I often joke with my new client’s that we (mobile phone companies) purposely make mobile phone bills confusing just to make it difficult for them to see exactly what they’re being charged.
If you’re often having difficulty making sense of the fees and charges that appear on your mobile phone bill then perhaps the information I’ve appended below will help you get a better understanding of how to accurately read and decipher your account.
Probably 80% of the clients I meet don’t have a clear understanding of their mobile phone call rates; or what they believe they’re are being charged and what is actually being charged are two completely different things! To calculate your mobile phone call rates follow these steps:
a). FIND A 30 SECOND PHONE CALLb). FIND A 1 MINUTE PHONE CALLc). DEDUCT THE COST OF THE 30 SECOND CALL (a) FROM THE 1 MINUTE CALL (b)
This will generally provide you with your “real” call cost per 30 seconds. You’ll now notice that the new 30 second charge varies from the 30 second phone call cost (a) that you found in your mobile phone bill. This variance is due to an additional fee referred to as “flagfall” or “connection fee”. If you now deduct the new 30 second phone call cost from the original 30 second phone call cost (a) you’ll end up with a figure that is your flagfall cost per phone call.
Flagfall (or connection fee) is what I call the “hidden fee” that many client’s either forget they’re being charged, or in some cases, were never told they’re being charged. Flagfall is a “single” fee applied at the beginning of a phone call every time you “connect” to someone (or something) on the other end. Simply put – if you make a phone call and someone (or something) answers, you’re charged flagfall. If nobody answers and the call “rings out” no flagfall fee applies. Many clients ask “what if I get someone’s message centre, am I still charged flagfall?” and the answer is “yes”. In this scenario your mobile phone call has still connected with something on the other end and therefore flagfall and call costs apply.
Call rates and flagfall fees vary from carrier to carrier, plan to plan and call to call (see we really do try to make things confusing!) and this greatly depends on the type of plan or plans you and your business is subscribed to.
To give you a rough guide, in my experience CAP PLANS tend to have higher flagfall fees than BUSINESS PLANS and on occasions some BUSINESS PLANS may have no flagfall fee at all. You may even find that flagfall (and call costs) vary depending on the type of call that you make. For example, a call to a “landline” (office number) may be charged at a higher rate than a call made to a mobile phone, or a call in the morning may cost less than a call made in the afternoon!
So as you can see there are many variables that need to be considered when trying to accurately establish what you and your business is being charged for mobile phone calls.
I trust these simple “Tips & Hints” will help you make sense of your next mobile phone account.
Jason HellyerMobile Guide
