Reading Your Cell Phone Bill

Everyone has received a cell phone bill that they neither understood nor was convinced of its validity.  Let me guess, there’s no way you talked that much last month!

How to read a cell phone bill is a complicated thing, but we’re going to try to explain certain features of the bill and how you should relate the feature to the plan you have.

No roaming is the really big issue.  If you have a nationwide plan, it must be explicit in the “no roaming” feature, as some areas now are not included in a nationwide plan.  Make sure that your plan states “no roaming”.

The FCC and states that regulate cell phone usage charge excise tax fees for your phone minutes and connectivity.  There will be an additional charge for this tax.

If you have rollover minutes, they will show on your bill, and they will accumulate if you also have that feature.  Most cell phone bills will have an area that shows you your accumulated cell phone minutes, and those that are eligible for rollover.

The next feature you should be sure to check is your overage if you are like the many other consumers who purchase inadequate plans.  If you go over your minutes, you will be charged a per minute overage charge.  This one is really quite staggering at times, so sit before you check this feature of your bill.

Past these charges there are also text messaging charges and 411 information charges that recently have grown really out of control. Often, the 411 information charge is over $1 and the text messaging charges are sometimes on a per letter basis.  I wouldn’t recommend using these features unless you’re sure of their inclusion in your plan on a free or limited use basis.

That just about covers the high spots of reading your cell phone bill, anything beyond these basic features, and you need to check with your wireless provider.