BILLING AND PAYMENT OF CHARGES 11.1 Unless otherwise stated, each Party will render monthly bill(s), remittance in full by the Bill Due Date, to the other for Interconnection Services provided hereunder at the applicable rates set forth in the Pricing Schedule.
11.2 There will be no offset by the billed Party of payments due herein against any other amount owed by one Party to the other.
11.3 A Late Payment Charge will be assessed for all Past Due payments as provided below, as applicable.
11.3.1 If any portion of the payment is not received by Billing Party on or before the payment due date as set forth above, or if any portion of the payment is received by Billing Party in funds that are not immediately available to Billing Party, then a late payment and/or interest charge shall be due to Billing Party. The late payment and/or interest charge shall apply to the portion of the payment not received and shall be assessed as set forth in the applicable state tariff, or, if no applicable state tariff exists, as set forth in the Guide Book as published on the AT&T CLEC Online website, or pursuant to the applicable state law as determined by Billing Party. In addition to any applicable late payment and/or interest charges, Billed Party may be charged a fee for all returned checks at the rate set forth in the applicable state tariff, or, if no applicable tariff exists, as set forth in the Guide Book or pursuant to the applicable state law.
11.4 If any charge incurred by AT&T-21STATE under this Agreement is Past Due, the unpaid amounts will accrue interest from the day following the Bill Due Date until paid. The interest rate applied will be the lesser of (i) the rate used to compute the Late Payment Charge contained in the applicable AT&T-21STATE intrastate access services tariff for that state and (ii) the highest rate of interest that may be charged under Applicable Law, compounded daily from the Bill Due Date to and including the date that the payment is actually made and available.
11.5 The Remittance Information to apply payments must accompany the payment. Payment is considered to have been made when the payment and Remittance Information are received by Billing Party. If the Remittance Information is not received with payment, Billing Party will be unable to apply amounts paid to Billed Party’s accounts. In such event, Billing Party shall hold such funds until the Remittance Information is received. If Billing Party does not receive the Remittance Information by the Bill due date for any account(s), Late Payment Charges shall apply.
11.6 CLEC shall make all payments to AT&T-21STATE via electronic funds transfers (EFTs) through the Automated Clearing House Association (ACH) to the financial institution designated by AT&T-21STATE. Remittance Information will be communicated together with the funds transfer via the ACH network. CLEC must use the CCD+ or the CTX Standard Entry Class code. CLEC and AT&T-21STATE will abide by the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) Rules and Regulations. Each ACH payment must be received by AT&T-21STATE no later than the Bill Due Date of each bill or Late Payment Charges will apply. AT&T-21STATE is not liable for any delays in receipt of funds or errors in entries caused by CLEC or Third Parties, including CLEC’s financial institution. CLEC is responsible for its own banking fees.
11.7 Prior to establishing EFT, CLEC will complete a Customer Information Form for Electronic Payments (ECF11 Form) found on AT&T’s CLEC Online website. This form provides AT&T-21STATE with CLEC’s set up and contract information for electronic payments. AT&T-21STATE banking information will be provided by AT&T-21STATE Treasury & Remittance Operations on AT&T-21STATE approved forms after CLEC’s completed ECF11 form is received, testing has completed and certification confirmed.
11.8 Processing of payments not made via electronic funds transfers through the ACH network may be delayed. CLEC is responsible for any Late Payment Charges resulting from CLEC’s failure to use electronic funds transfers through the ACH network.
11.9 If Unpaid Charges are subject to a billing dispute between the Parties, the Non-Paying Party must, prior to the Bill Due Date, give written notice to the Billing Party of the Disputed Amounts and include in such written notice the specific details and reasons for disputing each item listed in Section 13.4 below. The Disputing Party should utilize the preferred form or method provided by the Billing Party to communicate disputes to the Billing Party. On or before the Bill Due Date, the Non-Paying Party must pay: (i) all undisputed amounts to the Billing Party and (ii) all Disputed Amounts, except for Disputed Amounts arising from compensation for the termination of Section 251(b)(5) Traffic or ISP-Bound Traffic, into an interest bearing escrow account with a Third Party escrow agent that is mutually agreed upon by the Parties.
