If you have a smartphone with a data plan, you’ve likely gotten that dreaded text alert warning you about reaching your monthly gigabyte limit. When this happens, your data slows to a trickle unless you pay an overage fee.

Even with the best cell phone plan, many of us exceed our data limit. A 2015 Pew Research Center survey found that 37% of smartphone owners use their maximum amount of monthly data at least occasionally, while 15% do so frequently. Those who did go over during one month or more in a year collectively paid their carriers at least an additional $600 million, according to an analysis by NerdWallet and smartphone app My Data Manager, which helps users keep track of their data consumption.

Carriers making changes

Consumers don’t like paying for their data overages, and wireless carriers are listening. In 2014 and 2015, respectively, T-Mobile and Sprint began offering unlimited plans that cut overage fees in favor of slower 2G data once the caps are reached. Over the summer, Verizon and AT&T, the nation’s two top carriers by number of customers, also rolled out plans that trade overage fees for slower data speeds, known as throttling.

If you have a so-called legacy plan, meaning you haven’t switched to one of the new plans, it’s likely you’re still subject to overage fees at the two top carriers. But the study, using data from My Data Manager, found that for the majority of consumers, switching to the new, usually larger data plan isn’t worth it. You’ll typically pay more in higher monthly charges than you would have paid for the occasional overage fee.

To determine this, NerdWallet and My Data Manager looked at the cost of legacy family and individual plans through Verizon and AT&T, and compared them with the new plans. We assumed an average usage of 1.8GB per month for an individual plan and 4.3GB per month for a family plan with an average of 2.4 lines, based on data obtained from My Data Manager. The full methodology can be seen below. Here’s what we found.

The new Verizon and AT&T plans

Verizon and AT&T previously charged overage fees at an average rate of $15 per GB, regardless of the plan. Now, if you activate the “safety mode” in your account preferences for the Verizon Plan, you can avoid data overage fees. After you reach your monthly gigabyte limit, which varies depending on the version of the plan you choose, your data is throttled to 2G speeds instead of getting hit with an overage fee. It’s worth noting this plan allows you to carry over any unused data to the following month only.

AT&T has taken an approach that’s similar to T-Mobile and Sprint with its new Mobile Share Advantage plans. In the event of a data overage, AT&T throttles data to 2G speeds until the next billing cycle, regardless of your plan. It’s automatic, so you don’t have to do anything to avoid overage fees.

When does it pay to switch to the new plans?

If you’re on an average-sized plan and your data overages exceed 8GB per year, choosing one of the new plans will save you money, according to NerdWallet and My Data Manager’s analysis. The individual Verizon Plan will save you money if you have an average plan, even if you never go over your data limit. Otherwise, the new Verizon plans and AT&T’s Mobile Share Advantage plans won’t save you money. In fact, most consumers on legacy plans would be better off sticking to them and paying the occasional overage fee.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Verizon Individual plans

For Verizon individual plan holders who use an average of 1.8GB per month, the Verizon Plan is a better deal. Assuming you were on a legacy 3GB data plan before, you can step down to a 2GB plan, which saves $10 per month over the old pricing. Previously, Verizon only offered 1GB and 3GB options. Activate the safety mode, and presto, no more overage fees — though, if you do go over the data limit, the 2G mode is awfully slow. We’ll discuss that in a moment.

AT&T individual plan holders face a different set of options. For those who exceed their data limit four times or fewer during the year, it’s actually cheaper to pay the overage fees than it is to switch plans, based on the average usage figures we found. This is because consumers who use that average 1.8GB per month and were previously on a 2GB plan would now have to upgrade to a 3GB plan under Mobile Share Advantage — meaning they’d have to pay for an extra 1.2GB that they might not need. (AT&T’s new plans have only 1GB, 3GB or higher options.) And there’s automatic throttling once the data limits are exceeded.

