Handling Past Due and Non Pay Accounts- Article no. 2033

Payment reminders go to preferred email when payment is not received at due date, but before the account is past due (31-60)

• Payment reminders are a soft attempt to collect money by directing the customer to the company's methods of payment
   
• Residential
   
  • CA, OR and WA
     
  • Houston, TX
     
  • All Texas Markets except Houston
     
  • DC, IL, MA, NY and PA
     
• Business
   
• CA, OR and WA
   
• • Houston, TX
     
• All Other Texas Markets except Houston 

• DC, IL, MA, NY and PA

To avoid further Collections activity, attempt to take a payment for the full past due amount 

1. Review Financial Services notes: look for notes regarding a returned check / payment denial
    
2. Review account balance: be sure to deduct equipment charges when quoting balance due
    
3. Check Collections History: if payment was made at a 3rd Party Payment Agency, follow these steps
    
   • Customer must provide a receipt number for the payment (can take up to 5 bus.days to post to account)
      
   • Create a Payment Arrangement  to ensure account is not disconnected for non-pay (unavailable in sites 91, 92 or 31)
      
     • Payment arrangements made for payment agency payments do not count against the Payment Arrangement extension policy
        
4. Payment on a soft disconnected account
    
   • To cancel the non pay work order, customer must pay amount owed in 31-60 days and older
      
     • A restoral fee is applied when the non-pay work order generates; fee is divided among each line of business
        
     • Restoral times vary by product
        
     • If customer does not want our service, see reschedule the pending non pay order for a sooner disconnect
        
5. Payment on a disconnected account (work order status is Completed)
    
   • Customer must pay the entire outstanding balance and reconnect fees (minus equipment fees)
   
   
   • Account balance should be at zero except for equipment fees
     
     • Equipment charges credit once services are assigned and activated
        
   • A reconnect work order must be scheduled to roll a truck 

• When taking a payment close to the new bill cycle, customer should pay the entire balance due
   
  • If customer only pays the past due, when the new bill generates, the account falls past due again
     
• Review the balance with the customer
   
  • Deduct equipment charges and the associated taxes when quoting balance due
     
• All payments processed by an agent require the $9.95 convenience fee.  How to Process a Payment
   

  Special Note: There are instances when a pending soft disconnect work order may not cancel automatically after the payment is applied
   

  • When taking a payment with a non pay disconnect order present:
     
    • Select the correct statement when applying payment (statement1, statement2, etc)
       
    • Refrain from opening the Customer Equipment screen in BOLT or ICOMS
       
    • Exit the Work Order Screen before taking a payment
       
    • Take a payment before entering a SRO

• Review the General Ledger and Payment History to see the most recent payment amount and date of payment
   
  • See How to Determine the Status of a Customers Payment
     
• 3rd party bill pay may be delayed in payment posting
   
  • Some financial institutions are not set up to transmit an electronic payment file and must mail a paper check 
     
    • The customer's payment is removed from their bank account immediately
       
    • Financial institutions will not send a check unless the funds are held available
       
    • The customer may have to wait 7 to 10 days for our lockbox to receive and process the mailed payment

• Customers with a returned payment are blocked from making payments through self care
   
• How to identify a blocked account
   
  • BOLT Summary tab or ICOMS Customer Flash : Message displays - Payment Blocking
     
  • BOLT General Ledger / Statement: Mop Denial line item
     
  • BOLT MOP / Payment History displays MOP Status as R indicating Restricted 
     
• When this occurs, customers cannot make their payment with the same credit / debit card that resulted in the returned payment
    
  • The customer must use another card
     
• Identifying the credit / debit Card that resulted in the MOP Denial:
   
  • Financial Services comments:  
     
    • Find the entry that says ACH RTN 
       
    • This comment displays the date of the returned payment,  e.g. "ACH RTN R03 031510 101.95 LETTER MLDS NDS RTN"
       
  • Access the MOP / Payment History tab
     
    • Find the Post Date that corresponds with the date listed in the comments
       
    • The last four digits of the card that was denied is listed in the MOP Payment History
       
  • Obtain another card number from the customer to make the payment

• Payment Processing reviews the account after at least one successful payment was made
   
  • In most instances, blocks are removed within 10 business days from the day the payment is successfully made
     
• If a customer requests the removal of the self care payment block:
   
  • Review the customer's payment history
     
  • Has payment been made since the self care block was placed?
     
    • No - Inform the customer the block cannot be removed until one successful payment has been processed using a different card
       
    • Yes - 10 business days have passed and the customer still can't make a payment through with self care
       
  • Route a BOLT case to Payment Processing 
    
     

    Record Type	Non Technical
    Reason	Financial, Payments & Refunds
    Reason Detail	Payment Issue / Inquiry
    Case Reason	Payment Issue / Inquiry
    Destination Queue	Payment Processing
    Notes	Note all pertinent information and daytime contact number

  
  
  • Payment Processing determines if the self care payment block is removed
  
  

  • Once removed, make payments through the IVR and MyRCN within 48 hours

  • Cases routed on a Friday will not be processed until the following Monday

Non-Pay Credit Requests

• Non pay work orders automatically generate credit due for equipment charges and loss of services back to the soft disconnect date

