Are my suppliers overcharging me?

Overcharging or a price rise?

An overcharge is a bill that doesn't match what you agreed: the wrong price, a fee you didn't agree to, or something you didn't receive. A price rise is the supplier charging more for the same thing than they used to. Overcharges are usually fixed with a credit note. Price rises are a conversation.

Signs to look for on your bills

• A unit price that's different from your quote, price list or last order.
• New lines you haven't seen before: fuel levies, handling, delivery or account fees.
• Quantities that don't match what arrived.
• The same item described slightly differently at a higher price.
• Charges continuing for something you've cancelled.

How to check

1. Pull your quote or agreed price list, if you have one, and compare it with recent bills.
2. Compare the same item a year apart, using unit prices before GST.
3. Check new or growing surcharges as their own line items.
4. Total each difference over a year, so you know which ones are worth raising.

How to raise it

Keep it short, specific and friendly. Name the item, the old and new prices, and the dates, and say what you'd like: a credit for a mistake, or a return to last year's price. Suppliers respond far better to their own numbers than to a general complaint.

Where Billflation fits

Billflation can't see what you agreed with a supplier, so it won't tell you a bill is wrong. What it does is show you every price that changed, by how much and since when, with the two bills that prove it. That's usually where both overcharges and quiet rises turn up first.