Watch out for throttling

Keep in mind that, for consumers used to 4G LTE data, throttled 2G speed could be problematic, especially for the 10% of Americans for whom their smartphone is their only access to the internet. When you’re using your phone for everything from job applications to paying bills, 2G is very slow. By comparison, browsing 30 webpages would take 2.8 minutes at 2G speed, while doing the same at 4G LTE takes only one second, according to Verizon.

If you’re not sure how much data you’re using, you can analyze your usage with My Data Manager or one of the other apps available, and then evaluate your needs to make sure you have the best cell phone plan for you.

Resource: NERDWALLET: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/utilities/what-no-overage-fee-cell-phone-plans-mean-for-you/

At LIMITLESS we are your trusted partner and understand how to best help our Clients reduce costs, while ensuring you stay highly effective and efficient with your services. We strive daily to help you become more financially sound, putting more money back in your wallet. The average savings we find our clients is between 17% – 36%.

We have saved companies tens of thousands and even in some cases millions on their telecom, utility and vendor expenses with our proven cost reduction process.

At LIMITLESS we use our Powerful Process to identify cost savings, improving and negotiating contracts, finding billing errors and recovering billing errors. Our Proven Results allow our Clients to reinvest the “savings” into growth initiatives or apply these “found profits” to their bottom line.

Our clients realize that they derive the most benefit by concentrating their efforts on their core service or product. Most business people simply do not have the time or in-house expertise to analyze technology, suppliers and pricing alternatives.

Contact LIMITLESS today for a FREE CONSULTATION to discover how to get control of your unmanaged spend and reduce expenditure on business services.

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Maybe Businesses could learn something from Shoppers about truly reducing expenses and saving money.While we know that every year there are millions of shoppers that run to stores either on Black Friday or jump online on Cyber Monday and some go to the extreme to camp outside store for days … how much are they really saving? We did some research “since we are the cost reduction experts” and we found that more than 154 million consumers shopped in stores and online over the weekend, which was about 3 million more than last year, according to a National Retail Federation survey released Sunday.

But the NRF, which tracks consumer visits and spending data, said those consumers also spent about $10 less on average — about $290 this year compared to nearly $300 in 2015.

NRF officials attributed the difference mostly to heavy discounting brought on by a “promotional environment” in stores. According to the organization, about 36% of shoppers this year said all of their purchases were on sale, compared to 32.5% last year.

It is nothing new that people delight in saving money and reducing cost for expenses. So we wake up early, or stay out late, wait in lines, push through crowds and then we reap the benefits.

In business, we should also reap the benefits of savings. And we have good news! You don’t have to fight the crowds or camp outside waiting for the doors to open. It is much easier to reduce costs within your business. While shopping for personal savings you may want to consider what you may be overpaying within your organization. Ways of overspending include, but are not limited to overcharges in your telecom billing, errors in billing which is very common, duplication of fees, incorrect taxation, 3^rd party fees, usage mistakes, utility metering errors,  and more.

Your telecom and utility expenses cover a large portion of your operating expenses. Overlooking what you are spending in any of these areas could be costing you every month. Not having the time to research in depth your bills, contracts or agreements is a big issue for most companies. Misappropriated fees, rates and bad contract terms mean more money is taken from your business.

So while we feel that it is always a good idea to find ways to SAVE MONEY – we challenge you to take the same approach to your Business Savings as you may to your Holiday Savings. Before the end of the year take time to investigate these savings and see how much you can save.

We understand if you don’t have the time. That is OK – It’s an easy phone call or email and we will provide a FREE CONSULTATION on how to address these telecom and utility costs. See – you are already saving!

www.limitlesstechnology.com

Nationwide: 866-504-4050. We will answer the phone!

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Released last week John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile, wants to get the message out that companies and individuals are paying unnecessary mobile data overages. Big question from us should be … Why do we OVERPAY? Bottom line in most cases, is because nobody has the time or resources to stop this where it starts …. with the carriers. It’s a fight, but more importantly it’s your money to get back!

