CHICAGO, March 30, 2011—In a fresh twist to spring cleaning, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) on Wednesday announced that it will hold a Chicago-area campaign, "Spring Savings Week," to "scrub" phone bills of hundreds of dollars a year in unnecessary services and bad deals using five consecutive days of phone clinics and a new how-to video, "60 Seconds to Phone Savings."

Sparked by recent events in the phone industry as well as a CUB study in 2009 showing that Illinois callers could be overpaying by $1 billion a year, CUB will hold a money-saving event each day in the first week of April to help consumers tidy up their phone bills and cut their costs.

"Nobody really thinks phone rates are low, and developments this year show how much callers need solid, money-saving information to clean up their bills," CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. "The good news is that savings can be just 60 seconds away for frustrated phone customers."

Kolata pointed to a 27-63 percent increase in AT&T landline phone rates in January, as well as the possible merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, threatening less competition and higher wireless rates. CUB is using "Spring Savings Week" to remind people that landline service still holds some great deals. That's key because nearly three out of four consumers still use a traditional phone.

CUB's new video, " 60 Seconds to Phone Savings," gives an easy-to-understand explanation of top tips to cut landline phone bills. CUB's Phone Savings Center, at www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org, also will have a link to the video, along with tools for cutting landline bills, such as the Local Phone Cost-cutter, and tools for slicing wireless costs, such as the CUB Cellphone Saver. Combined, the tools have been showing people how to save an average of about $500 a year.

CUB's "Spring Savings Week" clinics are:

At the clinics, consumers will receive helpful tips about:

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