SOP-T1-18: Handling Circuits Down Due to Non-Payment

Document ID: SOP-T1-18

Version: 2.1

Owner: Tier 1 Support Associates

Approver: John Martinez — T1 Manager

Applies To: Tier 1 Support Associates

Related SOPs: SOP-T1-01 — Customer-Reported Connectivity Issues SOP-T1-02 — Monitoring Down Notifications SOP-T1-08 — Ticket Closure Procedure

1. Purpose

This procedure guides associates on where to forward a case, and who to ask for assistance, when a down circuit turns out to be down due to non-payment on the carrier account.

2. Scope

This procedure applies from the point where the carrier advises that the circuit or account is down or suspended due to non-payment — regardless of whether the ticket started as an Internet Down Notification (SOP-T1-02) or a customer-reported ticket (SOP-T1-01).

3. Roles & Responsibilities

Tier 1 Support Associate: Confirms the non-payment details with the carrier, notifies the Billing team and the Accounts contact, and monitors the circuit once payment is completed.

Billing Team: Processes the outstanding payment with the carrier.

Support Leadership: CC'd on the billing escalation email for visibility.

Accounts Contact: Additional point of contact to expedite payment, notified by chat given the urgency of these cases.

4. Prerequisites

Non-Technical Prerequisites

• Access to ticket threads and the ability to reply/reply all while managing recipients.
• Access to a chat channel with the Accounts contact.

Technical Prerequisites

• Ability to confirm an account number, balance, and type of service directly with the carrier while on the call.

5. Procedure

STEP 1 — Identify the Case

The ticket may have started as an Internet Down Notification or as a customer-reported ticket. This SOP takes over from the point where the carrier advises that the circuit or account is down or suspended due to non-payment.

STEP 2 — Get the Details from the Carrier

While still on the line with the carrier, confirm the following:

• Account Number — check whether it matches the account number in the ticketing system. The number used for billing and payment is not always the same one used for support.
• Balance — to the exact cent.
• Type of Service — the kind of subscription being paid.

Before ending the call, also ask:

• Whether anything else will be needed once the payment is made.
• Where to reach out to make the payment — whether by phone or email.

STEP 3 — Email the Billing Team

Inside the ticket in the ticketing system, open the latest email in the thread and select Reply or Reply All. Remove all existing recipients and CCs before continuing.

Recipients

To: Billing team inbox (see T1 Internal Contact Sheet)

CC: Support Leadership (see T1 Internal Contact Sheet)

Billing team email template

Hi Billing Team,

May we urgently request your assistance with the payment concern below. The outstanding balance on this carrier account needs to be settled as soon as possible to avoid any service interruption, so we kindly ask that payment be processed at the earliest opportunity today.

Deal Number: / Company: / Balance: / Carrier: / Type of Service: / Account Number:

Kindly confirm once the payment has been made so we can proceed accordingly. Please treat this as a priority.

Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter.

Best regards,

STEP 4 — Send a Chat to Expedite

Send a chat message to the Accounts contact (see T1 Internal Contact Sheet) in addition to the email, since these cases are usually urgent.

Chat template

Hi [Accounts contact], we have a deal/circuit that has been down due to nonpayment. We have already sent an email to the Billing team. May we request assistance on this from your side as well, as this case has been tagged as urgent. Thank you.

Deal Number: / Company: / Balance: / Carrier: / Type of Service (if available): / Account Number: / Carrier Billing Phone Number: / Carrier Billing/Payment Website:

STEP 5 — Confirm Payment and Monitor

Once payment has been completed, the circuit should come back up.

• If the circuit comes back up: proceed with 24-hour monitoring until closure (see SOP-T1-08).
• If the circuit does not come back up within an hour: call the carrier again to check further, then once resolved, proceed with 24-hour monitoring until closure.

6. Escalation Criteria

• Carrier account number does not match the number in the ticketing system → confirm which number is used for billing versus support before proceeding, and note the discrepancy in the ticket.
• Circuit does not come back up within an hour of confirmed payment → call the carrier again to check further before assuming payment did not resolve the issue.
• Billing team or the Accounts contact does not respond in a reasonable time given the urgency → escalate to the T1 Manager.

7. Do's and Don'ts

Do

• Confirm the account number, balance to the exact cent, and type of service while still on the call with the carrier.
• Remove all existing recipients and CCs before replying to route the billing email to the correct people.
• Send both the email and the chat to the Accounts contact — these cases are time-sensitive.
• Run 24-hour monitoring before closure once the circuit is confirmed back up, the same as any other circuit.

Don't

• Don't assume the billing account number matches the support account number in the ticketing system — always verify.
• Don't end the carrier call without asking what else is needed post-payment and where to send payment.
• Don't close the ticket immediately once the circuit is back up — 24-hour monitoring still applies.

8. Revision History

v1.1: Original knowledge-base article format, already well-structured (Purpose, numbered steps, templates).

v2.0: Restructured into the standard SOP-T1 series format (added Roles & Responsibilities and Prerequisites sections, renumbered as SOP-T1-18, cross-referenced against SOP-T1-01, T1-02, and T1-08). No procedural content changed.

v2.1: Prepared for public-facing publication: removed customer names, internal staff names and email addresses, third-party vendor names and contact details, and internal tool names (replaced with neutral terms such as “ticketing system” and “monitoring tool”). Contact details now live in the T1 Internal Contact Sheet. No procedural steps changed.