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Cell Phone Savings Are At Your Fingertips

'Buyer Beware' Of Online Offers To Help

POSTED: 5:25 pm MST November 24, 2009
UPDATED: 10:33 am MST November 25, 2009

From texting to talking and everything in between, your cell phone can be a constant and costly companion.

When someone is looking to save money, their cell phone bill is probably on the list of places to cut back.

"It took four months for them even to get back with us," said Jonathan Keiler.

The frustration is fresh for Keiler.

He called Sprint to negotiate a lower rate for the business lines at Remax Classic and did not get quick answers.

Keiler and colleague Christine Marchetta tried a new method for lowering their cell phone bills on the Web site ReviewMyBill.com.

Other online reports tout the Web site touted as a quick, easy way to save money.

"I don't think it will be anything," said a skeptical Keiler.

He filled out the initial 90-second evaluation for the 10 company cell phone lines.

Even though he did not provide his personal account information and password, Reviewmybill.com still provided an estimated savings.

"An annual savings of $1,161.60," said Keiler.

Keiler said the savings is equal to what his company pays for one month of service.

"Sounds pretty interesting. Sounds pretty good if it works," he said.

The cost to the customer? A one-time fee of 33 percent of whatever savings the Web site secures.

But, the customer must provide their cell phone number and account password.

"I think it's very suspicious that they ask for your user name and password," said Marchetta.

She was not eager, but tried out the Web site anyway using a fictitious account password.

She still received a savings quote in less than 60 seconds.

"We found an annual savings of $116.16,” said Marchetta, reading from her computer screen.

Reviewmybill.com founder Nick Lindwedel claims the Web site saves customers up to 28 percent on their cell phone bills without requiring them to switch carriers.

The Web site's employees essentially pose as the customer online using their account information, then make adjustments to their account.

"We even contact the carrier and make all of the changes for you," said Lindwedel.

But Call7 Investigator Theresa Marchetta spoke with all the cell phone carriers Lindwedel claims to work with and none of them negotiate with third parties on behalf of their mobile clients.

ReviewMyBill.com also claims to utilize a little known Federal Communications Commission regulation.

"The FCC regulates any plan that's on with a carrier that's known about has to be offered to another person on that carrier," Lindwedel said.

He told the Call7 Investigators he had the ability to “unretire” those older plans and get the customer a better deal.

The Call7 Investigators contacted the FCC to verify Lindwedel’s claims.

No one at the FCC could identify the alleged loophole Lindwedel claims to utilize, even after scouring cell phone regulations and checking with their consumer division and national communications representatives.

The Call7 Investigators also made repeated requests for Lindwedel to provide the source of the so-called FCC loophole. He said he would send the information, but never did.

Other Ways To Save Money On Your Cell Phone

There are plenty of other things customers can do for free, on their own, to save money.

Start by calling the cell phone carrier to walk through your plan.

Marchetta did and verified she was on the least expensive plan.

Beware of what is called "butt dialing" or "pocket dialing," when you accidentally trigger your phone to make a call.

Not only does it cost you to make those accidental calls (some carriers charge for those accidents), but you may also be paying for downloads you never wanted.

If you need to adjust your minutes you can do that at any time, but make the call before the billing cycle is complete and the charges are already included.

Drop unnecessary features like extra insurance, data downloads and Internet access.

When your contract is up research competitors, call your carrier and ask them to beat other offers or threaten to switch.

Bottom line: work with your carrier, cut the extras and get competing offers.

As for ReviewMyBill.com, the Call7 Investigators could not find much information about the company when researching it.

It is not listed with the Better Business Bureau.

Call7 did, however, find numerous Web classified ads across the nation for sales positions.

Despite glowing reports you might find online about ReviewMyBill.com, Call7 would never recommend anyone give out personal information or access to their accounts unless they know the person asking for it.
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