The auditor, Applied Research Technologies, got the penalty forgiven and renegotiated the contract, says Doris Moblech, network manager at Embarcadero. Auditors employ databases that compute the distances between switching offices to find out whether mileage charges are accurate. UI's Kraemer says his long-distance carrier was charging for phone lines that were not used by the university. For example, Applied Research checked the rates Embarcadero was paying for various services and ranked whether it was paying at the high or low end of the acceptable range. One auditor says he has found customers still paying 30 cents per minute for long- distance simply because no one ever called the phone company to demand better rates.
Auditors also offer buying strategies for services.
If you don't keep the service for the term of the contract, many carriers simply make you pay back the discount with no additional penalty. Telecom auditors can play hardball for you, too. If a carrier says it only refunds for errors made over the past six months, but state law requires paybacks for six years, auditors can press that case. But carriers are generally cooperative. Tariff Billing Specialists' Francini says that in 22 years of auditing, he has appealed cases to state public utilities commissions only a half dozen times.