2. Bill cycles
3. Due date
4. Part-month charges
5. Bill skipping
1.1 Understanding Foxtel bill
The Foxtel bill is divided into two sections, the front and the back. Each section contains specific billing information to help understand the charges.
- Account overview: Includes the customer's account number, billing period, and the date the bill was issued.
- Total due: The full amount to be paid and the due date.
- Before this bill: Shows the credited amount from the last payment.
- This bill (Inc. GST): Total amount payable for the current billing period.
- Payment options: Details on the available payment methods, including processing time and any applicable fees.
Customers experiencing hardship will see a message similar to the one shown on the broadband bill below.
Note: The above message will only appear on bills for customers who have broadband service with Foxtel.
Back of the bill
- Before this bill: Summary of the last month's invoice, including the payment date and method used.
- This month's subscriptions: Summary of the billing period and total charges for current service.
- Store + Box Office: Includes purchases from the store or box office, such as Main Events and On-Demand titles.
- Support Options: Ways to find additional help related to the bill, including My Account, Online Enquiries, Phone Enquiries, and Online Support.
Customers can view, download and print up to 24 months of previous bills via My Account. If the customer requests a bill from the last 13 months to be sent to them, you can reissue the bill through CORE (see Procedure - reissue a monthly bill). Note: Paper bill charges apply when bills are reissued.
Foxtel are legally required to archive a copy of customer bills for 7 financial years. If the customer requests a bill older than 24 months, email GeneralComplaints@foxtel.com.au. The Complaints team have access to archived bills and will be able to email or post the requested bills to the customer.
1.2 Bill preferences
Customers who are on direct debit can choose from the following notification options:
- No notification: Customers won't be notified but can check bills on My Account.
- Email on change: The option is only available in Zendesk meaning bills are emailed if there has been a service change in the last month.
- Email each bill: This option allows customers to receive the bill every month on their registered email ID.
- Paper bills: This option allows customers to receive the hard copy of the bill within 5 business days from the day of issue, and it is charged at $2.20 per bill.
Important: If the customer is not on direct debit, then an email or paper bill must be sent.
1.3 Email bills
Email bills are sent from donotreply@billing.foxtel.com.au and are sent to the customer as soon as the bill is available in My Account. The email bill provides a summary (including the bill amount and due date) of the bill details, but in order to view a detailed bill the customer will need to click the View my bill link in the email or use My Account. Note: Customers will need to enter their postcode as verification before they are able to view their bill using this link.
Email bill delivery failure
If the email bill can’t be delivered due to a temporary failure (e.g. the mailbox is full or the server is unavailable), delivery is re-attempted 3 times within a 24 hour period. If the email bill can’t be delivered due to a permanent failure (e.g. the email address is unknown), an SMS is sent directing the customer to log in to My Account to correct their email address and view their bill. Note: If the SMS fails, then a paper bill is sent to the customer on the next bill cycle. Paper bills will continue to be sent until the email address is updated, and the customer will be charged the monthly paper bill fee.
1.4 Paper bills
If the customer receives paper bills, these are sent each time a new bill is issued and take approximately 5 business days to be delivered. The customer can request a one-off paper bill to be sent, but standard bill charges of $2.20 per bill apply.
Paper bill fee exemptions policy
Foxtel has a paper bill fee exemption policy that provides eligible customers an exemption from Foxtel's paper bill fees (if these customers choose to receive their bills via post).
To be eligible for the paper bill fee exemption, the customer must be a residential customer and have 1 of the following:
- an Australian Government Pensioner Concession card
- an Australian Government Health Care card
- a Foxtel account managed under a Public Trustee
- a Foxtel account managed under Foxtel's Financial Hardship policy.
Note: Foxtel for Business and Foxtel from Telstra customers are not eligible for the paper bill fee exemption even if they meet the above criteria.
If the customer is eligible to have the paper bill fee waived, see Procedure - apply a paper bill fee exemption.