John Legere is promising that if his petition can reach 250,000 signatures, he’ll send the carriers a “message that they won’t miss.” Legere mentions skywriting a nasty message above AT&T’s headquarters. Legere revives his call from last year for other cell phone carriers to end overage charges. Legere says, according to T-Mobile’s calculations, that other carriers in 2014 collected about $1.5 billion in overage charges.

Ever given any thought to how much your business is paying for data overage charges? Do you think it’s a few dollars? Maybe hundreds? What about thousands? At Limitless Technology ~ Cost Reduction Specialists – WE KNOW. It’s our job to know and get it back!

The most important question for CEO’s and CFO’s then becomes, how do I manage my mobile data in the office?  Technology is designed to enable companies to manage the time it takes to get information back into the field, document issues in the field, locate employees, and stay in contact with anyone, at any time. For every business owner these questions exist: How do I control the data that is being used? How much data is being used or abused?  ASK YOURSELF: Is your business struggling to manage mobile data? Are your employees constantly going over their data allowance for that month? Are you at a loss for how to control it? How much is this costing us? Are there other areas of your telecom spends that may also have these unnecessary spends and cost recovery needs?

Overage charges concerning mobile data is not a matter to be taken lightly, nor is it an inexpensive mistake one can afford. Knowing where they come from and how to monitor them is essentially the soundest way to safeguard your company against expensive overage costs. And if you don’t take action, more likely than not, your company will continue to lose money. Cell phone companies make a lot of money from overage fees. That’s YOUR MONEY. Let’s get it back – Contact Limitless Technology ~ Cost Reduction Specialists to see how much you could be saving! It’s a free consultation that will show you how other companies have benefited and how you can to by saving money every month at no risk to you. Start reducing overhead, take control of your telecom expenses now! After seeing our results … you will wish you had called sooner. Call Now: 866-504-4050. We are waiting to take your call.

FIND. IMPLEMENT. SAVE.

Consumer Alert: Cell Phone Cramming : MyFoxORLANDO.com

Limitless Technology Featured on Fox 35 News to talk about “Slamming and Cramming”

“Slamming” and “cramming” are two common types of abuses involving telephone service today. Slamming occurs when a customer’s telephone service is switched from one telephone company to another without his or her authorization. Cramming occurs when unauthorized charges are placed on a customer’s telephone bill for services and products. Both state and federal agencies are taking regulatory and legal action against the perpetrators. The GAO found that slamming continues to be a significant problem for consumers.

The FCC took action this week against “cramming,” or the placement of fees on consumer phone bills for services neither wanted or ordered. According to an FCC press statement, the FCC issued fines of $12 million against four companies for cramming, and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said he’d be circulating new rules that would make cramming more difficult. The FCC has also issued a tip sheet for consumers to help them avoid getting ripped off. While the FCC’s actions against cramming are certainly welcome, we’ve long noted that the agency has turned a blind eye to the vast assortment of “below the line” fees many carriers use to covertly jack up the price post sale, many of which are disguised to look like they’re government mandated (like “regulatory recovery” fees) — but aren’t. The FCC even has one such fee named for it; the “FCC line charge,” which in no way goes to the FCC, but instead is pure carrier profit.

Building on his Consumer Empowerment Agenda, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski today announced plans to propose new rules to increase transparency and disclosure on phone bills, aiming to protect Americans from “mystery fees” and “cramming,” which is the illegal placement of an unauthorized fee onto a consumer’s monthly phone bill. The charges are for services like long-distance services, voicemail, or even diet plans or yoga classes that the consumer neither requested nor used.

Speaking at the Center for American Progress, Chairman Genachowski also unveiled an FCC Cramming Tip Sheet to help consumers identify and resolve this type of mystery fee if they’ve been affected. A recent expert survey showed that only five percent (5%) of consumers who were impacted by a particular cramming company were aware of the monthly charges. Based on the same survey and state data, the FCC believes an estimated 15 to 20 million American households a year potentially have these mystery fees on their monthly landline phone bills. Chairman Genachowski said: “Our Consumer Empowerment Agenda is focused on harnessing technology and transparency to empower consumers with the information they need to make smart 
decisions and to make the market work. When abusive practices require action, we will act. We are focused on empowerment, education, and enforcement.”

