From one PDF to a credit on your account
Six to ten weeks is normal, and most of that is waiting on your utility. Here is each stage and what we are doing in it. You send a bill at the start and sign one form in the middle. We handle everything else.
We read the bill
We scan the file for viruses, clean it up and read every charge. Then we check that the charges add up to the total printed on it.
minutesWe redo the math
We recalculate the bill from the rates your utility had on file for each day of the service period, then compare it with what you were charged.
2 to 3 business daysWe check it against the rate book
A person on our team checks every number against the filed rate book and decides whether it is worth claiming. A weak finding does not go out.
a person decidesFiled and followed up
We file the claim, follow up on the schedule your state's dispute rules set, and answer the utility's questions.
10 to 30 business daysMoney back
Your utility confirms a credit or sends a check. Once it has, we invoice our fee on that amount.
our fee starts hereFirst we check the bill adds up
Before we compare anything, the charges we read off your bill have to add up to the total your utility printed on it, within two cents. If they don't, the bill stops and a person looks at it.
This step matters more than it looks. If we misread your bill, everything after it is wrong, and a claim built on a misread bill costs you credibility with your utility. We would rather stop and check.
Every rate is checked against the filed rate book
Every rate, charge and clause we use is checked against the utility's filed rate book, and we record the page and revision it came from. A rate that has not been validated is never used on a claim, no matter how confident the software is.
When a utility pushes back, we point to its own filed document, down to the page and revision. That is why our findings hold up.
Every dollar we claim points to a page your utility filed
Here is one finding, line by line. We are not arguing about what a fair price would be. We calculated the same bill from the rates on file and compared the two.
Sample audit. The figures are illustrative and the utility and account have been removed.
We tell you whether we cover your utility before you sign anything
We build our rate library from the rate books utilities file with their state commissions, page by page. Every figure we use records the document and page it came from.
That takes longer than buying a rate database, and it is why a finding holds up when a utility argues back. It also means we cover some utilities and not others yet. Send a bill and the first thing you learn is whether we can audit it.
- CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp., d/b/a CenterPoint Energy Minnesota GasIn progress
- Minnesota Energy Resources CorporationIn progress
- ALLETE, Inc. d/b/a Minnesota PowerIn progress
- Otter Tail Power Company (Minnesota)In progress
- Northern States Power Company d/b/a Xcel Energy (Minnesota electric)In progress
- Northern States Power Company d/b/a Xcel Energy (Minnesota gas)In progress
We add a utility once we have validated its rate book against the filed copy. Send a bill and we'll tell you if yours is on the list.
Your rate and its extra charges are in our library and checked for your dates. We can start today.
We have your utility, but not your exact rate schedule or billing dates yet. We tell you when we expect to.
We don't have your utility yet. We tell you so, what it would take to add it, and whether your bill size makes that worth doing.