"It's hard for customers to gauge how much of this product they're going to use," Shames said. "The phone companies basically force you to calculate in advance something that's very difficult to calculate."
The big dogs of the telecom industry -- AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. -- insist that they're dedicated to making customers happy and ensuring that people have the best possible calling plans for their needs.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, March 15, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 2 inches; 81 words Type of Material: Correction
Cellphone bills: David Lazarus' column in Business on March 8 said a study of high cellphone charges was based on a survey of more than 700 San Diego customers' bills. In fact, the study, conducted by the auditing firm TeleTruth on behalf of the Utility Consumers' Action Network and showing an average charge of $3.02 per minute, was based on 134 wireless bills. TeleTruth contends that the methodology of the study supports the validity of the findings that the column reported.
"We encourage people to look at their bill, question their bill, and call us if they see anything that's not right," said John Britton, an AT&T spokesman.
Ken Muche, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless, echoed this sentiment. "If you're not using the total amount of minutes in the bucket, we'll work with you to get you on the right plan," he said.
The trick, of course, is that consumers have to be proactive in tracking the number of minutes used each month and shopping around for the most suitable plan. Shames said the UCAN study found that most people don't take the time to look closely at their telecom bills.
For that matter, the study found that most bills were written and formatted so opaquely that even when customers tried to decipher their statements, they often couldn't make heads or tails out of what they were being charged for.
Shames said land line customers needed to be wary of long-distance plans that included monthly fees along with per-minute charges. He also said cellphone customers should explore pay-as-you-go plans that allow you to purchase minutes in advance, and to buy additional minutes in relatively small amounts so no money is wasted.
Be careful, though. AT&T, for example, offers pay-as-you-go plans that might seem penny wise at first but actually can cost some serious coin.
One plan charges cellphone customers 10 cents per minute plus $1 for every day you use the phone. Another skips the daily fee but costs 25 cents per minute.
The UCAN report recommends that federal regulators require a "cost-per-minute box" on all phone bills so that customers know exactly how much they're being charged, and standardize taxes so that customers can more easily compare one service with another.
Providers frequently list taxes and fees differently, making it tough for many people to understand exactly what they're paying for.
"We have millions of customers grossly overpaying for services," Shames said.
He said a copy of the UCAN study will be sent to the Federal Communications Commission. Maybe something will come of that.
But something tells me all we'll get is a busy signal.
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David Lazarus' column runs Wednesdays and Sundays. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.
