Issue Date: June 22, 2008
Dodge phone rate hikes
Several states recently deregulated prices on elective telephone services for land lines, such as call waiting and call forwarding. Translation: bigger phone bills for you. In Ohio, for instance, Verizon now charges $3 a month for call forwarding, up from 75 cents, says Janine Migden-Ostrander of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel Office. To combat such hikes:
Read your bill. Price increases vary by state and may appear on bills without a separate notice. Quiz your carrier if you notice new charges.
Unbundle. Some companies are raising prices on bundled packages, too. Extra services that were a good deal when you signed up now may be cheaper a la carte. And you may have found you don't use some at all.
Check the competition if you're in an area served by several carriers. Start at nasuca.org, the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates. Click on "NASUCA members" to see whether your state is one of 40 with a consumer utility advocate, which often posts useful pricing information.
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