• Credit is applied in the nightly run after the non pay work order is either completed or cancelled

• Do not issue credit or escalate for services lost from a non pay work order

Additional Information:

• For Non-Pay reconnect charge disputes, explain the charges and follow the appropriate Credit Negotiation Guidelines

• All Write-Off disputes and credits are referred to Back Office Financial Services - How to Handle Adjustments, Credit Requests

• A non-pay suspension is also known as a soft disconnect
   
• Services are not physically disconnected at the home and customer can still make 911 calls
   
• Billing activity is suspended until account is either restored by payment or hard disconnected, and is pro-rated thereafter
   
• Suspension activity begins when the pending work order is added to the account:
   
  • Review Collections tab and Collections Scheme
     
    • Work orders typically generate at 10 PM and services are suspended the next afternoon
       
  • Customers are required to pay restoral fees when the work order is entered; fee is charged if services go down or not
     
• To determine if an account is in non-pay suspension or if it is disconnected for non-pay, review the Work Order [WO] screen:
   
  • Soft Disconnect: Work order status displays Not Coded
     
  • Hard Disconnect: Work order status displays Completed

• Take a payment equal to or greater than the past due balance to cancel a non pay disconnect work order
   
• The cancelled work order flows through the system and restores service
   
• You may also need to do the following:
   
  • Cable Modem/EMTA: power cycle the equipment
     
  • TiVo: If service state 8 (Closed), see troubleshooting steps
     
  • Non-GPON Symmetrical (formerly Wave G):
     
    • During Dispatch/Workforce Management normal business hours, inform the customer that service should be working in about 3 hours
    
    
    • After Dispatch/Workforce Management normal business hours, services are restored at the beginning of the next business day
      • Submit a Bolt case if the service is not working after timeframes listed above
         

        Record Type	Non-Technical
        Reason	Work Order Inquiry/Escalation
        Reason Detail	Work Order Follow Up
        Case Reason	Work Order not Checked In
        Include in Notes	Non-GPON Symmetrical (formerly Wave G) Remote Install Request
        Destination Queue	Local Market Support (Dispatch)

• Non pay work orders sometimes do not cancel when:
   
  • Payment is placed on the wrong statement when multiple statements exist
     
  • Adding a new occupant has been attempted
     
  • When you linger on the Work Order screen while taking a payment
     
  • Someone is locked in the account
     
• Note: Sometimes a non-pay work order does not cancel after the payment is made:
   
  • Close the Customer Equipment [BX] Screen in ICOMS prior to taking payment
     
  • Do not process an SRO in ICOMS prior to taking payment
     
  • If someone is locked in the account or tried to add a new occupant, the non pay work order may not cancel when payment is made
     
  • Close the Customer Equipment [BX] screen in ICOMS prior to taking a payment
     
• When a non-pay work order does not cancel after the proper payment is taken, proceed as follows:
   
  • Call Financial Services:
     
    • Alvaria: Financial Services
  • Outside of FS hours
     
    • Send an email to Control Desk Customer Service authorizing the cancellation
       
    • Control Desk follow up within 30 minutes as the network situation warrants (ie. no major network outages)
       
      • The lead/supervisor may follow up with a call to expedite

• See How to Reconnect a Disconnect Account
   
• Reconnect fees differ from restoral fees
   
• Note: PA and Texas differ from the other markets, Check for an SRO for hard disco

• When customer makes a payment or payment arrangement, the non-pay Work Order is auto cancelled and the restoral fee is automatically applied the following day
   
  • Determining the Status or Method of a Customer's Payment
     
• $40.00 is charged per account and is divided among each line of business
   
• One restoral fee per bill cycle is charged when a non-pay is cancelled
   
• This fee appears on the General Ledger
   
• Credit for Restoral Fees may only be given one time in a customer's history, follow Credit Negotiation Guidelines
   
• Restoral fees are not the same as a reconnect fees which are applied to hard disconnected accounts
   
  • Restoral fees are not charged in Site 91

• Traditional Cable TV: immediately upon work order check in
   
• IPTV: up to 24 hours upon work order check-in; send another Balance hit and power cycle for sooner restoral
   
• Cable Modem: immediately after power cycling; 4 hours if not
   
• GPON/FTTH (except enTouch TX): immediately after power cycling; 4 hours if not
   
• enTouch TX:  about three hours during normal CSD business hours and after normal business hours non-pay restorals are processed the following business day
   
• Ethernet: immediately after power cycling; 4 hours if not
   
• Non-GPON Symmetrical (formerly Wave G) about three hours during normal business hours; after normal business hours, they are processed the following business day
   
• Email: within a few minutes
   
• Facilities / Digital Telephone / Broadsoft: 15-30 minutes
   
• Resale Telephone: 24 to 48 business hours; on Friday after 3:00pm, restoral occurs Monday morning
   
• Long Distance: 15-30 minutes
   
• Dial Up: should be immediate:, verify Dial Up is ON
   
  • If a customer reports that service is not restored, verify that the payment was made and posted to the account
     
  • If the payment was received, the non pay work order is cancelled, and it is past the estimated time frame listed, please trouble shoot the service problem