We've put together a time and action plan to make the auditing process as streamlined as possible. You'll find an outline of next steps below.
Records
We send the signed letter of authorization to the Utility Companies (Telephone, Electric, Water, Gas Companies) and request the latest customer service records for those account numbers we are authorized to investigate. This normally takes 6-8 weeks.
Inventory
Once these above records are obtained, we will possibly contact you to set up our field inventory phase. The lead time is approximately two weeks. Depending on the size of your system, we will send one or two teams to complete the inventory within 4-8 weeks.
Reconciliation
We compare our inventory to the items charged on the bills. We will then compare our inventory to the items charged on your bills. Then, we compare tariff rates and mileage charges, rate class codes, etc. to determine over-billing - this will take approximately 4-8 weeks.
Reporting
If utility company overcharges do exist, we will then present them to the appropriate utility companies to confirm. This part of our job will vary in time from 1-2 days to a few months, depending on the size and type of discrepancy. Once the overcharges are confirmed, we get the utility companies to correct the bills so the overcharges are taken off the next billing period.
Refund or Credits
AUBA then negotiates the date each item in error started to be billed. We will determine with the utility companies the total refund amount and interest, if applicable under tariff, and ask for a check to be sent to your company as soon as possible.
Billing
We must prove that the monthly reduction has been applied, that is, by showing that the discrepant items were taken off the bill. We also have to show that any credits were applied to the bill or a check was obtained by you - only then will we render a bill approved.