Failed Billing Policy

1. General Billing Policies
2. Common Reasons for Payment Failure
3. Failed Billing Processes
          a. Credit Cards & Direct Debit - Failed Billing Process
          b. Cheque and BACS Payments - Failed Billing Process
4. Home Phone Specific Policies
   
   Appendix
5. Policy Changes

1. General Billing Policies

1. All subscription payments are managed by an automated billing system which runs daily and processes account payments due on that date. The billing script takes several hours to complete, meaning there is no set time when a particular customer will be billed
   
   
2. On the customer's billing date (which can be found on our website here), the billing script will attempt to take payment from the payment details we have stored.
   
   
   • For Direct Debit, the request will be submitted to the bank on the billing date. It takes between 3 and 5 days for the payment to be processed and authorised by the bank. Occasionally, the billing run can be delayed, causing the Direct Debit payment to leave the customer's bank later. The customer has a responsibility to ensure there are sufficient funds for the payment to clear.
     
     
   • Card payments are submitted and authorised by the card issuer immediately.
     
     
3. If both Direct Debit and credit card details are held for a customer, the Direct Debit instruction will take precedence.
   
   
   • If the Direct Debit payment fails, other stored credit card details will not be used automatically.
     
     
   • Credit card details will only be used if we have received notification that the Direct Debit instruction has been cancelled prior to the billing date.
     
     
   • There are occasions where the Direct Debit instruction may be cancelled by someone other than the customer, for example during the process of a customer changing banks. In these rare circumstances, our systems will see a cancelled Direct Debit and payment will be taken by card automatically.
     
     
4. Where a customer has both primary and secondary card details stored, the secondary details are only used if the primary card has expired. All payment details can be entered or updated here.
   
   
5. We cannot accept debit cards (Switch, Maestro) for recurring transactions, (i.e. subscription payments). This is due to banking regulations which state that debit cards cannot be used for Ecommerce transactions where the cardholder is not present
   

2. Common Reasons for Payment Failure

1. Direct Debit is the most reliable way to pay for a subscription account. The customer is protected by the Direct Debit guarantee, which means that if any error is made, they are entitled to an immediate refund from their bank or building society.
   
   Direct Debit payments can fail for a number of reasons:
   
   
   • Direct Debit instruction cancelled by customer or the bank
     
     
   • No funds available
     
     
   • As a result of moving banks
     
     
2. Card payments are more prone to difficulties than Direct Debit. The customer is also less protected, and the payment cannot be cancelled directly though the bank, unless the card itself is cancelled. We also cannot accept switch/maestro cards for recurring transactions.
   
   Some common failure reasons include:
   
   
   • Card cancelled by customer (card stolen etc)
     
     
   • Temporary referral from bank for anti-fraud reasons
     
     
   • Insufficient funds available
     
     
   • Card expired / replaced

3. Failed Billing Processes

a. Failed Billing Process for Card and Direct Debit payments


• Billing script runs and payment request is submitted to the bank. An invoice is raised, and can be viewed via our website.


• Bank will accept or reject payment request within 5 working days for DD, and immediately for card payments.


• If payment is rejected, an email is sent to both the customer contact and default account email addresses, stating that there has been a billing problem. More details about the problem are included as a Help Assistant Question on the account. A letter is also sent out to the customer's address, advising them of the problem.


• The account will remain active for 14 days, giving the customer a chance to update payment details. Within those 14 days, the failed billing team will attempt to call the customer to sort out payment details, and any other related problems.


• After these 14 days, connection will be disabled and the customer will need to contact us to provide updated payment details. At this stage, a second letter is sent out to the customer, reminding the customer of the missed payment.


• 14 days later (28 days following the original invoice date), the account is cancelled, and the outstanding balance is sent to an external debt collection agency. At this point, an extra charge can be added on to the outstanding amount, to cover the cost incurred.


• If required, a fee of £14 inc VAT will be payable for re-activation of the line once it has been ceased. This is in addition to the full outstanding balance.

b. Cheques and BACS Payments

Cheque payments are not a preferred payment option, however there are some circumstances when they may be accommodated, including:


• Business customers who pay annually in advance by cheque.


• Metronet and Madasafish customers who historically pay by Bank Transfer (BACS) (Not available to new customers).


Customers should be aware that we do not raise or send out invoices before a payment is due. Invoices are raised on the billing date.

4. Home Phone Specific Policies

a. When a Home Phone customer fails billing for any reason, we place an outgoing call barring restriction on the line and notify the customer of this by email. Failed billing for Home Phone customers also incurs an administration fee of £5.76, which is levied by our supplier. Once payment is taken, the restrictions will be removed with the following timeframes:


• Within a couple of hours - If we process your reactivation before 2pm Monday to Saturday.


• Next morning - If we process your reactivation after 2pm Monday to Friday.


• Monday morning - If we process your reactivation after 2pm on Saturday.

5. Policy Changes

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