Deciphering wireless bills requires a degree of patience only slightly lower than interpreting the law. US carrier AT&T is making theirs a lot more human-friendly by explaining monthly costs to customers with a simple video.
Each video is custom-generated for a given billing cycle and inserts your own numbers and account information into a narrated overview that breaks down what each line means. Inscrutable things like “one-time charges” are elaborated upon, so you know what you’re actually being asked to pay for. It might be a little over-animated in terms of eye-candy and bouncing swirls, but the bottom line is that AT&T is trying to make a horrible thing less horrible, and avoid a lot of personal headache in the process.
Right now AT&T plans to shoot video bills to all of its customers by “early 2013”, kicking in for new customers or those who make changes to their account. Still, I think this is a great option for every singe bill — after years of payment, sometimes it’s nice to have an idiot-proof reminder of where your money is going. Would you wanna see Aussie carriers doing the same thing?
[AT&T]