My Bill's Too High

TITLE: MY BILL'S TOO HIGH 8-00-22 (Three Part Version)

ANCHOR LEAD

DO YOU READ YOUR CABLE BILL, YOUR ELECTRIC BILL OR YOUR DOCTOR'S BILL…OR DO YOU JUST LOOK AT THE TOTAL AND PAY IT? IF YOU'RE NOT IN THE HABIT OF SCRUTINIZING YOUR BILLS…YOU COULD BE LOSING LOTS OF MONEY. IT'S ESTIMATED THAT AMERICANS ARE OVERCHARGED BY AS MUCH AS 10 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR DUE TO ACCIDENTAL OR INTENTIONAL OVERBILLING. _________ TELLS US HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND DEAL WITH INCORRECT BILLS.

#1 Length :1:02

WRAP ONE Length: 18
NO ONE LIKES TO RECEIVE BILLS…BUT IT'S WORSE WHEN THOSE BILLS ARE WRONG. THE BIGGEST OFFENDERS…HOSPITALS. PRIVATE COMPANIES AND U.S. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE AUDITS SHOW THAT MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF HOSPITAL BILLS HAVE ERRORS. TODD LARSON TRACKS CONSUMER BILLING PROBLEMS FOR THE FOUNDATION FOR TAXPAYER AND CONSUMER RIGHTS.

ACT :Todd Larson, Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights Length :05
"In the medical industry, you're going to see a tremendous number of bills with errors on them."

WRAP TWO Length :04
WHEN JOHN MAJOR GOT OUT OF THE HOSPITAL HE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS BILL.

NATS Length :01
"Here it is right here."

WRAP THREE Length :06
HE BROUGHT IT TO PAT PALMER OF MEDICAL RECOVERY SERVICES, WHICH SPECIALIZES IN FINDING MISTAKES IN MEDICAL BILLS.

ACT :Pat Palmer, Medical Recovery Services Length :10
"You would probably be amazed at what you're being charged for…on your bill it will come out as cough support device. Which you'll think that's something that's needed during your procedure.'

WRAP FOUR Length: 05
JOHN MAJOR DISCOVERED HE WAS BILLED ALMOST 60 DOLLARS FOR SOMETHING HE NEVER USED.

ACT :John Major, Overcharged Patient Length :02
"I was rather shocked."

WRAP FOUR Length: 09
PAT WAS ABLE TO CUT 300 DOLLARS OFF OF JOHN'S BILL. SHE USUALLY FINDS ABOUT A THOUSAND DOLLARS IN OVERCHARGES. IN A MOMENT…OTHER EXAMPLES OF OVERCHARGING.

#2 Length :50

WRAP FIVE Length :05
LOOKED AT YOUR PHONE BILL LATELY? CONSUMER ADVOCATE TODD LARSON SAYS YOU SHOULD.

ACT :Todd Larson, Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights Length :07
"Because someplace in the back you might see a company you've never heard of before charging you five dollars for a calling card service that you never signed up for."

WRAP SIX Length: 04
JOHN WHITESIDE WAS AMAZED WHEN HE STARTED LOOKING CAREFULLY AT HIS BILLS. FIRST…THE PHONE BILL.

ACT :John Whiteside, Overbilling Victim Length :04
"I noticed that the calls were being billed at about double the rate."

WRAP SEVEN Length :04
NEXT…THE CABLE BILL...TURNS OUT HIS INSTALLATION FEE HAD MUSHROOMED.

ACT :John Whiteside, Overbilling Victim Length :04
"So that was about $36 though, for the $4.95 installation."

NATS Length :03
"Find out what everyone's talking about in the NHL."

WRAP EIGHT Length :05
AND HE FOUND OUT HE WAS EVEN BEING CHARGED FOR THE CHANNEL THAT TELLS YOU WHAT'S ON TV THAT NIGHT.

ACT :John Whiteside, Overbilling Victim Length :04
"But they just threw it on hoping for $2.37 no one would notice."

WRAP NINE Length :09
BUT CONSUMERS ARE STARTING TO NOTICE. COMING UP…HOW YOU CAN FIGHT OVERCHARGES.

#3 Length :46

WRAP TEN Length :16
HOSPITAL BILLS…CABLE BILLS…PHONE BILLS…THESE OVERCHARGES ARE RELATIVELY EASY TO DETECT IF YOU READ THE BILLS CAREFULLY. BUT BANKS AND CREDIT CARD COMPANIES ARE TRICKIER. BANKS SOMETIMES ADD FEES AND CREDIT CARD COMPANIES SOMETIMES RAISE INTEREST RATES. TODD LARSON EXPLAINS.

ACT :Todd Larson, Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights Length :07
"That won't change the minimum amount due each month. It just changes how much of that payment goes towards principle and how much goes towards interest."

