years of combined experience in the telecom industry. More than 30 specific points are reviewed on telecom bills that are vulnerable to errors. Some monthly telecom bills we’ve reviewed exceed 40,000 pages. This type of in-depth review would be an impossible task for most telecom customers to handle.

     
  • Most companies that offer to review your bills check for only a handful of obvious errors, leaving most of the overcharges – the money owed to you – unidentified. Not only do you lose money that’s recoverable from past bills (up to the previous 12 months or more, depending on your contract, location and tariffs), but you also continue to pay too much, even after their analysis.


  • Once the billing errors and overcharges have been identified, our team works directly with you and your carrier to make sure you recover that amount – and more if appropriate. As former owners of a telecom company, we know how to by-pass customer service and get the errors corrected and your money credited to you as quickly as possible. We do not stop until the credits have been applied to your account – no matter how long it takes.  

     

Bottom Line

   

  • You can reclaim the money you have already paid and prevent future overpayments. It’s “found money” that can help you balance your budget.


  • Our documentation is rock solid. One major carrier refused to challenge the dispute saying the numbers were “irrefutable”.

     
  • Alsatian can do for you what you would not be able to do for yourself effectively or cost efficiently.