How to Dispute Your Cell Phone Bill
Have a copy of your bill in front of you., Decide what you consider to be an acceptable resolution of the dispute., Have a pen and paper ready., Contact your service provider., Explain the charges in dispute to the customer care specialist., Request...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Have a copy of your bill in front of you.
Before contacting your service provider, have a copy of your bill in front of you so that you can refer to the specific parts of the bill that you wish to dispute.
Your bill also contains important information, such as your account number, which your provider may ask you for verification purposes.
If you have signed up for paperless billing, you should be able to download your bill online and print out a copy or have an online version of the bill in front of you before contacting your provider. -
Step 2: Decide what you consider to be an acceptable resolution of the dispute.
If you are disputing a charge, you may be happy with a partial reduction of the charge or you may feel that the provider must remove the charge completely.
If the charges you are disputing are valid and are there due to an oversight on your part, be reasonable in your expectations and remember that you may only receive, at best, a partial credit. , Be prepared to write down the name of the customer service representative when you call your provider.
Also log the time and date of your call so that you have a record of your calls made to the provider should you need this information later in the process of disputing your bill.
Having pen and paper ready is also useful for writing down any important information (such as a promise to waive the disputed charges) that the customer service representative provides to you. , Find out your service provider’s customer service number, which is usually a toll-free number.
Call this number to contact the provider and go through the automated system to reach a customer care specialist.
You may also have the option of chatting with a customer care specialist online, as in the case of ATT.Choose the method with which you are most comfortable. , The call will usually begin with a series of questions, such as what your name and account number is, and will continue with a series of security questions for verification of your identity.
Once the specialist has asked you such questions, calmly explain why you are calling and refer the specialist to specific parts of the bill you are disputing.
Always try to be polite and avoid being accusatory.
The customer care specialist is there to help you and may be more sympathetic to your case if you are polite.
This is especially important if the charges you are disputing are due to a fault of your own ., After explaining the issue to the customer care specialist, request that she waive the charges in dispute.
If the disputed charge is there because of a fault on the part of the service provider, she should normally waive the full amount.
If the charges in dispute are due to an oversight on your part (e.g. you forgot to sign up for an international data roaming plan and used your cell phone data abroad), then the provider may issue a partial courtesy credit. , If you are unsuccessful in convincing your service provider to reduce or waive the disputed charges according to your expectations, try again.
Call at another time and you might be connected to a customer service specialist who is more sympathetic to your case.
Note, however, that the representative will generally have in front of her notes made by the representative to whom you previously spoke, and will be aware of what the representative told you the first time and the outcome of that call. -
Step 3: Have a pen and paper ready.
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Step 4: Contact your service provider.
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Step 5: Explain the charges in dispute to the customer care specialist.
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Step 6: Request a credit.
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Step 7: Call again if you are unsuccessful the first time.
Detailed Guide
Before contacting your service provider, have a copy of your bill in front of you so that you can refer to the specific parts of the bill that you wish to dispute.
Your bill also contains important information, such as your account number, which your provider may ask you for verification purposes.
If you have signed up for paperless billing, you should be able to download your bill online and print out a copy or have an online version of the bill in front of you before contacting your provider.
If you are disputing a charge, you may be happy with a partial reduction of the charge or you may feel that the provider must remove the charge completely.
If the charges you are disputing are valid and are there due to an oversight on your part, be reasonable in your expectations and remember that you may only receive, at best, a partial credit. , Be prepared to write down the name of the customer service representative when you call your provider.
Also log the time and date of your call so that you have a record of your calls made to the provider should you need this information later in the process of disputing your bill.
Having pen and paper ready is also useful for writing down any important information (such as a promise to waive the disputed charges) that the customer service representative provides to you. , Find out your service provider’s customer service number, which is usually a toll-free number.
Call this number to contact the provider and go through the automated system to reach a customer care specialist.
You may also have the option of chatting with a customer care specialist online, as in the case of ATT.Choose the method with which you are most comfortable. , The call will usually begin with a series of questions, such as what your name and account number is, and will continue with a series of security questions for verification of your identity.
Once the specialist has asked you such questions, calmly explain why you are calling and refer the specialist to specific parts of the bill you are disputing.
Always try to be polite and avoid being accusatory.
The customer care specialist is there to help you and may be more sympathetic to your case if you are polite.
This is especially important if the charges you are disputing are due to a fault of your own ., After explaining the issue to the customer care specialist, request that she waive the charges in dispute.
If the disputed charge is there because of a fault on the part of the service provider, she should normally waive the full amount.
If the charges in dispute are due to an oversight on your part (e.g. you forgot to sign up for an international data roaming plan and used your cell phone data abroad), then the provider may issue a partial courtesy credit. , If you are unsuccessful in convincing your service provider to reduce or waive the disputed charges according to your expectations, try again.
Call at another time and you might be connected to a customer service specialist who is more sympathetic to your case.
Note, however, that the representative will generally have in front of her notes made by the representative to whom you previously spoke, and will be aware of what the representative told you the first time and the outcome of that call.
About the Author
Nathan Webb
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
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