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2. Bill cycles
2.2 Broadband and/or home phone
2.3 Netflix billed by Foxtel
2.4 Month in advance
2.5 Changing a bill cycle date
The TV only bill cycle is the period between when a customer's monthly billing starts and ends. For TV customers, the bill cycle date (start date of each billing cycle) defaults to the date of their installation.
For example, if a customer's TV service is installed on 4 January, their monthly bill cycle will start on the 4th of every month. The TV bill cycle is classified as the Monthly Bill Period cycle.
2.2 Broadband and/or home phone
For customers with broadband and/or home phone, the bill cycle date defaults to the date that their last service was installed.
2.3 Netflix billed by Foxtel
If a customer has Netflix billed by Foxtel, their Netflix bill cycle date starts on the day of the customer's Netflix sign up.
For more information on Netflix billed by Foxtel, see Overview - Netflix through Foxtel.
2.4 Month in advance
Foxtel bills 1 month in advance for its services. This means that, from the point of installation, the customer will always be paying in advance for the service.
For example, if a customer's TV service is installed on 4 January, the customer would be billed on that date until the 3rd of the following month. So the first bill cycle would be 4 January - 3 February.
2.5 Changing a bill cycle date
Customers can change a bill cycle date once per 12 month period. Changing a customer's bill cycle date will generate a part-month charge on the customer's next account for the period between the old bill cycle date and the new bill cycle date.
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3. Due date
3.1 TV only
TV customers have 14 days to pay their bill from the bill cycle start date. This means that a customer whose bill cycle falls on the 4th will have a due date of the 18th.
However, if the customer is on direct debit, the balance for the bill will be debited on the bill cycle date.
If the customer is not on direct debit, the balance will be due 14 days after the bill cycle date. For more information about direct debit, see Overview - payments, payment plans and payment extensions.
3.2 Broadband and/or home phone
Bundled customers who currently have, or previously had, broadband and/or home phone with Foxtel have a slightly different due date to TV only customers. The due date for bundled customers is 11 business days after the bill cycle date, regardless of whether the customer is on direct debit or not.
While TV customers are direct debited on the day of the bill cycle, bundled customers who are on direct debit will have their payment taken out 11 business days after the bill cycle date.
Any customers on broadband and/or home phone billing will show as being on a 'T' bill cycle. To identify if a customer is on a 'T' bill cycle or an 'M' bill cycle (TV):
- Click View Billing from the Account Summary screen in CORE.
- Click the Update Payment Details tab. The billing cycle section will show what type of bill cycle the customer is on.
3.3 Overdue accounts
An account is considered overdue when the payment due date has passed and there is $40 or more owing on the account.
When a customer has an overdue account, they run the risk of:
- the outstanding balance rolling over to their next bill
- restriction, suspension or disconnection of their services
-
incurring additional fees, including:
- a late payment fee
- reconnection fees
- early termination fees.
For more information about overdue accounts, see Overview - collections and customer debt.
Late payment fee
A late payment fee may apply for each month that there is an overdue balance. The late payment fee can be waived before it applies to the bill in certain cases, and this can be used as a goodwill gesture to manage a customer complaint.
To waive the late payment fee:
- In CORE, click View Billing on the Account Summary screen.
- Click Waive Late Payment Fee on the View Billing screen.
- A confirmation message will pop-up on screen. Click OK.
- Add a note to the customer's account explaining why the late fee was waived.
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4. Part-month charges
Part-month charges are also known as pro-rata charges. Part-month charges can occurs when a change (e.g. adding a package or service, moving home, collections activity including RSP and non-pay suspension or voluntary suspension of TV service off bill cycle) is made part-way through a bill cycle. As Foxtel bills for its services 1 month in advance, any changes made during the monthly bill cycle period cannot be billed until the following bill. This means that the changes are reflected as a part-month charge on the next bill.
How to identify part-month charges on the bill
Part-month charges appear as 'Last month's changes on the bill. Refer to the below image to understand how this looks on the customer's bill.
- Bill Period: This section shows the dates for which the customer's are billed. It outlines the start and the end dates of the current billing cycle.
- Before this bill: This is a brief recap of what was included in the perivous invoice. Where you see a credit, this refers to the previous payment.
