Why is my bill different than I expected?
We understand that receiving a bill that is different from what you expected can be confusing. We would like to take a moment to explain the 5 main reasons why bills can vary, either higher or lower, compared to your initial expectations:
First Bill
When you start using our services, your first bill is often a pro-rata bill. Instead of being charged for the entire billing cycle, this bill covers only the portion of the cycle from your start date to the end of your first full month, as broadband is charged in advance, this normally means your first bill is for a period longer than 1 month. The purpose of pro-rata billing is to align your billing period with our normal monthly billing cycle.
Example: Product A goes live on the 15th of the month and costs £1 a day. Your pro rata billing period is from the 15th of Month 1 to the end of Month 2. You would be charged £15 (£1 x 15 days) for Month 1 in a standard 30 day month. Then £31 (£1 x 31 days) for Month 2 in a standard 31 day month. Meaning your total bill is £46 for a month and a half. Your 2nd bill would then fall in to our normal 1 month billing cycle.
Partial Billing
If you joined, changed or cancelled a product/service mid-billing cycle, your bill will be adjusted to reflect the specific periods and price changes of the products/services you used. This can result in a higher or lower bill, depending on the number of days you were using those products
Example: Product A costs £1 a day, and you use it for 15 days. Then you swap Product A for Product B that costs £2 a day. You would be charged £15 (£1 x 15 days) for Product A and £30 (£2 x 15 days) for Product B in a standard 30 day month. Meaning your total bill is £45.
Free Trials
We hope you enjoy access to our additional services during the free trial period without any charges. However, this trial period is typically limited and comes to an end after a specified duration, such as 30 days. Once the trial period concludes, the regular billing cycle begins, and you will be charged according to the pricing structure associated with the service.
Example: Additional Service A costs £1 a day, and you used it for the 30 day free trial. When the free trial ends, you are transitioning from a complimentary trial phase to a paid subscription. The charges associated with the subscription plan will now apply. This means your bill will increase by £30 (£1 x 30 days).
Rate Adjustments
Occasionally, we may find it necessary to make rate adjustments (such as annual RPI increases) to ensure we can maintain the quality of our service, improve our offerings, and meet rising operational costs. These adjustments may result in a higher bill compared to your previous billing cycles.
Example: Product A costs £1 a day for Month 1, but the rate adjustment means it now costs £2 a day for Month 2. That means that in Month 1 your bill would of been £30 (£1 x 30 days) in a standard 30 day month and your bill for Month 2 will now be £62 (£2 x 31 days) in a standard 31 day month.
Additional Charges
Sometimes, there might be additional fees or charges that are included in your bill. These could be one-time fees or other applicable costs causing it to be higher than anticipated.
Example: Additional Charge A costs £5 and has been applied to your next bill, Your normal bill is £20 a month but with the additional charge it is now £25. As this is a one-off charge, your bill will return to £20 next month.
Transparency and fairness are important to us, and we strive to ensure all bills are accurate.