Turn-off Notice

What is a turn-off notice? A notice send by a service provider to its customer stating that if a certain amount of payment that is due is not cleared that particular service will be closed or lowered for that particular customer. Such turn-off notice can range from credit card issuers to that of phone services, cable television service providers and so on. So what do you do when you get a turn-off notice?

The initial reaction is to panic, but surely that will not help you to overcome that crisis, so stay calm and plan how to pay-off. Mostly if you are in a severe situation where you are in a financial crunch and so far had a good record, a simple and polite request to the service provider can do the trick. They can extend your period for the repayment and at times even let you go interest free for a certain period of time.

The service providers generally send the turn-off notice after the regular bill has been sent but gives the customer at least several days to pay back the due amount. Often turn-off bills are result of the customer being absent-minded and failing to pay the bills in the right time. Even disorganized pattern in handling the finances can be the reason. But there are times when the reason is a genuine one where the customer faces some real financial problems and fails to pay the bill.

When such cases arise, if the customer tells about it to the service provider with the proof of the real problem then there is a likable chance of getting some extensions in continue to have the service. So how one is suppose to handle a turn-off notice when served one?

To begin with manage your finances well, start paying the bills when it arrives instead of stocking them somewhere and planning to do it later. If you are facing some problem paying off due to lack of finance, check the usage of the service, and limit it to the bare essential. In the case of credit cards where you are already facing the interest rate and your credit limit has been dropped by the credit card issuer, it’s very important that you spend within the limit. Or else there is this good chance of your interest shooting up and pushing you into more debt.

Try to find a service provider who charges you less and can give you interest free benefits for longer duration. If all these fails seek the help of a professional companies who can give you the benefits of settling the dues with the minimum interest rates. Since all service providers will want to get their money back instead of getting nothing at all. However, there are times when a service provider issues a turn-off notice when their service has not been used for long; this is just another way for them to remind their customers about themselves.

At times credit card providers instead of issuing a turn-off notice just decreases the credit limit of a customer, in doing so they just want to hold on to the customer and want them to use their service more. If all these make you uncomfortable call the service provider and tell them to rectify it. But do learn about the turn-off regulations that the service provider has as if you feel that you are wronged you contact them and ask them to rectify it. Since many a times the customers are just not aware of the rules and fail to take the benefit of it and ends up paying for something that they could have avoided.