RIPE NCC Billing Procedure and Fee Schedule for Direct Assignment Users 2010

Introduction

The following information outlines the billing and payment procedure for RIPE NCC Direct Assignment Users. This webpage should be read in conjunction with the "RIPE NCC End User Assignment Agreement" and the "RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2010". The RIPE NCC is a not-for-profit membership organisation. RIPE NCC Direct Assignment Users pay a service fee every year in accordance with the fees determined by the RIPE NCC General Meeting.

Fee Schedule 2010

The RIPE NCC service fees are based on a fixed annual maintenance fee of € 1,300.00. For more information, please read the "RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2010".

New Direct Assignment Users pay a one-time administration fee, which is included in the first invoice. New Direct Assignment Users are automatically assigned the billing category Extra Small. If existing Direct Assignment Users need to re-sign the "RIPE NCC End User Assignment Agreement" (for example, in case of an organisation name change), no administration fee will be charged. See the table below for the service fees per billing scheme.

Registries established during the course of the year are charged as follows:

The billing fees for Direct Assignment Users are determined after the RIPE NCC General Meeting in October (based on data on 30 September).

For more information, see the "RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2010".

Payment Procedure

We send out invoices by post in early December 2009 to the billing address shown in the registry file. We also send a copy of the invoice by email to the Direct Assignment User billing contact. The invoices cover provision of services for the following calendar year. Payment is due 30 days after the date shown on the invoice.

After the invoice has been sent, three reminders for this invoice are sent in case of non-payment.

• First Reminder (30 days)
  The first reminder is sent by post and e-mail 30 days after the date of invoice. Both the Direct Assignment User billing contact and the Direct Assignment User technical contact receive a copy of the reminder by e-mail. The first reminder has no direct consequence on the service level of the registry.

• Second Reminder (60 days)
  If the RIPE NCC does not receive payment within 60 days of the date of invoice, a second reminder is sent to the Direct Assignment User. Interest on the outstanding invoice is added at a rate of 5% per annum and a late payment charge of €100 is included in this reminder. At this stage, the RIPE NCC will not approve any Internet number resource requests until the Direct Assignment User has paid the outstanding fee.

• Third Reminder (90 days)
  If payment has not reached the RIPE NCC within 90 days of the date of invoice, a third reminder is sent to the Direct Assignment User. Interest on the outstanding invoice is added at a rate of 5% per annum and a late payment charge of €100 is included in this reminder. The service level of the Direct Assignment User is at this point set to NONE. From this moment on, the registry will only be able to contact the RIPE NCC Billing Department to pay the fee that is due.

• Closure
  If the Direct Assignment User fails to make the payment within 120 days, the RIPE NCC starts the process of closing the registry.

Payment Time Frame

Direct Assignment Users in the process of a closure or Direct Assignment Users that have been permanently closed must pay the outstanding amounts (invoices, billing charges and interest) as well as a new sign-up fee if they to re-open the Direct Assignment User's account.

Note: By prior arrangement it is possible to change your billing scheme and be billed half-yearly or quarterly. This must be requested before the yearly invoice for the year at issue is sent (i.e., before 1 November). Quarterly and half-yearly invoices are sent in the beginning of December. Note that during the year at issue, it is not possible to change the billing scheme for the year at issue.

To make sure the invoices and reminders arrive at the right address, it is important to keep the registry file up to date. This can be done by contacting billing@ripe.net. It is the responsibility of the Direct Assignment Users to inform the RIPE NCC of any changes in the billing address. Please note, if a Direct Assignment User ends its RIPE NCC account in the course of the RIPE NCC financial year, the service fee for that registry must still be paid in full.

Methods of Payment

To improve the ease and efficiency of your credit card payments, we have transferred our online payment system to a reliable and easy-to-use service, hosted by a trusted third party, Docdata Payments.

Docdata Payments handles all credit card payments (American Express, MasterCard and VISA) made to the RIPE NCC. You can also pay by bank transfer. Please note that payments via Docdata Payments must be made within 60 days of the date on the invoice.

How to Pay Your Invoice

• Credit Card
  All invoices that we send by e-mail (in .pdf format) include a unique payment URL. If you click on this, when you are online, you will be taken to a payment screen where you can complete your credit card payment.

• Bank Transfer
  If you do not want to pay your invoice through Docdata Payments and would prefer to pay by bank transfer, please make sure you mention the payment reference (this means the “Customer Number” and your invoice number). It helps us if you also mention your registry ID with the payment reference.

• Note:
  - Payments should be made in euros.
  - We cannot accept cheques. Any cheques that we receive will be returned to the registry’s billing address.
  

Payment Status

If you have any questions about your invoice or if you experience trouble using the online payment system, please contact: billing@ripe.net.

We updated this page on: 11 November 2009