- Last month's changes: Any changes for e.g. adding a package, made during the billing period is detailed here.
- This month's subscription: This section lists regular month in advance charges. It provides a breakdown of the subscription fees for the current billing period, along with the total amount due.
Note: If a package or service is removed part-way through the billing cycle, customers will receive a credit for the days they no longer have the service.
In the example above, the customer changed their billing date from the 3rd of each month to the 17th. As a result, part-month charges for the 14-day period were applied to the July invoice.
Suggested Scripting
Use the scripting below to assist customers with explaining the part-month charges.
"All Foxtel services are charged a month in advance. When you make any changes part way through the month, a part-month charge is applied to your next bill to cover the difference. Looking at your bill, you changed the bill date from 3rd of every month to 17th. As a result, your new bill reflects the cost difference for this adjustment from (date). Your latest bill includes your regular month in advance charges, as well as any changes made during the billing period."
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5. Bill skipping
Bill skipping occurs when there is a change order in progress on the customer's bill cycle date, which results in:
- the charges for the change skipping a bill and appearing in the following month's bill
- the full bill being skipped (resulting in the full bill charges applying to the following month's invoice - in addition to the standard monthly charge).
Preventing bill skipping
To prevent bill skipping, it is recommended that you don't make any changes to a customer's account on the same day as the customer's bill cycle date. If you need to make a change on the customer's bill cycle date, make sure you let them know that the charges may skip to the following bill.
Note: You can also take a payment from the customer for the value of the new monthly subscription to avoid any bill shock, however you must advise the customer of payment processing fees for one-off payments.
How to identify bill skipping
To identify whether the bill is skipped, check the Timeline tab under View Billing in CORE. Look for gaps or unusually high invoice amount as that might help you understand if the bill is skipped.
In the Timeline tab, you will notice that after the invoice on 3 June 2025 for $19.20, the next invoice on 3 July 2025 is for $110.20. In between this Foxtel only debited the customer $19.20.
Note: The higher amount indicates that two month's charges have been combined into one invoice, which is a clear sign that a bill was skipped in the previous cycle.
Suggested Scripting
Use the scripting below to assist customers when explaining the skipped bill charges, referring to the timeline image above.
"All Foxtel services are charged a month in advance. If you make changes to your subscription after your billing cycle date, this can result in additional charges appearing on your next bill. Looking at your bill, your invoice for June was $19.20, but your July invoice increased to $110.20. This is because a change to your subscription was completed after your billing cycle date of 3 June. As a result, your July bill includes charges that were skipped in June, as well as your regular month in advance charge for the upcoming billing period."
6. Impact of offer expiry on bill
Offers that provide discounted rates on packages are available for a set period of time. When an offer expires, the bill amount increases to the standard rate. Offer expiry changes that customers are unaware of may cause bill shock and frustration.
Below is a recap of the timeline Foxtel follows with offers and notifying our customers about its expiry.
- The customer accepts an offer
- The offer period begins
- One week before, the customer receives an email to let them know that their offer will expire in 7 days.
Note: Customers should always have their contact details up to date to receive communication about offer expiry.
How to identify expired offers in CORE
The below steps will help you identify the expired offers in CORE.
- Log in to CORE
- Go to the 'Offer History' tab
- Click 'Expired' to check the offers expired on the customer's account.
Offer History - Expired tab overview
When you click the Expired tab in the offer history section, you will see a list of all offers that have expired on the customer's account. The table provides the following details:
- Status: Indicates the current status of the offer (e.g., Expired).
- Start: Shows the date the offer began.
- End: Displays the date the offer ended.
- Name: List the name or description of the offer.
- Type: Specifies the type of offer (e.g., Retention, Customer Service, Sales).
Suggested Scripting
Use the scripting below to assist customers with explaining the offer expiry responses.
"Some Foxtel offers provide a discounted rate on your package for a set period of time. When the offer expires, your bill will return to the standard price, which may result in an increase on your next bill. Looking at your bill, your previous discount of $X ended on X month. This means your next bill from X month onwards reflects the standard package price, without the discount applied."
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