kaspaas
10-03-2004, 07:15 PM
Companies get back millions from Telkom overbilling
http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1564794-6079-0,00.html
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Information Technology Editor
CORPORATE customers that have been overcharged by Telkom for several years have successfully claimed back more than R2m after calling in analysts to probe their monthly bills.
Some customers were paying too much because Telkom charged for equipment that was no longer in use, according to a telecommunications cost consultancy, Computer Intelligence Agency.
Others were overcharged after Telkom upgraded their lines, but continued to charge for the old lines as well as for the new facilities.
"We have looked at a few dozen accounts in the past year and I'd say 50% are wrong," said the agency's CEO, Nathan Greenberg, yesterday.
"We have found some horrific things. Telkom says the onus is on its customers to make sure they are billed correctly, but its accounts are virtually indecipherable."
The agency's clients include Autopage, which has so far been refunded R240000 of an alleged R500000 discrepancy; National Data Systems, refunded R118000 of a R200000 claim; and Scaw Metals, which was refunded R190000 of a R500000 claim.
The agency is trying to extract further refunds to correct historical billing errors, but Telkom works on a three-year cut-off period for querying accounts.
Telkom says its confidentiality agreements with customers prevent it from confirming these particular cases, but it admits that "discrepancies can arise" with the accounts of larger customers.
Billing errors could occur when services were installed or cancelled when a company moved to new premises, said Telkom spokesman Andrew Weldrick.
"Each claim is decided on its own merits, and it's certainly not always a case of our customers being overcharged in several instances we have picked up undercharging, which we have rectified," he said.
In the case of older complaints, Telkom followed a three-year refunding rule while it investigated discrepancies, he said.
It was also working to reduce the complexity of its bills by using online billing software and by introducing more efficient processes when customers moved, Weldrick said.
Greenberg is so confident that he will find overcharging in a corporate account that his company investigates each case free, and charges 40% of any refund it wins, plus 40% of the continuing savings for three years. He said he was now encouraging customers to consider legal action to win refunds for periods dating back more than three years.
South Africa needs World Class Broadband at World Competitive Prices.
http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1564794-6079-0,00.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology Editor
CORPORATE customers that have been overcharged by Telkom for several years have successfully claimed back more than R2m after calling in analysts to probe their monthly bills.
Some customers were paying too much because Telkom charged for equipment that was no longer in use, according to a telecommunications cost consultancy, Computer Intelligence Agency.
Others were overcharged after Telkom upgraded their lines, but continued to charge for the old lines as well as for the new facilities.
"We have looked at a few dozen accounts in the past year and I'd say 50% are wrong," said the agency's CEO, Nathan Greenberg, yesterday.
"We have found some horrific things. Telkom says the onus is on its customers to make sure they are billed correctly, but its accounts are virtually indecipherable."
The agency's clients include Autopage, which has so far been refunded R240000 of an alleged R500000 discrepancy; National Data Systems, refunded R118000 of a R200000 claim; and Scaw Metals, which was refunded R190000 of a R500000 claim.
The agency is trying to extract further refunds to correct historical billing errors, but Telkom works on a three-year cut-off period for querying accounts.
Telkom says its confidentiality agreements with customers prevent it from confirming these particular cases, but it admits that "discrepancies can arise" with the accounts of larger customers.
Billing errors could occur when services were installed or cancelled when a company moved to new premises, said Telkom spokesman Andrew Weldrick.
"Each claim is decided on its own merits, and it's certainly not always a case of our customers being overcharged in several instances we have picked up undercharging, which we have rectified," he said.
In the case of older complaints, Telkom followed a three-year refunding rule while it investigated discrepancies, he said.
It was also working to reduce the complexity of its bills by using online billing software and by introducing more efficient processes when customers moved, Weldrick said.
Greenberg is so confident that he will find overcharging in a corporate account that his company investigates each case free, and charges 40% of any refund it wins, plus 40% of the continuing savings for three years. He said he was now encouraging customers to consider legal action to win refunds for periods dating back more than three years.
South Africa needs World Class Broadband at World Competitive Prices.