Show Your Viewers
How To Cut Their Phone Bills

VOLUME XXII, NUMBER 8     FEBRUARY 25, 2002

The best way to save money is to simply not waste it. The excesses of the 90s are gone for the most part, and people are paying closer attention to what they are paying for basic services.
Here are the details of a project that showed viewers they can do something about a common headache: phone bills.

A lower phone bill appeals to everyone

Viewers were shown how to shrink their phone bills in a consumer project on WCAU-TV, Philadelphia.
"Since 9/11 and with the economy, people are more concerned about their financial well-being, and about saving money in these uncertain times," said Chris Blackman, Vice President of News.

People were looking for ways to stretch their money, and this project connected with them, helping to hold viewers from quarter-hour to quarter-hour.
Blackman said, "This is something a viewer can take immediate action on, and get a real result and benefit from."

The newsroom managers had already seen what a powerful motivator such financial advice can be. In November, the station did a project on how people could lower all kinds of bills.
"We showed the Web site, lowermybills.com, where people can plug in all their different bills, and it shows them the lowest cost options. We got great response to that, too," Blackman added.

Many people were paying too much

Viewers could learn all they needed just by watching the story, or if they wanted individual help, they could have their phone bills analyzed by consumer experts at selected malls on any of three Saturdays.

Choosing regional calling and long distance carriers was difficult. There were complicated rate structures and sometimes hidden charges. The pitches could be deceiving, and some bills were hard to decipher.

"We have received many complaints from people about their phone bills, asking for help and wanting advice on what they should do," explained anchor Tracy Davidson, who also was the station's consumer reporter.
She checked her sources in the Consumer Advocate's Office in Pennsylvania to see how widespread the problem was.
"They said that most people are paying a lot more than they should be paying --- not a little bit, or a couple of bucks. People are paying a lot more than they should be for long distance," she said.

She admitted that before they started investigating, she thought that she might be paying a few dollars more, but switching carriers would be a major pain.
"We discovered that it was much more than 'a couple of bucks.' We saved people $30, $50, and in one woman's case, we saved her between $250 and $300 a month," she said.
The woman wasting up to $300 had a daughter studying in Paris, and she was simply on the wrong plan.

Personal examples demonstrated possible savings

Five people agreed to have their phone bills analyzed.
The people mailed their phone bills to the station, so the experts could look at them in advance.

Davidson then went out to the viewers' homes with the consumer advocate.
"We went in and showed them how simple it was to do this on their own," she explained.

Another woman was paying 35 cents a minute for calls during the day with her basic long distance plan.
"While 'basic' may sound cheap, it is usually the most expensive plan," said Davidson. They found her a plan where she would pay only 4 and a half cents a minute.

You should ask: With my calling patterns, am I on the right plan?
"You might be totally on the wrong plan. They're not going to tell you unless you ask," she stressed.

Mall events offered viewers direct access

People could get help with their bills at three sessions. Directions to the malls and maps were easily accessed at the station's Web site.

"We get so many requests after consumer stories that we thought having the events at the malls would be a great way for Tracy to meet people one-on-one and interact with viewers. It is a way to reinforce the consumer brand, and maybe even get some stories out of it," said Blackman.
He explained, "We find that people coming to events like this are generally very grateful, and are surprised at how much they are able to save. Besides helping people in a practical way, it is a great way to extend the brand."

People from the Consumer Advocate's Office helped staff the sites and went over the bills individually.
They analyzed fees and looked for hidden charges.
"One of the main things is to know your calling patterns and how much long distance you use," said Davidson.
For example, some senior citizens who brought their bills to the malls rarely made long distance calls.
"When we looked at their rate structure, they were paying a minimum fee, because they weren't making enough long distance calls," she explained.
If they only made two long distance phone calls, but had to pay a $5.00 fee, the two calls ended up costing $5.10.

Some people had to compare their long distance savings with the cost of their toll calls.
"If all your family is in-state, and you rarely make a long distance phone call, you might want to choose a plan that has a higher long distance rate, but has a lower toll call rate," she said.
People don't always know they are paying for services such as call waiting, caller ID or other extras.
Those were the things they explained to people at the malls.
Similar advice was posted online, too.

There was help online

Viewers were directed viewers to valuable online resources they could use to compare long distance plans.

"A number of free Internet sites have compiled all the information. The sites are set up to allow consumers to compare phone plans 'apples to apples,'" Davidson explained.

The Consumer Advocate's Web site had links to all the comparison sites.
"You can go into them, type in your area code and the first three digits of your phone number, and it lists all the long distance companies that serve you in your neighborhood --- starting with the least expensive," she said.

The project really helped people and provided the kind of information they strived to provide in the station's Consumer Alerts.
"People want simple solutions to their biggest problems and to the challenges that give them headaches --- and phone bills give people headaches. This helped people to save money that I am sure they can use in much better ways," she said.

See also:
Great Shredder Event Draws Thousands to Malls
Viewers could avoid identity theft by taking their documents to the mall to be shredded for free in a project created by WCAU-TV, Philadelphia.

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