WRAP ELEVEN Length:23
HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOURSELF FROM OVERCHARGES? FIRST... READ YOUR BILLS EACH MONTH. IF YOU SEE AN ERROR, CALL THE COMPANY'S CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER. IF THAT DOESN'T HELP... ASK FOR A SUPERVISOR.NEXT... WRITE A LETTER TO CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS.YOU CAN ALSO BRING YOUR BILL TO A SPECIALLY TRAINED AUDITOR WHO KNOWS HOW TO RECOGNIZE CONFUSING OVERCHARGES.IF ALL ELSE FAILS…COMPLAIN TO STATE AND FEDERAL REGULATORS.

WRAP TWELVE
Local Talent Wrap.

ANCHOR TAG

OTHER ADVICE FOR FIGHTING OVERCHARGES… WRITE DOWN THE NAME OF THE PERSON YOU COMPLAINED TO AND WHAT THEY SAID. THAT DOCUMENTATION CAN HELP YOU MAKE YOUR CASE. FINALLY... IF AN INCORRECT BILL JUST WON'T GO AWAY, YOU CAN ALWAYS CONSIDER TAKING THE MATTER TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT.

TITLE: MY BILL'S TOO HIGH 8-00-22A (Single Part Version)

ANCHOR LEAD

WRAP ONE Length :04
WHEN JOHN MAJOR GOT OUT OF THE HOSPITAL HE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS BILL.

NATS :01
"Here it is right here."

WRAP TWO Length :06
HE BROUGH IT TO PAT PALMER OF MEDICAL RECOVERY SERVICES, WHICH SPECIALIZES IN FINDING MISTAKES IN MEDICAL BILLS.

WRAP THREE Length :06
JOHN MAJOR DISCOVERED HE WAS BILLED ALMOST 60 DOLLARS FOR SOMETHING HE DIDN'T USE.

ACT :John Major, Overcharged Patient Length :02
"I was rather shocked."

WRAP FOUR Length: 21
PAT WAS ABLE TO CUT 300 DOLLARS OFF OF JOHN'S BILL. SHE USUALLY FINDS ABOUT A THOUSAND DOLLARS IN OVERCHARGES. PRIVATE COMPANIES AND THE U.S. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE AUDITS SHOW THAT MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF HOSPITAL BILLS CONTAIN ERRORS. HAVE YOU LOOKED AT YOUR PHONE BILL LATELY? LONG DISTANCE CARRIERS ARE ALSO NOTORIOUS FOR OVERCHARGING CUSTOMERS, AS JOHN WHITESIDE DISCOVERED.

ACT :John Whiteside, Overbilling Victim Length :04
"I noticed that the calls were being billed at about double the rate."

WRAP FIVE Length:04
AND WHEN HE LOOKED CLOSELY AT HIS CABLE BILL...TURNS OUT HIS INSTALLATION FEE HAD MUSHROOMED.

ACT :John Whiteside, Overbilling Victim Length :04
"So that was about $36 though, for the $4.95 installation."

WRAP SIX Length: 07
TODD LARSON TRACKS CONSUMER BILLING PROBLEMS FOR THE FOUNDATION FOR TAXPAYER AND CONSUMER RIGHTS. HIS ADVICE…SCRUTINIZE YOUR BILLS.

WRAP SEVEN Length:15
EXPERTS SUGGEST THAT YOU READ YOUR BILLS EACH MONTH. IF YOU SEE AN ERROR, CALL THE COMPANY'S CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER. IF THAT DOESN'T HELP... ASK FOR A SUPERVISOR.NEXT... WRITE A LETTER TO CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS. IF YOU DON'T TAKE ACTION…THE OVERCHARGING COULD CONTINUE.

WRAP EIGHT Length :
Local Talent Wrap.

ANCHOR TAG

OTHER ADVICE…KEEP YOU EYE ON YOUR CREDIT CARD BILL. SOMETIMES CREDIT CARD COMPANIES WILL RAISE YOUR INTEREST RATE WHILE KEEPING YOUR MONTHLY MINIMUM PAYMENT THE SAME…MAKING IT TOUGHER TO DETECT.

Contacts:

Pat Palmer
Medical Recovery Service
903 Iowa Street Salem, VA
540-387-2119

Ms. Palmer is President of Medical Recovery Service, which goes line by line through patients' hospital bills and challenges inaccurate charges. Her company retains half of whatever is saved. She's working on a book about hospital overcharges, and trains others to spot inaccuracies on medical bills.

Todd Larson
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights
PO Box 19387 Washington, DC 20036
202-387-8030

Mr. Larson works with a Ralph Nader group which tracks inaccurate billing, and proposes legislation to improve billing clarity and accuracy. Currently, he's working on a project, which collects inaccurate bills from consumers all over the country as evidence for lawmakers

Localization Tips:

Collect a variety of bills from different people and check them for mistakes, misinformation, and other billing problems.
Call the consumer division of your state Attorney General's office, or the Better Business Bureau, and find out how many complaints they receive each year about billing errors.
Find a local victim who was overcharged, complained, and won the case.
Are there companies in your area that represent victims of billing errors?