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Wholesale Billing Claim and Escalation Guide
The Frontier Wholesale Billing Claims and Collections Center addresses customer inquiries and claims for wholesale accounts. For retail inquiries and claims, please follow the process described on your bill or by your account team when applicable.
Frontier has established a procedure for claim submission when a wholesale customer believes, after its own investigation, that billing is inaccurate. This procedure is outlined in this Billing Claim and Escalation Guide (Guide). To avoid delay and help ensure an efficient process, follow this procedure, including promptly providing complete and accurate detail in support of a claim.
If, after investigation, Frontier finds a claim is valid and management approves a credit, Frontier will apply a credit to the customer’s bill.
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References
Where to Submit a Claim
To submit a claim, use the Frontier Wholesale Claims Tracking System (CTS) web portal. Fully populate the CTS template for wholesale claims. Please refer to the next section regarding how to submit a claim.
If the CTS web portal is unavailable or the customer is unable to submit claims via that portal, submit claims by both correctly completing the Frontier Claims Template (in a manner consistent with the procedure outlined in the next section) and emailing the completed spreadsheet to [email protected]
How to Submit a Claim
Customers must properly submit a complete and accurate claim for Frontier to process it. A complete claim includes both identifying data and explanatory information.
Identifying Data. Certain information is required to locate and track a claim. Generally, identifying information can be found on the Customer Service Record (CSR) and other information provided with the bill. Required identifying information includes:
- Billing Account Number (BAN)
- Circuit Identifier (ID)
- Rate Element
- Invoice Date
- Claim Type Code (see examples in screen shot below*)
- Claim Dollar Amount
- Universal Service Ordering Code(s) (USOC) (sometimes referred to as Individual Service Ordering Code(s) (ISOC) for resale)
- Frontier’s Service Order Number for all claims with impacted service order(s)
- Purchase Order Number (PON) and either Access Service Request (ASR) number or Local Service Number (LSR) for all claims with impacted service order(s)
- Frontier’s Trouble Ticket Number (e.g., for maintenance, repair, performance, outage claims)
- Customer’s Claim Number/ID (optional): Providing the Customer’s Claim Number does not relieve customer of the obligation to provide Frontier’s applicable number
*Claim type codes are provided via the CTS template.
Explanatory Information. The customer must provide a sufficiently detailed and accurate verbal description of the claim to allow Frontier to research and respond to the claim. The customer also must attach supporting documentation needed to facilitate resolution of the claim.
✔Claim Description: Provide a full written description of the nature of the claim (e.g., not simply that a bill is allegedly inaccurate but also what specifically about the bill is reportedly inaccurate). For taxes, fees, and surcharges, specify which tax, fee, or surcharge is disputed.- References to Governing Documentation: Include citation(s) to authority for the customer’s claimed right to a different rate/result. For Example: Provide the contract or promotion number (PNUM) or tariff reference, with the associated section number(s). It is helpful to provide an excerpt of pertinent language.
- Up-to-Date Status: Verify accuracy and currency of information before claim submission. For Example: Confirm each time whether the affected circuit(s) has been disconnected (allowing time for the service order to process and post to the Carrier Access Billing System (CABS)). Monthly Recurring Charges (MRCs) are billed in advance. If a circuit is disconnected in a billing cycle, a prorated credit will be applied on a later bill.
✔Supporting Documentation: Attach documentation such as emails or other correspondence (e.g., with sales team or account management), a tax-exempt certificate, etc., when customer relies on such documentation for its position.
- EXAMPLES OF INADEQUATE AND ADEQUATE CLAIM DESCRIPTIONS:
The examples of adequate claim descriptions provided below assume that all identifying information (see above) has also been provided. Numbers and addresses are hypothetical.
EXAMPLE #1:
INADEQUATE: Mileage is inaccurate.
INADEQUATE: Why is mileage being billed?
ADEQUATE: Mileage billed on a facility/circuit 11.AAAA.11111....BBBB. CCCCC CCCCC11111 CCCCC111111 - Disputing the mileage quantity and BIP applied to the given circuit under OCN 2222. Circuit was ordered under PON DDDDD111111 to be cross connected at ACTL EEEEEEEE, where it then travels to Vendor's end user serving wire center, FFFFFFFF. The billable route between EEEEEEEE - FFFFFFFF is 12 miles with Vendor entitled to a 67% BIP per FCC#5, section 5. Vendor has billed this circuit for a mileage quantity of 29 miles and a 47% BIP. A copy of applicable language from FCC#5, section 5 is attached.
EXAMPLE #2:
INADEQUATE: Need to be refunded
INADEQUATE: Rate is wrong per contract
ADEQUATE: Disputing billed amount versus contract rate for EEEEE-11VLXP111111GTES PON 222222222222222. Bill date of 04/15/2020. ASR sent date of 04/15/2020. Circuit was ordered on Titan PNUM FB1B11111, and the circuit address is Titan eligible at XXXX Customer Location Lane, Tampa FL 99999. The pertinent pricing per Exhibit 1 of PNUM FB1B11111 (attached) is $150. Frontier confirmed our understanding of the application of the rate in email dated XX/XX/20XX (copy of email also attached). Please issue credit of $100.
EXAMPLE #3:
INADEQUATE: Circuit 11AAAA123456FTNC was down. Please provide credit.
ADEQUATE Service assurance/outage credit not applied - HHHHH - 11AAAA123456FTNC - Requesting Credit for Service Outage. Circuit was down for 9.25 hours on Frontier trouble ticket ID: 3333333. Closed out on 04/29/20XX. Please apply credit per FCC #5 2.8.1.1.A4 (section attached).
