TMA site aims to put pressure on telcos' poor billing practice

UK companies are forced to spend £1bn extra on telecoms every year because of the inadequacy of operators' billing systems, according to the Telecommunications Managers Association (TMA).

At the launch of Billing for Business (BfB), the user group's free service comparing telco billing processes, the TMA said that, without exception, no operators in the UK market have good billing systems. The BfB website, which can be accessed free of charge, compares billing processes in terms of clarity of pricing, administrative accuracy, accuracy of invoices, and resolution of queries.

David Harrington, TMA director general, said: "For years we've been dissatisfied with billing for business."

Illustrating the extent of telco billing problems, David Walker, European telecoms manager for Unisys, explained that Unisys has $6m (£3.75m) worth of unpaid telecom bills because of a dispute with its telecoms provider.

Counting billing capability as a significant factor in choosing a telecoms provider, Walker explained his case. "We know what services we get, but this is not reflected in the billing inventory so we haven't paid our bill in the last year. We can't pay until the dispute is resolved."

John Spruce, project manager for Nationwide, welcomed the BfB service: "It will be about 10 years before there are significant improvements. Managing billing costs a lot and causes a lot of hassle and problems. BfB should at least raise awareness that bills can be changed. Users are as guilty as anyone because they put up with bad practice," he said.