Reading Your Tel West Statement

The following are examples of page one and page three of your Tel West statement.

1. Contact Information - How to contact Tel West to request new services, features or with questions regarding the statement.

2. Billing Address - Your name and billing address.

3. Special Message - Important information concerning your account.

4. Account Information - Your account number, statement number, main billing number, statement date, and payment due date.

5. Account Activity - Previous balance, payments and adjustments applied to your account.

6. Current Charges - Summary of all charge types and amounts on your statement.

7. Remittance Slip - This is provided for your convenience to ensure timely posting of payments. Please write the payment amount in the box and return this slip with payment.

8. Monthly Charges - Detail of your monthly recurring charges grouped by service line. This includes service line charges and any features on account. There is a brief description of your service and features, the type of charge (monthly or prorated), the start and end date of the bill period, quantity of services, and the amount.

9. One Time Charges - Any non-recurring charges such as installation or change of service charges.

10. Current Account Activity Detail - This section details the activity on your account including your last invoice amount, adjustments, and payments.

11. Current Charges - Amount of your monthly charges, usage charges, one time charges, finance charges, discounts, and taxes.

12. Taxes & Surcharges - A breakdown of jurisdictional taxes and surcharges. Please see below for tax and surcharge definitions.

13. Total Amount Due - Total amount due on account.

14. New Call Usage Detail - The detail of your toll calls, long distance, toll-free, calling cards, and pay-per-use charges such as directory assistance and last call return grouped by service line.

15. New Call Usage Summary - Your toll calls are summarized by type per service number.

Quick Reference Guide

Welcome to your Tel West statement. Additional copies of your statement can be provided via mail, fax, or e-mail upon request.

Tel West can also provide detailed reports that itemize:

• account code usage
• frequently called numbers
• department summaries
• executive summaries
• call duration summaries
• time of day summaries

Automatic Payment Deduction

Tel West offers Auto-Pay as a free service to our customers. Auto-Pay can be deducted from checking, savings, debit or credit cards. Your statement balance will automatically be deducted on your statement due date. Auto-Pay is a convenient way to ensure that your account will not incur costly late payment charges.

Calculation and Timing of Charges

Monthly Charges - Tel West bills monthly charges in advance. Your statement cycle date determines the period your monthly charges are billed.

Usage Charges - Tel West bills for long distance, toll free usage, and other toll charges in arrears. Tel West reserves the right to bill usage charges up to 90 days after the call is made. Your first statement may not reflect usage charges.

Prorated Charges - Proration is a way to break a service charge, usually billed at a monthly rate, into smaller parts. Additional services you purchase or add to your account, or changes you make to your account that affect your monthly billing within your statement period, are prorated. When changing billing cycles proration will also occur to ensure that your billing does not have any under or overlapping charges. Prorated charges appear on your monthly statement under "Monthly Recurring Charges." Proration is only applicable to recurring charges and does not apply to usage.

Questions About Your Statement

If you have a question or concern regarding your Tel West statement, please call our customer service center. If you believe that you have been billed in error or otherwise dispute a charge, please notify Tel West in writing within 30 days of the date of the statement containing the disputed charge.

Taxes and Surcharges

Telephone companies collect federal, state, and municipal taxes and send them to the respective government agencies.

Federal Access Charge (F) - A per voice line charge proposed and authorized by the Federal Communications Commission, for providing access to and maintenance of the local network.

Federal Excise Tax (%) - Imposed directly on the customer, by the Federal Government, for certain communication services that allow the customer the ability to communicate with virtually all subscribers of the telecommunications network.

Federal Universal Service Fund (%) - (FUSF) supports the telecommunications needs of consumers living in high cost areas, low-income households, schools, libraries, and rural health care providers.

Line Number Portability (F) - This charge covers the cost of upgrading the phone network so customers can keep their phone numbers if they switch phone companies.

State, County, Local and Special Districts Tax (%) - State and local sales taxes apply to all charges for business accounts and intrastate/interstate toll service (if that service originates from and is charged to a telephone located in Washington) for residential accounts. The rates for local sales taxes vary by jurisdiction.

911 Emergency Surcharge (F) - E911 or 911 surcharges are collected on each line for state, counties and/or cities that use this money to fund their emergency services communication systems.

Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge (F) - (PIC-C) is a surcharge that is assessed to recover part of the cost of providing long distance services.

Telecommunications Relay Service (F) - This surcharge funds a program to provide telecommunication services and equipment to enable hearing and speech impaired residents to use telephone services.

Telephone Assistance Plan (F) - This surcharge funds a program used to provide telecommunication services to lowincome, elderly or disabled customers at a reduced (discounted) monthly rate or as a monthly credit.

The Telecommunications Relay Service and the Telephone Assistance Plans are mandated by the state legislature and applies to all customers physically located in the state.

(F) - Flat rate tax
(%) - Percentage tax