Receipt of Claim
Claims will be received Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding Frontier Holidays. Billing claims received outside these business hours shall be considered received at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the following business day.
For Frontier Holidays, please refer to the current year Holiday Schedule available from the Hours of Operations page.
Check the applicable contract or tariff for time limits for submitting a dispute. When the time limit to submit a dispute has expired, claims will not be accepted by Frontier and payment is due for the invoiced amount.
Acknowledgment of Claim
Frontier will generally provide acknowledgment of a claim within two business days of receipt by email to the email address listed on the claim.
The acknowledgment will have an email subject line such as:
- Frontier Wholesale Claims and Collections - BATCH ID 1234567
The acknowledgment email will generally include:
- Customer’s Company Name
- Frontier Batch ID
- Estimated Resolution Due Date
If insufficient information is received from customer (e.g., the claim description is inadequate), the claim may be rejected (via email).
Additional information may also be required later, during investigation of the claim. Customers may help avoid delay by providing thorough, detailed claim information in their initial claim submission.
Although Frontier will advise customer of known missing information, customer remains responsible for providing complete and accurate information in submitted claims, rebuttals, and escalations.
Claim Resolution
After claim acknowledgement and receipt of adequate identifying and explanatory information, the Wholesale Billing Claims and Collections Team will research the claim. Frontier will provide a letter via email informing the wholesale customer of the results of Frontier’s research, including whether the claim is denied or honored and, if honored, the amount of any credit that will be applied to the bill after management approval (“Resolution Letter”). Payment is due by the deadline provided in the Resolution Letter (or, if none, within 30 days after receipt of the Resolution Letter).Rebuttal of Denied Claim
If the customer does not agree with the resolution as set out in the Resolution Letter, the customer must submit a written rebuttal by the deadline provided in the Resolution Letter (or, if none, within 10 days of receipt of the Resolution Letter).
A rebuttal is inadequate and likely to be rejected if it simply reiterates the information in the customer’s original claim submission. Customer’s rebuttal should be directly responsive to the reason(s) provided in the Resolution Letter for denial of the claim and should include additional detail and documentation to support the customer’s position.;
To submit a rebuttal, use the Frontier Wholesale Claims Tracking System (CTS) web portal.
If the CTS web portal is unavailable or the customer is unable to submit rebuttals via that portal, submit a rebuttal via email to [email protected]. When submitting a rebuttal:
- Use the subject line: Rebuttal Frontier-Wholesale Claims and Collections-BATCH ID [insert number]
- Populate the rebuttal fields on the status spreadsheet (provided with Frontier’s denial)
- Provide additional information responsive to the denial
Frontier will acknowledge receipt of customer’s rebuttal via email and will research new information provided as part of the rebuttal. Frontier will provide a letter via email informing the wholesale customer of the results of Frontier’s research, including whether, after rebuttal, the claim remains denied or is honored and, if honored, the amount of any credit that will be applied to the bill, after management approval (“Rebuttal Resolution Letter”).
Claim Escalation
If the customer does not agree with the resolution as set out in the Rebuttal Resolution Letter, the customer may escalate the decision by the deadline provided in the Rebuttal Resolution Letter (or, if none, within 10 days of receipt of the Rebuttal Resolution Letter).
To escalate, the customer should send an email requesting escalation to the applicable Frontier supervisor. The customer must include in its email Frontier’s batch number, the customer’s reason for escalating the issue, and any new information, authority, or documentation. An escalation is inadequate and likely to be rejected if it simply reiterates the information in the customer’s original claim submission and rebuttal. When submitting an escalation by email, use a subject line such as:
- Escalation Frontier Wholesale Claims and Collections-BATCH ID 1234567.
If the supervisor is unable to resolve the claim to the customer’s satisfaction within an agreed upon timeframe, the customer may initiate an escalation to the Frontier manager. If the manager denies the claim and the customer disagrees or the commitment time is unacceptable, the customer may escalate to the Frontier director. Please refer to the following chart for contact information for managers and the director.
| Claims Escalation Contacts Managers |
|
|---|---|
| Boyd, Velita | [email protected] |
| Hale, Kim | [email protected] |
| Peacock, Traci | [email protected] |
| Pettaway, Katherine | [email protected] |
| Claims Escalation Contacts Director |
|
| Gannon, John | [email protected] |
If the customer maintains that a claim remains unresolved after working with the director, and if both Frontier and the customer believe that it would be useful to engage senior leadership, representatives from Frontier and the customer may escalate to additional, levels of leadership at their respective companies (e.g., VP-VP, SVP-SVP).
Late Payment Charges Apply
Upon Frontier’s final denial of a claim, payment is due no later than the deadline provided in the denial (or, if none, no later than 30 days after customer’s receipt of the denial). Late payment charges apply for any untimely payment.No Right of Offset
Frontier’s contracts and tariffs do not provide wholesale customers with any right of offset. If the customer has paid a bill and later disputes charges on that bill, the customer may not engage in self-help by “short paying” any other bill. The practice, sometimes referred to as a “claw back,” is improper.Whom to Contact for General Inquiries
For general questions about wholesale bills or claims, please contact the assigned wholesale claims and collections representative for assistance.
If the wholesale customer does not have an assigned wholesale claims and collections representative, please contact Frontier by email [email protected] or call the Wholesale Billing Claims and Collections Center using the toll-free number: 844-216-6420.
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