"The economy is very tough and every penny counts now," said Upstate Better Business Bureau President Kathy Barrett.
Barrett knows how much consumers are willing to dispute a billing charge to keep their hard earned money, even if it's a couple of dollars.
On Monday, Charter Communications admitted it had charged Upstate customers too much sales tax on their most recent bill.
"Think about that on the broader scale," said Barrett. "When you have thousands and thousands of people that the same thing is happening to and they all say it's just too much trouble over a couple of dollars then basically the company is getting that money."
Barrett said one of her colleagues was overcharged.
"Her bill last month was a little over $5 and this month it's $7.17," Barrett said. "That's a little over 33 percent."
Charter said Upstate customers affected by this error should see somewhere between $1 and $1.50 credit on their next bill, depending on the services they have. In a statement, spokesperson John Miller said, " We have researched the origin of this error and have put processes in place to prevent a reoccurrence. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused our Upstate customers."
But figuring out exactly who is affected wasn't easy. Charter wouldn't tell us because they didn't want their competition to know.
So to figure out if your bill is incorrect Barrett said you should take a look at your most recent statements.
"You should compare it to last month's bill and the month before," said Barrett. "Try a three month forecast."
And if you don't understand something ask.
"You are paying for a service and they should be able to explain the bill to you," Barrett said.
If something still isn't right complain by phone and in writing.
"If they don't respond to you in a good amount of time you should escalate that complaint to another department," said Barrett.
It's time and effort Barrett said in the end can keep more money in your wallet.
Contact the following agencies if you cannot get help with a billing dispute:
-Federal Trade Commission 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357)
-SC Department of Consumer Affairs 800-922-1594
-Better Business Bureau 864-242-5052
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