A modern phone bill is a confusing mess and deciphering one can be a daunting task even for phone company representatives, as you may find when calling to get an explanation of one or more of the charges on your bill. Every bill, even from the same local phone company will be different, so it is impossible to cover every charge you may find on your bill. Never be intimidated about the long waits on hold if you don't understand a charge on your bill. Call the provider's toll-free number (always listed on the bill) and put them on your speakerphone while you handle other matters until a live person answers. Don't have a speakerphone yet? Everybody needs one these days and you can get high quality name brand models for less than $20. Let us know if you need help obtaining a good deal on one.

All bills have some things in common. You will have at least one provider who sends the main bill for local service and may furnish all (almost always a bad idea) your phone services, including local dial tone, local-toll calls, calling card, inbound toll-free numbers, intrastate, interstate, and international long distance, and even Internet and other optional services. The separate charges for each will be (or should be) detailed line by line on your bill. It is important for you to understand exactly what each charge is for, whether it is justified, and if you really have to pay it, or if optional, whether you want it.

There will be some type of charge for basic local service. This will be the cost of simply providing you with local dial tone and a connection to a network for at least receiving long distance calls. The cost of this can vary considerably and may be as little as $6 or $7 to more than 10 times that. The local charge usually includes a few items that may not be listed separately, but are commonly itemized. At least 4 of these will be found on almost everyone's basic local service bill these days. They are the basic dial tone charge, touchtone fee, FCC approved Customer Line charge, and in most areas a number portability service charge, even if you do not yet have number portability in your area. You will also have charges for your local options like non-published listing, call waiting, caller ID, and many others.

Your local service can be flat rate or metered. You will need to determine which of these will provide you with the cheapest overall local service if both are available. Charges will be itemized differently depending on the plan you use. You may see only the flat fee for service, a couple of lines detailing the total number of local calls, or many pages of individually listed items, one for each local call you have made. In any event, the bottom line of your total local charges is the important figure to keep in mind when comparing services and even companies, as most of us now have a choice of local service providers. You can usually find a list of some of them in the front of your local phone book.

In addition to the charges for the local and optional services you have ordered, there will be a list (sometimes a very long list) of other fees, charges, and taxes, allowed or mandated by government or other regulatory agencies. You will almost always at least have charges for 911 service, some type of state and or municipal fee(s), and of course taxes. The state and municipal fees use a variety of names. A few are given names like state USF, municipal utility charge, poison control center surcharge, disability services fee, emergency response fee, rural access fee, and many others too numerous to mention. It is a good idea to look over each line of all bills, and if you spot anything new, call the phone company and ask what the charge is for. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, call your Public Utility Commission.

You will also have areas on your bill, unless these are separately handled by other companies on different bills, for local-toll calls, in state calls, interstate calls, and possibly calling card and toll-free charges. Some of these will be subject to PICC and USF charges which may be itemized or simply included in the per minute rate you pay for these various services. NOTE: In July 2000 the PICC was offically discontinued. Some providers have continued to charge this but changed the name to a PIC fee. This may be charged on multiple residential lines or often for business lines. You can see the details of each plan by using our Custom Rate Computer and comparing ALL the charges. The FCC allows the local provider to charge fees either directly to you or indirectly through your long distance provider(s) for the costs of connecting your local lines to the long distance networks and a laundry list of other reasons (excuses) the charges are needed and justified. In some cases your long distance provider will pad these fees as a means of increasing revenue. This is allowed by law and is often used as a way of hiding charges that otherwise would have to be declared as monthly fees.

The main point of going into all this is to emphasize that while the phone bill has quite a few charges and many are ambiguous and questionable, you should understand what each is for, and whether you really have to pay it. As stated earlier, call your providers and make them explain each and every charge to your satisfaction. You may have to pay most of them for the time being, but if we all just accept anything that appears on our bills, the plethora of charges will only increase. Check out the pages on this site with links to the proper places to complain and make your voice heard. You can limit these charges and lower your rates by complaining. California used to have some of the highest local and in state rates in the country, but after citizen complaints and lobbying, they now have some of the lowest.

You may be surprised to find out how much you can reduce your bill by simply complaining to the phone company itself. Often your local provider is merely passing on charges it has been billed by other companies, which may not even be legitimate. You can sometimes get these removed immediately or placed on hold so you don't have to pay them until some type of dispute resolution has been effected. Many times disputing any charge will allow you to demand its removal later when the company responsible for the charges ignores your protest through incompetence or oversight. Even though they are among the most detested of all service providers in the country, phone companies historically have been one of the best in attempting to amicably resolve legitimate customer complaints. DON'T HESITATE TO DEMAND YOUR RIGHTS.

If you have an interesting story about your attempts to decipher a bill charge or resolve a dispute, let us know by using the form below. If you have a uniquely named charge that you have verified as being legitimate (or especially if NOT legitimate) on one of your bills, we'd like to hear about it.

You may send a request for information or order any of our plans by simply filling out the form below. We can contact you by E-mail if you desire, although we actually prefer to speak to you directly at your convenience. We don't ask for any personal information over the Internet so just leave your name, phone number and the best time to call, or leave only your name and E-mail address if you don't want a return call. Leave any message you may have in the text box at the bottom and press the submit button. You are not signing up for any plan by filling out this form, nor are you obligated to accept anything if we call.

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