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TBRC Cost Recovery, LLC
Affiliated with Shanholt Glassman Klein Kramer & Co., CPA's
575 Lexington Ave., 19th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-644-9000
Fax: 212-891-9888

What makes you different from other firms? How do we know that we can trust you and that you're not biased?

Unlike much of our competition, our primary motivation is to recover (and save you) as much money as possible from your existing carriers. Changing carriers is a last resort unless you're already dissatisfied with your current service.

We are part-owned by the shareholders of Shanholt Glassman Klein Kramer & Co., a CPA Firm with a 70-year track record of integrity and excellence. Their financial statement audits are accepted in lieu of a national firm by several major banking institutions. Under AICPA rules, their significant ownership stake binds us to the same ethical standards as the accounting firm itself.

In the event that a change of carriers is warranted, we analyze the rates of the more than 2 dozen local and long distance companies that we work with. While most do pay us an ongoing commission for referred business, we have no bias toward any particular one. Our recommendations boil down to one thing: What's best for our client?

 
So why not remove any potential appearance of conflict?

Because, believe it or not, if we ended our carrier agency relationships, our clients would suffer the most. Telecom companies only disclose their full pricing structure to their in-house sales staff and outside agents. They don't dare reveal their best pricing to customers (or to their customers' consultants) unless they're presented with a competitive offer. Since carriers tweak their rates regularly, our clients need for us to be "in the loop" at all times, and the only way to do that with certainty is to have a commission-based relationship.
Our phone service is working just fine. Why rock the boat?

Requesting a refund of money that is yours to begin with is not "rocking the boat", in our opinion. Besides, with all the competition out there today, not to mention government regulation, the last thing your carrier wants to do is rock your boat. Contrary to popular myth, when you request a refund or otherwise "offend" a bureaucrat at the phone company, they cannot spitefully tamper with your service or make you (and only you) wait longer on hold.
How far back can you go?

For tax-related issues, we can go back up to 3 years and 2 months. For telephone services charges, some carriers allow us to recover up to 6 years worth of errors. In general, though, the look back period is determined by your contract with your carrier.
How does TBRC Cost Recovery make money? Will we recoup our investment?

Our relationship with you is like a partnership, only better (for you). You contribute your organization's phone and Internet bills. We contribute our ability to decipher them as well as the time and energy necessary to uncover refunds and potential savings. We assume all of the risk, you assume none. Whatever amounts we recover from past billing errors, the "partnership" will split them 50/50. We'll also split any forward savings generated by us for the first 24 months. After that, you keep 100% of the savings. It's a win-win situation.

Much of our competition charges 50% of the savings for 3 years, 4 years or even 5 years! We think all of those are highway robbery. Nobody should "rescue" your organization from the phone company's overcharges and high pricing only to take advantage of you themselves. 50% for only 24 months is in line with the risk we take that we might invest hours upon hours examining your phone bills only to find that your telecom infrastructure is completely optimized, resulting in little or no revenue for us. Past clients have been delighted with this structure and agree to its fairness.

Remember, the worst position that your organization will be in after engaging TBRC Cost Recovery, LLC is that, at no cost to you, a professional will certify that your current setup is perfect. If it's not, and changes need to be made, we only invoice you when your organization has benefited. You will always come out ahead and will never at any point be net out-of-pocket.
What if our old bills are in storage?

If it takes considerable time to get them out of storage, we can start on your most recent invoices first and examine the older ones when they become available.
What happens if you find errors?

In the event that your carrier has overcharged you, we will contact their customer service department and wait on hold for as long as it takes to get through to a human being. We will then explain the error to the rep and open a billing ticket. If we do not hear back from them within a reasonable amount of time, we will follow up with another phone call, once again waiting on hold for as long as it takes to get through to a human being. If the issue remains unresolved, we will then escalate it to the appropriate level in your carrier's corporate hierarchy. Since we speak to phone company reps regularly, we know how to push their buttons to get results without either side yelling, screaming or threatening. Best of all, you won't need to do this ever again.
How much can we expect to recover and save?

A lot, actually. We have recovered over $1,000 on a $300-per-month account and reduced a $920-per-month phone bill to just $624 (a savings of 32%), without changing carriers. We've also optimized a client from almost $16,000 per month (with four 24-hour service outages each year) to around $8,000 with no service interruptions in the nearly 3 years since they changed carriers. In 2 extreme cases, we reduced monthly long distance costs from around $3,000 to below $350. For larger enterprises that spend at least $50,000 each month, we can almost certainly identify recoveries the equivalent of at least one month's charges for regional and long distance calls, and that's before we do any major analysis.
What if we're not looking to change phone companies?

Often, we're able to reduce your organization's phone bill without changing your phone company. Our primary goal is to secure for you the absolute lowest pricing possible from your existing carrier. If, during our examination of your bills, we determine that another carrier offers significantly lower rates, we'll inform you of it, but you'll be under no obligation to change. And we won't bill you for recommendations that you choose not to implement.
What if we just want you to monitor our bills on an ongoing basis?

We can certainly handle that for you. Call me at 212-644-9000 Ext. 327 or email me at yosef@tbrc.com for special pricing.
Do you offer any other services?

Absolutely! If you're currently negotiating on your own with one or more carriers, we'll analyze their offers for you so that you can compare "apples-to-apples". Alternatively, we can take over the negotiations and secure a super-sweet deal for you, one that may not currently be on the table because you may not know the ins and outs of these types of negotiations. Depending on the project, an hourly or fixed rate will apply.
What do you require of your clients?

First and foremost, responsiveness. We understand that you are a busy professional and can't necessarily return phone calls or emails immediately. Therefore we ask that you commit to getting back to us within 1 or 2 business days.

In general, it is best for us to have one central point of contact, although in larger organizations, more may be appropriate (i.e. one person for financial issues and another for implementation of upgrades and enhancements). The contact person should either be a decision maker or someone with ready access to a decision maker.

In order for us to effectively interact with your carriers, we require a signed Letter Of Authorization on your organization's letterhead. This will allow us access to your billing information and obtain refunds or credits on your behalf without you taking time out of your busy day. We will provide you with the specific language of the LOA in electronic format.

During the term of our agreement, all changes to service (i.e. adding or deleting phone lines, changing features, etc.) must be coordinated with us. This will ensure that all lines are on their proper plans. It will also prevent confusion and disputes between us as to who effected savings.

Also, during the term of our agreement, you must agree to forward to us all relevant telecom invoices on a monthly basis so that we can properly determine the amounts saved. Electronic copies (i.e. Scan/Email) are preferred but not required.
OK. This all sounds great! We're ready to work with you. How do we get started?

Call me at 212-644-9000 Ext. 327 or email me at yosef@tbrc.com to schedule a free introductory consultation. If your organization is a client of our parent firm, please coordinate with the Partner on your account.