Terms & Conditions

Residential Customer Terms and Conditions

I. Service Orders
New service orders take 7 business days to process. Upon delivery, most services will still require an installation. GWI attempts to schedule all installation appointments within 3 business days of circuit delivery. If a customer cannot be reached, a written notice of attempt to reach will be sent requiring response within 10 business days. If no response is received, the order will be canceled.

Acceptable payment methods by account type are the following:

• Internet only – Required automatic payments via credit card, debit card* or checking account.
• Phone/Internet – Preferred Automatic payments via credit card, debit card*, or checking account. Paper billing may be approved based on a soft credit check and/or deposit.
• Dialup – Automatic or Paper billing. There is an additional fee for paper billing.

Additional modem rental, taxes and fees may apply.

II. Billing
Customers will be billed in advance on a monthly basis unless service type specifies otherwise. So, new customers on paper billing will receive their first bill (including any applicable installation and modem fees) following their installation. New customers on Auto Pay will receive a courtesy receipt for their payment following their installation.

Invoices for services are sent electronically at the beginning of each billing cycle. However, paper statements may be requested (fees may apply) unless service type, credit check or contract requires an alternate payment method such as automatic payments. Billing date is determined by the date that the service is active, not necessarily the day the account is created. All customers are responsible for monthly payment of invoices regardless of whether such invoices were actually received.

For customers paying by check or money order, payments are due within 20 days after the billing date. Payments should be mailed to:

GWI
40 Main Street
Suite 13-127
Biddeford, Maine 04005

Please allow adequate time prior to due date for mailing and processing to avoid interruption of service. GWI is not responsible for misdirected, lost or late payments. You may notify the Billing Office that payment has been sent: (866) 494-2020. Past due balances will be assessed a late fee at the rate of one and one-half percent (1.5%) per month.

Customers participating in automatic payments via credit/debit card or electronic check, agree to maintain balances sufficient to pay all requested payments. All recurring transactions take place on the same date every month (cycles that fall on a weekend or holiday may be processed on the next business day), this will continue until and unless the Billing Department is notified otherwise. Notification must be received by the Billing Department prior to the next billing cycle to prevent processing. Certain services require auto payment; therefore the removal of automatic payment information could result in the suspension of service until the customer provides replacement information or completes a credit check and pays any required deposit.

It is the customers’ responsibility to make sure that GWI always has the most up to date contact and billing information for their account. Under no circumstances will GWI be liable for bank or credit card fees incurred by the customer for GWI attempting to charge for service. Customers are responsible for being aware of the amount that shall be automatically charged each month. If payment processing is declined, services may be suspended within 10 days. Billing inquires can be made Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.

If a payment is returned for any reason, a returned payment fee will apply and the account will be re-invoiced for service. A second returned payment will result in suspension without notice. Returned payments must be paid immediately with a money order, cashier’s check, cash or credit card and include the returned payment fee.

Any billing disputes done through the bank or Credit Card Company may result in immediate re-invoicing of disputed charge(s) and suspension of the users account. Service will not be reinstated until the account is paid in full.

As a courtesy, electronic receipts may be sent unless customers request to opt out.

III. Taxes & Fees
State and Federal taxes and fees are applied to all service types. These taxes and fees are subject to change on a quarterly basis. GWI is not required to notify customers of fluctuations in pricing caused by these changes.

IV. Installation
Customers without existing phone service may require an installation. GWI requires that someone 18 or older be present for our visit. Customers will be charged for installation; this is a mandatory fee and will not be waived without just cause.

V. Service Calls
Customers will not be charged for service calls if the issue is found to be with GWI controlled wiring. If the issue is found to be with internal home wiring, the customer will be given the option to pay GWI to fix it or to get it fixed on their own. GWI requires that someone 18 or older be present for our visit.

VI. Customer Requested Cancellation
At GWI, we are so certain that you will be satisfied with our service that we provide a full 7-day money-back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied, simply call us and cancel your account within the first 7 days and we will refund your money. Installation fees are not refundable.

If you cancel your account at any time after the initial 7 days, it will remain active to the end of your current billing cycle. Set up, activation or install fees are not refundable.

Special Promotional Offers:

At times, GWI will extend special introductory offers. If you join GWI under one of these offers, our cancellation policy differs slightly and is as follows:

• For any promotional offer, if you cancel within the first 7 days our full money-back guarantee, as described above, applies.
• If you join under a monthly promotional offer and cancel after the first 7 days, GWI is not obligated to refund any portion of that month’s fee or any activation fee charged.
• If you join under a multi-month promotional offer and cancel after the first 7 days, you will be responsible for the current month’s fee. However, GWI will refund you for any future months of access that you have paid for. Any activation fee that has been charged is non-refundable.

All cancellation requests must include, your full name, username/account ID#, telephone number, and the reason you are canceling. Notice of cancellation must be received prior to the start of your account’s next billing cycle to avoid another payment cycle. If you do not know your billing date please contact the Billing Department. Month to month plans are deactivated at the end of their current month’s cycle. The customer is responsible for the full month’s balance plus any charges associated with services that may be billed in arrears. GWI does not prorate for closure.

