ISO 14452:2012

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 14452
First edition
2012-07-01
Network services billing — Requirements
Facturation de services en réseau — Exigences
Reference number
©
ISO 2012
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ii © ISO 2012 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction . v
1 Scope . 1
2 Terms and definitions . 1
3 Billing process . 5
3.1 Pre-billing process . 5
3.2 Billing principles . 7
3.3 Billing document .10
3.4 Post-billing processes .15
3.5 Customers in vulnerable circumstances .17
3.6 End of contract and switching supplier .18
3.7 Compliance and continuous improvement .18
Annex A (informative) Guidance for bill presentation.20
Bibliography .21
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO 14452 was prepared by Project Committee ISO/PC 239, Network services billing.
iv © ISO 2012 – All rights reserved

Introduction
The purpose of this International Standard is to provide a market-based and market-sensitive way of dealing with
the concerns of customers about the billing practices of utility network service providers. Billing is a major source
of complaints to companies and industry ombudsmen. Problems experienced by customers include the following:
— bill shock (i.e. the negative reaction experienced by a customer upon receiving a bill that is higher than expected);
— bills are complicated and difficult to understand;
— pricing is not always clear;
— bills are inaccurate;
— payment methods present difficulties for customers;
— bills are overloaded with information, which adds to the confusion;
— information about offers and guidance on switching supplier is unclear.
These problems arise because of:
— poor pre-billing processes, including customer service, tariff and data management, meter reading and
provision of information to customers on billing-related matters;
— unsatisfactory billing procedures and practices, leading to delayed or inaccurate bills;
— poorly presented bills and statements, which are unclear for customers;
— ineffective post-billing processes to deal with:
— disputes and enquiries;
— payment and debt collection;
— consumers in vulnerable circumstances;
— final bills for customers changing supplier;
— inaccurate customer expectations, based on confusing advertising or promotional material and
complicated tariffs.
Clearer bills will assist customers to verify the accuracy of billed charges and will increase customers’ confidence
in their bills and their supplier’s performance. Where alternative suppliers are available to the customer, this
will also help customers to choose the supplier that best meets their needs. Suppliers are likely to benefit from
fewer complaints, leading to lower operating costs, easier recovery of debts and higher levels of customer
satisfaction, which will help them retain market share. Establishing a common International Standard will also
assist companies that own utilities in more than one territory to reduce their costs, by adopting common billing
processes and systems in different countries.
This International Standard provides a tool for suppliers of utility services to ensure that their processes enable
customers to be provided with clearly comprehensible, accurate, timely and complete bills, and to have access
to sufficient billing-related information to enable them to verify the accuracy of billed charges. It is intended that
this International Standard:
a) defines the minimum requirements for the billing and payment collection processes;
b) prevents or reduces complaints, by addressing issues that have been the source of frequent complaints;
c) ensures that suppliers deal with customers on billing matters in an appropriate and consistent manner;
d) provides a fairer basis for an ongoing relationship between utility companies and customers;
e) provides benchmarks for the level of customer expectations;
f) allows for the implementation of smart metering technology and the provision of improved information
to customers;
g) offers scope for innovation in billing, which will enable suppliers to differentiate their services to customers
in a competitive market.
This International Standard is aimed at utility bills which include an element of metered or measured
consumption. Many of the key principles in this International Standard will, however, apply to all forms of billing,
and suppliers are therefore encouraged to adopt the requirements in this International Standard even if usage
is not metered or otherwise measured.
While the provisions of this International Standard are considered to be generally applicable globally, it is
recognized that many regional or national factors might require adaptations or exceptions in order to meet
prevailing cultural, social, economic, regulatory and even climatic conditions.
vi © ISO 2012 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 14452:2012(E)
Network services billing — Requirements
1 Scope
This International Standard specifies the minimum requirements for billing of all consumption-based utility
network services to domestic customers. It covers the processes required to produce the bill and to deal with
issues that arise after the bill has been sent, as well as the content of the billing document or statement. This
