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Billing FAQs

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At Planet SOS, we firmly believe in the "KISS" rule, (Keep It Simple, Stupid) of doing things.  Unfortunately, much of the rest of the world insists on keeping things complicated.  For this reason, our internet service bill may be a bit confusing at first.  If the information on this page doesn't answer your questions, or if you think we somehow "goofed", (Hey, even we can make mistakes) don't be afraid to give us a call at 573-378-6464.  We're determined to keep you happy, either by clearing up any confusion, or correcting any mistakes.

The main point of confusion seems to be that people tend to think of their internet bill in the same way that they think of their electricity bill.  The principal difference is, you use your electricity, then you pay for it.  With the internet, you pay for your internet first, then you use it.  It's impossible to actually be late on your internet bill, because you have to buy it before you can use it.

I just got your internet bill around the first of the month, but the bill is for next month.  What's the deal?  We have to pay for your line ahead of time, rather than after the fact.  If for example, you got a bill from us on January 2, the bill will be for February.  This means you have the entire month of January to pay the bill.  If the bill isn't paid by the end of January, we don't have the money to pay for your line in February.  In other words, the bill you get at the beginning of the month is not due immediately.  We give you the whole month to pay it.

Why do you have to pay ahead of time?  We connect you to the internet through what is known as an "upstream provider".  When we pay ahead, we're actually buying 200 to 325 hours of connection time, depending on the network, for you.  If we don't pay ahead, they won't provide your line.

So, if I'm late, you'll just cut me off?  Well, if you're late, we can't pay for your connection, and the "upstream provider", simply won't provide your line.  This is why we give you the entire month to pay for your next month's service.  At 6:00 PM on the last day of the month, the upstream provider turns off your line, so hopefully, receiving our bill a month ahead of time will give you plenty of time to pay for the next month.

Can't you just send the bill when it's actually due?  Well, sure we could wait till the last minute, but we'd rather give you the whole month to "scrape up the dough", than remind you to scramble around for it a couple days before it's due.

With all this, why shouldn't I just move to some big provider like they advertise on television?  Well, the "big providers" want their money ahead too.  They just don't give you an entire month's notice like we do.  Besides that, we are what computer geeks call, "the single throat to choke", in a "brick and mortar" business.  That is to say, we're here to talk to on the telephone, and we're right here in a local business, so that if you'd rather speak to a human, than a faceless voice in Taiwan or Silicon Valley, here we are!  Good luck straightening out your bill with some big "cyber-company", when you don't even know which continent it's on.

Here's a question I'm almost afraid to ask.  Why has my monthly bill gone down from $20, to $18?  Because we're good.  Very good.  In fact, we're incredible.

I still can't make any sense of this and I think you've made a boo boo.  How can I get this straightened out?  Being human, there's always a chance we've made a "boo boo", and if this doesn't make any sense, you can talk to us in person, and we'll be glad to answer any questions, or correct any goofs.  You can contact us here.
Planet Software And Office Supply
113 N. Fisher, Versailles Missouri  65084
Telephone 573-378-6464  Fax 573-378-4799 Email planet@planetsos.com

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