How to Dispute Phone Charges

Every month when you get your phone bill, you should look over the charges, because you never know when a charge is going to appear that you haven't made. Not everyone knows how to dispute phone charges but if you follow the steps below, it will certainly help.

Things You'll Need

• Phone bill
• Researched information
• Telephone staff person

Instructions

1. Go over the charges and circle any call that you didn't make. Also look for services that may have been charged that you didn't ask for or changes in service that no one in your household applied for. This could include a long distant carrier that was recently added.

2. Talk to the other members of your household. Rule out any call that they can account for or any services that they may have changed or added. If there are still circled items or charges that are not accounted for, go to the next step.

3. Find evidence to support your claim. You can do this in many different ways but a couple of examples would be that you know you have never made a call to the part of the country where you are being billed or that you haven't made a call that is outside the country. Another way to support your claim is if you know you weren't home on that day.

4. Call your phone company during business hours. Make sure you speak to a live person.

5. Explain that you didn't make the following calls and that no one in your household made them either. Tell them why you are so sure that the charge is wrong (this is where your evidence comes into play). If you are disputing a charge then explain that these charges were not requested by you or by any one else in your household and you shouldn't have been billed for them.

6. Make sure you get the person's name (especially if they say they will take the charges off) so when you receive your next bill you can check and see that the disputed charges were credited to your account.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to follow up your phone conversation with a letter.