Please note that not paying for your service or no longer using your service is not a sufficient means of communicating your intent to cancel service.

VII. Non-payment Suspensions and Cancellation
In order to avoid the interruption of service, you must pay the full amount each month. Failure to pay invoices by the due date may result in your account being suspended or canceled with or without written notice. Credits will not be issued for the time that an account is on hold for non-payment. Although partial payments are accepted, partial payments will not prevent services from being discontinued for non-payment. GWI shall not be held responsible for any lost E-mail, website content, data, or issues resulting from the account being suspended for non-payment.

Reactivation of delinquent accounts will require that the past due balance be paid in full as well as any current invoices on the account and a restoration fee. If the account is disconnected completely, reconnection will require that the past due balance be paid in full as well as any current invoices on the account and an installation fee. Failure to bring an account current may result in the account being turned over to a third party for collections and credit reporting.

Telephone Customers:

When a phone account becomes delinquent a Disconnect Notice is sent to the customer, the customer has 14 days from the date on the notice to make full payment on all past due and any current invoices on the account. The customer is responsible for payment of all invoices on the account in order to avoid disconnect, this could include invoices that have posted after your Disconnect Notice was sent. If payment is not received by 4pm on that date the phone and any associated service will be suspended, the suspension will be put in place until full payment is received. Although partial payments are accepted, partial payments will not prevent services from being suspended or disconnected for non-payment. When phone service is suspended, the customer may make calls to 911 Emergency and to GWI for payment, however no other incoming or outgoing calls can be made.

Once the full past due and current payment is received as well as the restoration fee, the service will be restored by 5pm that day. Payments are posted during normal office hours.

If the customer fails to pay within 24 days from the date on the original Disconnect Notice, the account will be disconnected. The current outstanding bill will be prorated back to the date of disconnection. If disconnection occurs access to dial 911 will remain available for 90 days. After the 90 day period, dial tone is no longer available and the telephone number is no longer assigned to the line. No incoming or outgoing calls of any kind can be made.

If the customer pays the account in full and wishes to reestablish an account, they will be directed to our Sales department. Customers may be required to: complete a credit check, provide credit card information for automatic payments, provide a deposit payment, pay the first month’s service in advance and pay a mandatory installation fee. GWI does not guarantee that the same Telephone number will be issued.

VIII. Medical Emergency
If your GWI telephone service is about to be suspended and you have a medical issue requiring the use of your phone service, you must follow the procedures below:

• GWI customers must notify GWI of a medical issue requiring telephone service.
• Upon Notification, GWI will change the customers’ service to basic telephone. (This may require us to remove any extended coverage area telephone services and internet service.)
• GWI customers must get a physician to provide either oral or written certification of medical necessity for telephone service within 3 business days of the notification to GWI.
• GWI reserves the right to request written documented certification within 7 days of an oral certification.
• GWI has the right to transfer your service to the incumbent phone provider for the state if they deem the situation requires this action.
• Upon certification GWI may not disconnect the customer for the time period specified in the certification or 60 days, whichever is less.
• A certification may be renewed for additional periods of up to 60 days each as long as the medical emergency continues.

IX. Payment Arrangements
While GWI believes that our monthly pricing is a great value, we understand there may be times when making ends meet is a struggle. We are here to help. We will review the status of your GWI account to determine if a temporary payment extension can be granted. If your account is eligible, we will offer you an extended date to pay your bill or set up an installment plan. Several factors are used when we consider granting a payment extension for a customer.

Some of the factors include:

• Service type
• Compliance to prior payment arrangements
• Past due amount
• Timeliness of prior payments

Requests must be made prior to the accounts due date in order to be considered eligible for a payment arrangement.

Not all accounts will qualify for payment arrangements; failure to comply with previous payments arrangements may render an account ineligible for future payment arrangements.

Only one payment arrangement per 6 month period will be allowed.

X. Credits and Refunds
Account holders can dispute bills or charges by calling 1-866-494-2020 during the regular office hours of M-F 8am- 4:30pm.

Your dispute will be investigated, documented and the results reported to you. GWI will attempt to resolve all disputes in good faith.

If your dispute with GWI is not addressed to your expectation you have the right to dispute through the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s Consumer Assistance Division.

A dispute can be filed by telephone, Fax, walk-in, or by using the on-line complaint form.

Maine Public Utilities Commission
Consumer Assistance Division
18 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0018
Fax: 207-287-6889
http://www.maine.gov/mpuc/consumer/file_complaint.shtml

GWI reserves the right to terminate any account without refund for any kind of Policy non-compliance and reserves the right to refuse service to anyone, and for any reason, at our sole discretion. In all of these matters, decisions by GWI are final.

GWI reserves the right to modify this and any Policy at any time by posting changes online. Your non-termination or continued use of the service after changes are posted will serve as your acceptance of this agreement as modified by the posted changes.

*Debit cards must have Visa or mastercard logo.