International Standard is applicable to utility network services that are unmetered, metered at the point of
delivery or metered remotely (e.g. on the supplier’s own premises), and it covers any unmetered or unmeasured
charges appearing on the same bill as metered or measured charges, as well as flat rate charges.
NOTE 1 Utility network services include electricity supply, water, sanitation, gas supply, district heating and
communications.
NOTE 2 The requirements given in this International Standard are also applicable to other consumers who are legally
entitled to use the service provided by the supplier, except where in order to comply with privacy or data protection
requirements, it is necessary for the supplier to obtain the authority of the registered customer before dealing with another
consumer on billing matters.
This International Standard does not cover pricing, except for a requirement to provide information to
customers. It is only applicable to billing for consumption-based utility network services and it applies to all bills
or statements for utility network services where there is an ongoing account relationship between the customer
and the supplier, regardless of the payment method used.
NOTE 3 This includes bills for metered consumption, bills where a formula is used to estimate consumption (e.g. water
bills based on the number of persons per household or the size of the house), or where a flat rate fee is charged regardless
of consumption (e.g. telephony or internet bills where the tariff allows unlimited usage). It also applies to prepayment
customers, where a bill or account from the supplier is necessary to enable the customer to reconcile the amount paid
in advance with the cost of consumption, or where the customer expects to receive a bill based on point of sale or other
advertising (e.g. mobile telephony and energy metering) where codes, keys, electronic dongles or electronic cards are
used to load and reload the service and to indicate what was purchased.
NOTE 4 Services that are not billed [e.g. mobile telephony paid for by pre-purchased SIM (Subscriber Identity Module)
cards that are unmetered] and services that are funded directly by the taxpayer without bills being issued are not covered
by this International Standard.
NOTE 5 Many of the key principles in this International Standard also apply to all forms of billing, and suppliers are
therefore encouraged to adopt the relevant requirements in this International Standard for billing of other services.
2 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
2.1
account
supplier’s record of a customer’s bill and associated charges, and of billing arrangements with the customer for
the service(s) required, including customer information to assist with customer enquiries and credit assessment
and management
2.2
bill
invoice issued by a supplier to a customer in paper or electronic form, notifying charges due to be paid by the
customer for products and services purchased, requested, acquired or used by the customer
2.3
billing
function whereby charges generated by a network accounting function are transformed into bills
EXAMPLE The following processes are included within the billing function:
— calculating, applying and setting out the charges incurred by a customer during the billing period;
— calculating, applying and setting out any debts or credits outstanding or discounts due, and calculating the net
amount to be paid by the customer or adjusted against prepayments made by the customer;
— issuing and delivering the bill;
— the incremental debiting of a prepaid account based on the service utilized;
— handling billing enquiries from the customer;
— receiving and acknowledging receipt of payments made by the customer.
2.4
billing accuracy
correctness of charges included in a bill to a customer, in terms of consistency with what the customer has
requested, subscribed, purchased, acquired or utilized, and in compliance with the supplier’s contracted or
published tariffs and any discounts due
NOTE For a prepaid account, billing accuracy includes the incremental debiting of the account for the service used,
based on the advertised rate.
2.5
billing address
address given by the customer to which the bill is provided
NOTE The address is either a postal address or an electronic address.
2.6
billed charge
amount billed by a supplier to a customer
2.7
billing complaint
expression of dissatisfaction or grievance by a customer, to which the customer expects a response from the
supplier, about any aspect of the customer’s bill or the supplier’s billing service
NOTE This includes complaints made verbally, by telephone or face to face, and complaints made in writing, by hard
copy or electronically.
2.8
billing dispute
pursued, unresolved customer billing complaint
2.9
billing enquiry
request to a supplier by a customer for information about charges or other content on the supplier’s bill, or
about other aspects of the supplier’s billing service, relevant to that customer
2.10
billing option
billing-related feature, usually at no charge, which a customer can choose
EXAMPLE Billing frequency.
2.11
billing period
period of time, typically a month or quarter, or the end dates to which charges are billed
2 © ISO 2012 – All rights reserved

2.12
billing product
enhanced billing-related off
...