How to handle a late payment

Are you worried about paying your bill on time? Learn about options for making your payment quickly or setting up a payment arrangement.

You'll also want to know about late fees and service suspension.

Close to the due date? Pay quickly

The best options for paying your bill quickly and seeing it reflected immediately on your account are to pay online or with our automated phone system.

For payments by phone

If you pay by phone on a weekend or federal holiday, the payment will post to your account on the next business day. Depending on your due date, this could result in a late payment.

Never miss a payment with AutoPay

How long it takes to process a payment

If you can't pay your whole bill at once

Consider setting up a payment arrangement. Use our Payment Plan Tool to split your bill into two payments. If you pay less than your full balance without setting up a payment plan, late fees will be charged. Carrying an unpaid balance for too long may result in suspension of your services.

If your payment is late

If you don't make a payment by the due date, you will be charged a late fee. If your account continues to be unpaid, you will receive a late payment notice from us, and eventually your services will be suspended, and then disconnected.

You will be charged late fees if your payment is received after the due date. Late fees vary based on the type of service and your location. They can range from a flat $5 to some percentage of the original amount due, or a combination of both.

There are so many ways that late fees are calculated, we cannot show them all here. Late fees vary based on the services you have and where you live.

To look up the late fee information specific to your services and your location, please search our CenturyLink Tariffs Library.

When your bill is past due, we'll mail a notice. If your bill continues to go unpaid, we'll also try to reach you by phone.

If you have CenturyLink internet service, you will see a "past due" message when you try get online, with instructions to make a payment.

When services are suspended or disconnected

Each state has a Public Utility Commission (PUC) that regulates when services can be disconnected. That means the timeline for service suspension varies depending on your location.

Past due accounts are first suspended and then disconnected. Suspended service is typically turned back on within 24 hours after the bill has been paid. Disconnected service can take longer to restore and may require a technician fee to come re-activate your service. In some cases, you may be asked to pay a security deposit to get service re-connected following non-payment.