Telecommunications | Phone-bill Clinics

Want proof consumers love CUB's phone-bill clinics? After analyzing one Schaumburg man's flawless phone bill and finding he was on the best plan, the consumer told CUB he had some help before. "Ok ok, I admit it...I came to one of these last year!" he said. CUB loves hearing from consumers who we've helped save money, but CUB staffers talked to plenty of first-time clinic-goers too. All in all, 16 consumers got tips that could save them an average of $168 a year. CUB's Sarah Moskowitz received high praise from one man after showing him how to cut his bill by $240 a year. "Give that woman a raise!" he said. CUB's experts played a phone-bill clinic doubleheader in East Peoria and Canton, showing consumers how to trim their bills by an average of $256 a year! "If I can save $15 to $20 a month, why not?" said one Canton man. "I can use it a lot more than (the phone company) can!" CUB Energy Attorney and Outreach Associate Celia Christensen went above and beyond the call of duty at Vernon Hills' Aspen Drive Library. She singlehandedly showed 11 consumers how to cut calling costs by an average of $504 a year! That included one woman who was overpaying by $130 a month on calls to Ukraine—more than $1,500 a year! All in all, CUB's phone savings team helped consumers cut their costs by an average of $346 a year. Notice a trend in your monthly phone bill? Summit consumers did. "Every month it goes up and up and up!" said one man. Luckily, CUB grounded his soaring bill, saving him $456 a year! He wasn't the only one. More than a dozen consumers came to the Summit Public Library to let some air out of their bloated bills, saving an average of $209 a year. About 20 consumers sharpened their phone-bill skills at CUB's clinic at the Romeoville Recreation Center. "Before, I didn't even know how to read this thing!" said Elisabeth, who learned how to cut her bill by more than $600 a year by dropping Line-Backer, an optional insurance plan for inside phone wires, and switching to Pioneer Telephone for calls beyond 15 miles from home. All in all, consumers learned how to save an average of $184 a year. Besides a hefty price tag, the dozens of charges, features and fees littering a phone bill add up to one thing: confusion. "We've got five college degrees between us," said a consumer at the Melrose Park Public Library. "We still can't figure out this dang bill!" Luckily, CUB's experts are trained to decipher bloated phone bills, and helped him save $335 a year. His bill wasn't the only one that needed decoding. All in all, CUB helped Melrose Park consumers save an average of $302 a year! The less you spend on your phone bill, the more you have to spend on other things, like lunch, for example. That's how one Park Ridge woman, Maureen, decided she'd spend part of her $15 monthly savings after CUB showed her how to trim her local and long-distance phone bill. Another Park Ridge consumer learned that by switching to a CUB-designed AT&T Consumer's Choice plan, he could trim his phone bill by $240 a year. "This was worth the trip!" he said. All in all, more than 70 consumers got CUB's money-saving tips at the Park Ridge Senior Center, cutting their bills by an average of $201 a year. That's a lot of lunches! About 30 consumers brought their phone bills to the Decatur Macon County Senior Center, where CUB's phone-bill analysts showed them how to cut their bills by an average of $139 a year. About 29 consumers brought their phone bills to Darien's Indian Prairie Public Library, and CUB's experts cut their bloated bills by an average of about $228 a year. CUB's experts had a tall order in Arlington Heights—about 50 consumers brought their bloated bills to the Arlington Heights Memorial Library looking for ways to save. CUB was up to the task, cutting bills by an average of more than $225 a year. CUB staffer Evan LaRuffa helped one consumer chop $80 a month off his long-distance bill by ditching a pricey AT&T international plan, and switching to Pioneer Telephone instead. That's $960 a year! CUB's telephone experts helped one beaming consumer save more than $1,100 a year at the Glenview Public Library. About 25 consumers got CUB's money-saving phone tips, cutting their bills by an average of $264 a year. Shane, a Prospect Heights consumer, made his parents proud, and saved them big bucks, at CUB's phone-bill clinic at the Prospect Heights Public Library. CUB showed him that by switching to one of Illinois' top long-distance deals and a CUB-designed AT&T Consumer's Choice local plan, his parents could save more than $800 a year. "That's a no-brainer!" he said. He was one of about 20 consumers who saved an average of $235 a year. CUB went toe-to-toe with heavyweight phone bills at the Steger-South Chicago Heights Public Library. It was a knockout! Consumers learned how to cut their bills by an average of $21.25 a month, or $255 a year! CUB sent bloated phone bills running for the hills at Naperville's Tabor Hills Senior Living Campus. About 30 consumers attended CUB's clinic, netting an average savings of $256 a year. One consumer was able to trim $600 off of her yearly calling costs by ditching a pricey Cavalier Telephone plan for AT&T's low-cost Consumer's Choice local-calling plan, which CUB designed and the company is forced to offer under a legal settlement. She could also nab a $10 long-distance credit with one of the best deals in the nation: Pioneer Telephone's Rate Buster Plan. "Every dime helps!" said a happy Crete consumer after learning she could cut her phone bill by $120 a year. CUB saved consumers at the Crete Public Library a lot of dimes—an average of 3,790 a year. That's $379! Not bad for a trip to the library. One consumer, "Elizabeth" (not her real name), learned how to cut her phone bill by $180 a year at CUB's clinic at the Wauconda Area Library, but had one regret: "I'm sorry I waited so long!" Elizabeth had been out of work for more than a year, so CUB's money-saving advice was a big boost. "Everytime I called up (AT&T), they said I was on the right plan," she said. Elizabeth was just one of more than a dozen consumers who got CUB's bill-trimming tips, saving an average of $247 a year. A lot of consumers say "thank you!" or "nice job!" to CUB after getting tips to cut their phone bills. Jeanie, of Darien, went even further. "Thanks a million!" she said, after learning how to save $324 a year. She was one of more than 30 consumers who got CUB's money-saving advice at Darien's Indian Prairie Public Library, trimming phone bills by an average of $211 a year.