Commencing February 2007, Freeola will phase in direct billing to all broadband customers. Billing was previously handled on Freeola's behalf, by Entanet International Limited. The transition to direct billing is expected to be complete by the end of March.
This change is not expected to cause inconvenience to customers and there will be no disruption to services or changes to router or server settings. The method of delivering Freeola broadband is not being changed and Freeola's free services remain unaffected.
No action is required by customers who pay by Direct Debit, who should simply expect to see Freeola Limited as the recipient on future bank statements. Please note that your contract is with, and remains with, "Freeola Limited". A small number of customers who currently pay by credit card will contacted for their latest card details. Freeola already charges customers directly for all other services, including Dial Up Anytime, Freedom Web & Email, and Domain Registrations & Renewals.
The change to direct billing for broadband will allow additional facilities to be available via MyFreeola, including the ability to monitor data usage and switch tariffs.
Uncapped broadband tariffs are no longer available to new customers. Existing uncapped customers will be provided with a speed upgrade to 8 Mb Max free of charge, and will be contacted to select a suitable capped tariff. Freeola does not wish to follow the trend of other providers who place fair use restrictions on "uncapped" broadband, often resulting in lower limits than Freeola capped allowances. We regret that true uncapped broadband can no longer be offered at a suitable price point, and therefore this tariff is being withdrawn.
Customers will be able to monitor their data usage at a glance in MyFreeola. The previous overuse charge of £9.99 per band of excess is being replaced with a straight charge of 80p per GB for the first 5GB of excess use, and 50p per GB thereafter. All data allowances, tariffs and excess charges will be applied pro-rata for any part month. Customers who elect to change tariff will be charged a nominal £3 admin fee.
An additional range of broadband tariffs called "VIP" will be aimed at business users or heavy domestic users, with faster upload speeds, lower contention ratio and higher data allowances.
After the transition, all billing will converge to fixed monthly dates, which are:
On approximately the 26th of each month - customers will be advised of past month excess (if applicable) and next month's tariff.
On approximately the 3rd of each month - customers will be debited the amounts previously advised.
Freeola offers a high quality broadband connection complimented by a host of free services. A beta version of Freeola Instant Web Sites and a Parental Control option will be available soon.
