FAQ
Most Asked Questions
Below you’ll find answers to the questions we get asked the most about our services.
Why conduct a utility audit?
Overcharges or errors exist nationally. Currently, 87% of our clients have been overpaying. Are your utility bills paid without any verification? If you use automatic bill-pay, you may never even review your bill. If you are like the majority of our clients, you assume your bills are correct. After all, isn’t it the utility’s responsibility to charge the lowest rates and insure that their billing is correct? NO! It isn’t! That is your responsibility.
How much does this service cost?
We work strictly on a contingency basis. There are no up-front fees. If Audit Associates does not obtain savings, refunds, or credits for your company, there is no charge for our service. Your only expense, and the only staff time required, is the cost and time to provide us with copies of current utility billings.
What is the audit process?
The audit process has two stages. The first stage is cost-containment. Every line item of current billings will be analyzed to identify erroneous charges for incorrect meter readings, rates and tariffs, pass-through fees and surcharges, usage/billing anomalies so as to insure that you are being billed only those legitimate charges you actually owe. If errors are identified, we work with the vendors to get them corrected, thereby “stopping the bleeding”, reducing your expense going forward, creating future savings. In most cases these errors have existed, and would continue to exist, for years.
The second stage of an audit comprises our work with the vendors and/or government agencies to obtain refunds for the same charges we identify in the first stage of the audit. In most states, the statute of limitations is three years.
Does Audit Associates represent any vendors?
No, we represent you, the client! Audit Associates is truly independent. We provide you with information about what is available in the expense area in which we are working, and how these services compare to your present service.
What if I like my present provider?
In most cases it is not necessary to change providers to get a better rate. Many of our clients are satisfied with their current providers. Utility deregulation now allows smaller companies to obtain rates that were previously offered only to the largest corporations. However, you have to know how to obtain these preferential rates. We can help negotiate these for you, generally through your present carrier or provider.
What are the chances of obtaining cost savings and refunds or credits?
There is a better than 80% chance that we will find cost savings, refunds, or credits for you.
How much savings or refund can I expect?
That all depends on what’s in your bills. We offer no guarantee of future savings, refunds, or credits or the amounts of each, if any. We do guarantee that our fee will never exceed fifty-percent of the savings and refunds we obtain for you.
Does Audit Associates receive my refund?
No! We never handle the client’s money! Your refund is issued either as a credit on your utility bill or a refund check. We bill you only after you receive the refund, just as we bill only after you receive your monthly savings.
Why would I not want to do this?
When was the last time someone asked you for the opportunity to put some of your money back in your pocket without any expense to you…money that is rightfully yours, but you don’t have the resources or expertise to find? When was the last time you came across a win/win, no-risk, no-cost proposition?