He continued: “Today, I’m also announcing that I will be circulating a proposal tomorrow to my colleagues to explore new ways to empower consumers and protect Americans against cramming and mystery fees.”

One example of cramming involves a St. Louis, Missouri woman who was charged for 25 months of long-distance service she never authorized or used. When she protested the charges, the company sent her a copy of the form that she had supposedly used to authorize the service. It had a different name, address, email and birth date than she did. Even so, the long-distance company offered to credit back only a fraction of the cost.

In addition, Chairman Genachowski discussed the FCC’s recent enforcement action against four companies, resulting in proposed penalties of $11.7 million. He said, “Cramming is not only illegal, it erodes consumer trust in communications services. The FCC will not tolerate cramming, and we are turning up the heat on companies that rip off consumers with unauthorized fees. We want to send a clear message: if you charge consumers unauthorized fees, you will be discovered and you will be punished.”
The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued Notices of Apparent Liability last week to four companies for allegedly charging thousands of consumers for long distance service that they had not ordered. The companies targeted in the FCC Notices of Apparent Liability are: Main Street Telephone ($4,200,000); VoiceNet Telephone, LLC ($3,000,000); Cheap2Digital Telephone, LLC ($3,000,000); and Norristown Telephone, LLC ($1,500,000).

The unlawful billing appears to have continued for months. According to the Enforcement Bureau, only one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of consumers in two of the cases reviewed actually used the additional services for which they were being charged.

Chairman Genachowski concluded by saying,”Today, we are saying loud and clear to consumers trying to navigate the complex and constantly changing communications landscape: the FCC is on your side. We are focused on helping all Americans seize the tremendous opportunities of communications technology.”

“Cramming” is the illegal practice of placing unauthorized charges on your telephone bill.  Crammers rely on confusing telephone bills and vague or confusing wording, in an attempt to trick consumers into paying for these unwanted services.  For example, charges may read “service fee,”  “service charge,” “other fees,” “voicemail,” “mail server,” “calling plan,” “membership,” “monthly fee” or “minimum monthly usage fee” on your bill.

How to Prevent and Spot Cramming Charges

• Carefully read all forms and promotional materials – including the fine print – before signing up for telephone or other services to be charged to your phone bill.  Be equally careful if you receive an offer by phone.

• Carefully review your telephone bill every month. Monitor it just as closely as you review your monthly credit card or bank statements.

• Ask yourself the following questions as you review your telephone bill:

> Do I recognize the names of all the companies listed on my bill?
> What services were provided by the listed companies?
> Does my bill include charges for calls I did not place or services I did not authorize?
> Are the rates and line items consistent with the information that the company quoted to me?

• Do not ignore small charges, which can add up to big amounts. Crammers often try to go undetected by submitting $1.99 or $2.99 charges to tens of thousands of consumers.

If You Suspect Unauthorized Charges:

• Ask the company for an explanation before paying when you don’t know what service was provided for a charge on your bill. If you don’t receive a clear and accurate explanation:

• Immediately call the company that charged you for services you did not authorize and request adjustment to your bill for any incorrect charges. If that doesn’t work:

• Call your own telephone company and request to have the incorrect charges removed.  And if that doesn’t work:

• You can also file a complaint with the FCC for charges related to telephone services between states or internationally; with your state public service commission for telephone services within your state; and with the FTC for non-telephone services on your telephone bill.

If you manage multiple carriers or own your own company, Limitless Technology can help you SAVE MONEY and IMPROVE SERVICE by reviewing your bills and optimizing them based on your real telecom needs.  We can even negotiate the contracts on your behalf, so there is complete transparency in your telecom spend.  Contact us today at 407.330.4466 and let us help.

NOTE:To file a complaint with the FCC for free, visit www.fcc.gov/complaints or call 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY. Or write to the Federal Communications Commission Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C., 20554.