Negotiating refunds from carriers can be a long, arduous process, as carriers can be uncooperative due to the pressure internally to preserve profits. We have come to expect rejection on almost every claim submitted for refund. We find that discovery of a billing issue is the easiest part of the process.

Over the years we have developed a system that is utilized in tracking claim preparation, submission, and most importantly, time lines for following up with the carriers. It is only through persistent, scheduled follow up on claims that issues are resolved. Traditionally, our customers have not been involved in refund negotiation, and it is Shaheen’s responsibility to do the “dirty work” to secure results. Our experience has allowed us to identify illegitimacies within these responses from carriers, and we are not afraid to contest matters that we know are valid.  Vendor representatives are not as experienced as they have been in the past, as corporate downsizing has led to many newer employees handling our claims.  This has resulted in Shaheen having to frequently educate vendor representatives on applicable tariffs and interpretation.

We have extensive experience in litigation, as sometimes carriers are less than willing to provide refunds that customers are entitled to, and we are not afraid to escalate in this type of situation. On one of our claims for $500,000, the carrier insisted that only 90 days credit was warranted. Shaheen presented a compelling case to the FCC disputing the carrier interpretation of the language in the tariff and we were able to prove that the specific service was exempt from the 90-day rule due to the ambiguity of the tariff page. The carrier settled for 100% on the dollar rather than have the FCC make a ruling which would be available to the public. Another carrier claim worth $422,000 was awarded to our client because Shaheen identified the difference in the tariff wording “and” versus “or” detailed within the tariff page. In another situation, Shaheen negotiated a substantial refund on a disaster recovery system proving that the carrier over billed our client $365,000.  More importantly, we proved that the system installed would never function properly in the event of a disaster due to the faulty design. In this instance, the vendor was obligated to reimburse our client the full cost of this service for three years.