subject: 5 Factors Most Likely To Drive Up Your Phone Bill Costs [print this page] If you are hitched to a monthly phone bill, then you are most likely spending too much money. For years the phone companies have had a license to charge whatever they want. Customers simply paid the asking price because they had no other options. Thankfully, those days are gone. With the world of the SIP softphone, you now have cheaper options at your disposal, so that you no longer have to worry about what your phone bill will be each month. There are multiple reasons why you may be paying too much, but the most common are as follows:
Installation fees. The simple act of connecting often costs a one time fee. Unfortunately, that fee is often more than your first bill will be. Who has the money to spring for twice the payment? On top of that, without a letter of credit, there is always the possibility that you will have to fork over a deposit if the plan you are on is for a land line.
Service charges. Who knows what service charges are? That's a good question, seeing as how it is often times not even explained on the bill. What exactly is the service these people are providing? What favors are they granting you that were not included in the monthly bill that you signed up for? Often times, phone companies fail to inform you up front about the service charges that inevitably send your bill rising higher and higher. But the first time you get your bill, you'll notice them.
State, federal, and local taxes. This is one area that is not really the fault of the big phone companies. After all, the government imposes taxes on all companies that must be paid. These get passed along to you the consumer. Since the Internet is a global marketplace, it has thus far been impossible for any uniform tax to be inflicted upon a VoIP service provider. You benefit by paying lower amounts of taxes, and sometimes none at all!
Roaming long distance. You have heard the horror stories and seen them in the news. Unsuspecting phone company customers get a nasty surprise bill in the mail for thousands of dollars. If you're like most people, a phone bill that exceeds $200 is cause for panic. A lot of the reason is that roaming charges can frequently be applied to your account depending on the calls you make or receive, and you have no way of knowing the damage you're doing to your bill.
Data costs. Text messages and Internet searching by phone costs virtually nothing, yet your traditional phone service provider will charge you anywhere from $15-30 per month just for the privilege of having the service. Is it worth it to you?
