I've been doing utility bill audits for 2 years now and getting calls about telecom/data bills. What kind of fee structure are you all using for telecom audits? The complexity seems way higher than electric/gas bills. Just reviewed a Verizon Business bill for a client in Sacramento - found $847/month in unused circuits but it took me 6 hours to understand their tariff structure.
Telecom audit fees - what are you charging?
For telecom I charge 35% contingency vs 25% for electric/gas. The complexity factor is huge - especially with AT&T and Verizon business accounts. Found a Charlotte client paying $2,300/month for T1 lines they disconnected 8 months ago. Took three rounds with AT&T billing to get credits processed.
I do flat hourly at $125/hr for telecom because the rabbit holes are endless. Verizon has like 47 different surcharges and half of them aren't even explained on the bill. Just finished an audit for a Pittsburgh manufacturer - $4,200 in bogus "network access" fees over 18 months.
The real money is in data circuits and internet services. Found a San Antonio hotel chain paying for 20mb fiber they upgraded from 2 years ago - still getting billed for both services at $890/month. Comcast Business kept telling them it was "normal billing lag" until I got involved.
Anyone dealt with Charter Spectrum business billing? Client in Knoxville has been getting billed for static IP addresses they never ordered - $45/month each for 14 IPs. Charter's excuse was their system "auto-enrolled" them during a service upgrade.
Cox Business here in Tulsa is notorious for this stuff. I specialize in telecom now because the error rates are insane - probably 60% of business accounts have billing errors vs maybe 15% for electric. The carriers bank on customers not understanding the technical jargon.
Word of warning on AT&T - their "billing research" department can take 90+ days to process credits. Always document everything and follow up weekly. Lost a $12,000 recovery because they claimed the request was "incomplete" after 4 months.
The key is getting familiar with telecom tariffs and understanding circuit types. T1, T3, fiber, MPLS - each has different billing structures. Ohio Bell has some of the most confusing tariff schedules I've seen. Worth the learning curve though - average recovery on telecom audits is 3x higher than utility.