The Tightwad’s Notebook–Lesson #11: Open and Read EVERY Bill (You may be sorry if you don’t)
It’s human to become complacent, but that’s where we can get into bits of financial trouble. When we merrily go our way every day without opening or even looking at our bills–whether they are in the mail, in a pile or piling up online–we can miss important upcharges or mistakes that are not in our best interests.
I recently changed my landline phone services, and wow, did AT&T ever screw up my bill after the order went through. Luckily, I don’t trust that orders go through or that customer service reps heard me correctly–that sort of thing. So when I saw that I owed $20-plus MORE on my phone bill than the last one, I nearly went through the roof. I opened up the bill and saw they broke out the basic residential line fee and made it a separate line item, which is completely inaccurate. Then they charged me on calls that were made BEFORE I put the new service in place. I was nice when I called, and they fixed it, but now I’m on hyperwatch.
Same with the cable bill!! I saw they billed us for the more expensive package for the month we had the Economy package! Called and fixed, but of course, I’m vigilant now, more than ever.
CHECK YOUR BILLS LINE BY LINE as annoying as it is, it pays!
~Marilyn, TFF
Two Frugal Fairfielders 