New Policy Alert! Early Termination Fees

We have a new policy regarding Early Termination Fees (ETF) and hardware charges for customers who cancel their service. 

This fresh new approach is a great improvement from our previous policy, which involved simply waiving all cancellation fees. It has not had the best effect on our bottom line and will help us financially in the long run. 

Why We're Doing it 

• Financial Impact: Waiving fees is no longer sustainable and is having quite a bad affect on our financial health.

• Competitor Targeting: Competitors are encouraging customers to cancel their contracts with bOnline as they know there aren't any cancellation fees.

• Tool for Customer Recovery: Charging the fee is an excellent negotiation tool to retain the customer. 

  • If a competitor (like Sky) offers to cover cancellation costs, bOnline must bill correctly so the competitor has to fund the exit, not bOnline.

2. New Policy Directives (Effective Immediately)

Mandatory Billing: ETF and hardware charges must be billed on every applicable cancellation.

• These charges are non-negotiable and cannot be waived without explicit authorisation from Nicole.

System and Process Change: A Work in Progress (WIP) cannot be closed unless the invoice has been sent to the customer; sending the invoice is mandatory.

• The invoice must be sent even if a competitor says they will cover the fee—this is how the customer claims reimbursement.

• The invoice must be sent even if contact cannot be made with the customer.

Collections Process: If a customer refuses to pay, the account will be escalated to Credit Control.

• Unpaid balances will go through the normal collections funnel and may be handed over to a third-party debt collection company, which could impact the customer's credit score.

3. Agent Incentives and Strategy

Here are our agent incentives and strategy we'll use to drive this policy. 

• Financial Incentive: Agents will receive 2% of everything they collect in ETF/hardware charges.

• Customer Recovery Focus: The primary objective is always to retain the customer ("a save is always the best outcome"). The ETF is a powerful retention tool.

• Retention Flow: Agents must first understand why the customer is leaving and attempt to retain them (fix issues, repackage, price challenge) before discussing payment.
  

• Core Positioning: When cancellation is insisted upon, the agent must state firmly that "The system physically won't allow me to complete the cancellation without the payment".
  

• Consequence Communication: Agents must clearly explain the consequences of non-payment (Credit Control, third-party collections, credit score impact)