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No matter how well you negotiate and plan to get the best price on the products and services your purchase, when the final bill comes you need to take a good, hard look at it to make sure that it's correct. With the computer age, many people assume the bill is automatically correct and don't review what the actual charges are. While computers can make errors in calculations less likely, they are far from foolproof. The result is that consumers lose billions of dollars by making unnecessary overpayments each year.
There are a number of different ways that a bill can be incorrect and it's important to know what these are and what to look for when reviewing each bill your receive. Here are some of the more common billing errors that you should be on the lookout for:
<b>Incorrect Charge</b>: When you purchase a product or service, always make sure to make sure they price that you have been charged is the correct price. There can be any number of reasons that the price charged to you is incorrect from an honest mistake to not so honest bill inflation.
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This requires that you know the price of the items you're buying. While this may seem obvious, many people don't look at an item's or service's price when purchasing. By always knowing the exact price you are supposed to be charged, you can immediately challenge any bill where the price is higher than you know it should be.
An example of where this might happen is when an item is marked at a sale price on the store floor, but the sale price was not placed into the computer scanner system so when the bar code is scanned, the retail price is charged instead of the sale price.
<b>Charged For Incorrect Product or Service</b>: Mix-ups happen and sometimes you will find a charge on your bill for something other than you bought or had done. It is especially important to closely check bills where you have changed an order. If you originally ordered one thing and then changed it to another at a later date, there is a chance that due to the switching you accidentally get charged for the incorrect product or service.
<b>Duplicate Billing</b>: Always check to make sure you haven't been accidentally billed twice for the same product or service. This is especially important when purchase a large number of the same item where the number may easily be miscounted.
<b>Services Not Rendered / Products Not received</b>: It's important to check all your bills to make sure that a service or product you never used hasn't been added to your bill. I was once at a hotel where I became thirsty and thought about getting a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. I got as far as taking the bottle out of the mini-fridge when I discovered the hotel was charging $5 a bottle. I put the bottle back and never drank it, but when I looked at my hotel bill, the bottle of water I had never drank had been charged to me. it turned out that the hotel had an automated system that once something was taken out of its place in the mini-fridge, it was automatically charged to the room even if it was never used by the guest.
There are two type of bills that you will want to take special care check extra thoroughly:
<b>Consolidated Bills</b>: While consolidated bills are supposed to be a service so you so that you have one simple number to pay instead of having to look at many detailed charges, they are also an easy place for mistakes to happen and be hidden. If you receive a consolidated bill, it's always worthwhile to ask to see the detailed bill and review it for any of the above possible errors.
<b>Complicated Bills</b>: if you can't understand what you are being billed for, it's difficult to know if the amount is correct or not. Some bills come with many government and/or miscellaneous charges added to them. Many times these look so complicated that people simply pay what is written instead of taking the time to understand exactly what these charges are and how they are calculated. If you don't understand a fee on your bill, contact the company that issued it and ask for a detailed explanation.
Getting into the habit of taking the time to review each bill your receive for accuracy can end up saving you hundreds of dollars a year and you'll know for sure that you got the deal that you thought you were getting.
There are a number of different ways that a bill can be incorrect and it's important to know what these are and what to look for when reviewing each bill your receive. Here are some of the more common billing errors that you should be on the lookout for:
<b>Incorrect Charge</b>: When you purchase a product or service, always make sure to make sure they price that you have been charged is the correct price. There can be any number of reasons that the price charged to you is incorrect from an honest mistake to not so honest bill inflation.
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This requires that you know the price of the items you're buying. While this may seem obvious, many people don't look at an item's or service's price when purchasing. By always knowing the exact price you are supposed to be charged, you can immediately challenge any bill where the price is higher than you know it should be.
An example of where this might happen is when an item is marked at a sale price on the store floor, but the sale price was not placed into the computer scanner system so when the bar code is scanned, the retail price is charged instead of the sale price.
<b>Charged For Incorrect Product or Service</b>: Mix-ups happen and sometimes you will find a charge on your bill for something other than you bought or had done. It is especially important to closely check bills where you have changed an order. If you originally ordered one thing and then changed it to another at a later date, there is a chance that due to the switching you accidentally get charged for the incorrect product or service.
<b>Duplicate Billing</b>: Always check to make sure you haven't been accidentally billed twice for the same product or service. This is especially important when purchase a large number of the same item where the number may easily be miscounted.
<b>Services Not Rendered / Products Not received</b>: It's important to check all your bills to make sure that a service or product you never used hasn't been added to your bill. I was once at a hotel where I became thirsty and thought about getting a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. I got as far as taking the bottle out of the mini-fridge when I discovered the hotel was charging $5 a bottle. I put the bottle back and never drank it, but when I looked at my hotel bill, the bottle of water I had never drank had been charged to me. it turned out that the hotel had an automated system that once something was taken out of its place in the mini-fridge, it was automatically charged to the room even if it was never used by the guest.
There are two type of bills that you will want to take special care check extra thoroughly:
<b>Consolidated Bills</b>: While consolidated bills are supposed to be a service so you so that you have one simple number to pay instead of having to look at many detailed charges, they are also an easy place for mistakes to happen and be hidden. If you receive a consolidated bill, it's always worthwhile to ask to see the detailed bill and review it for any of the above possible errors.
<b>Complicated Bills</b>: if you can't understand what you are being billed for, it's difficult to know if the amount is correct or not. Some bills come with many government and/or miscellaneous charges added to them. Many times these look so complicated that people simply pay what is written instead of taking the time to understand exactly what these charges are and how they are calculated. If you don't understand a fee on your bill, contact the company that issued it and ask for a detailed explanation.
Getting into the habit of taking the time to review each bill your receive for accuracy can end up saving you hundreds of dollars a year and you'll know for sure that you got the deal that you thought you were getting.
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