PHONE BILL SAVINGS

CHICAGO, April 15, 2009—The Citizens Utility Board’s (CUB) “Right Call Campaign” is rolling into Alton to help consumers beat the bad economy and cut their calling costs by hundreds of dollars a year. CUB’s campaign was launched after the consumer group released a report showing that Illinois callers are overpaying by about $1.5 billion a year. However, the report also said that most consumers can enjoy significant savings by following a few simple steps. CUB’s free “phone-bill clinics” have been showing consumers across the state how to cut their local and long-distance bills by more than $200 a year on average. The next clinic is co-hosted by state Rep. Dan Beiser and is:

10 a.m.-Noon, Friday, April 24

Alton Square Mall*

200 Alton Square

Alton

^*On the upper level, near the escalators and “Vitamin World”

“Most people are paying too much for phone service,” CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. “However, CUB has been showing consumers how to save an average of about $20 a month on their local and long-distance bills. Plus, we have a new online tool that has been teaching consumers how to slash cell-phone bills by a monthly average of $25. You just can’t get a free service like this anywhere else.”

Consumers frequently complain that they can’t get reliable information from the phone company, which often just throws them a sales pitch for a more expensive plan. At CUB’s clinics, however, citizens will receive helpful tips about:

CUB Cellphone Saver—a state-of-the art online tool that automatically analyzes individual wireless bills, potentially cutting a caller’s costs by hundreds of dollars a year.

The new CUB-designed Consumer’s Choice local-calling plans that AT&T is forced to offer under a legal settlement. Unlike AT&T’s other plans, these plans are designed to save most consumers money.

Illinois’ best long-distance plans, including how to get an automatic $20 credit CUB negotiated. That amounts to nearly 11 hours of free calls.

Line-Backer, a costly—and optional—AT&T service that most people don’t need.

Attendees should bring their phone bills so CUB experts can analyze them and give tips on how to cut them.