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Where we really earn our money is when we figure a way to utilize the utility’s own pricing structure to our client’s advantage.
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| INTRO > WHY AUDIT? > HOW OVERCHARGES OCCUR > THE PROCESS > |
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HOW OVERCHARGES OCCUR
Many companies go to great lengths to implement measures to reduce utility consumption, but don’t realize that those measures could be undercut if they are still overpaying for that consumption – whether reduced through conservation efforts or not.
Utility companies - like other investor owned companies - are under increasing pressure to do more with less. The hand-holding of customers that used to exist is no longer available for small and medium sized customers.
Ongoing efforts to implement deregulation are creating a regulatory climate that is increasingly complicated and dynamic.
Utility tariffs specifically state that outside certain very basic responsibilities on their part, the onus is on the customer to ensure that they are not paying more than necessary for the services they receive.
While utility companies are not out to intentionally overcharge customers, many customers find that - either through utility company errors or by not understanding the intricacies of utility pricing - they are paying their utility companies more than those companies are entitled to receive.
Computers do not make errors, but people inputting data do. A simple demand read error by a meter reader can impact a customer’s bill for twelve consecutive months. Increasing utility company reliance on new technology allows for more efficient delivery of bills, but with less oversight and frequently less accuracy.
A customer’s utility invoices are typically paid by AP personnel who have no training to spot overcharges – especially if these overcharges have been ongoing and do not raise a red flag in any given month.
In addition, many “overpayments” are not the result of errors, but instead are the result of the client not taking full advantage of the tariff structure and the opportunities therein.
If performed on a contingency basis by a company where the customer incurs no upfront cost or risk, even if no recoveries are obtained, the client at least can move forward secure in the knowledge that they are not overpaying for their utility services.
