Internet out for days: how to request a credit or refund

Keep a clear outage record and ask for a specific billing correction.

The answer in 2 lines. Report the outage, record when service stopped and returned, and save your support case number. Ask for the outage-credit policy and any claim deadline, then request a credit for the period without service. Whether payment is automatic, how it is calculated and whether extra expenses qualify depend on the service terms and applicable state or local rules. If the response is inadequate, submit an official internet service or billing complaint with supporting records.

The first steps

Open a support case: use the contact details on your bill or account, record the reference and save any outage acknowledgement.
Keep a timeline: note when the connection failed, when you reported it, any temporary restoration and when normal service returned.
Request the policy: ask what credit applies, whether you must claim it and when the adjustment should appear.

Stop: danger

Essential connected services: if an outage affects a medical alert, monitored alarm or other essential connection, activate your backup arrangements and contact that service using the number in your agreement. A billing complaint will not restore its connection.
Payment dispute: do not assume that requesting a credit pauses the bill. Ask in writing how the disputed amount will be handled and whether collection or service restrictions will be paused.

Work out what you are asking to be reimbursed

Separate the charge for unavailable internet from other losses. Ask for an adjustment covering the affected service period and identify any equipment or bundled-service charges you also dispute. Request the calculation so you can compare the eventual credit with your bill.

Extra mobile data, temporary connectivity and lost income are separate requests. Keep receipts and explain why the expense resulted from the outage, but do not treat reimbursement as guaranteed. Ask the provider to identify any exclusion or limit it relies on.

This guide does not establish a universal federal daily payment. Your agreement and applicable rules need to be checked. Requirements for cable television, telephone service or a particular local franchise should not automatically be applied to standalone internet.

What not to do

Waiting for an automatic credit without checking whether the policy requires a request.
Accepting a verbal promise without saving written confirmation of the amount and billing adjustment.
Sending account passwords, payment card details or unnecessary identity documents with a complaint.
Assuming that a temporary courtesy credit settles a separate claim for damage or expenses.

Send a request that is easy to assess

Use the billing or complaint channel shown in your account or service agreement. Include your account reference, service address, outage timeline, support case numbers and the remedy you want. State whether the connection was completely unavailable or repeatedly interrupted.

You can write: My home internet service was unavailable during the period shown in the attached timeline. I reported the problem under the attached case references. Please apply the credit available under my service terms and applicable rules, explain the calculation and confirm which bill will show the adjustment. Please address my separately listed additional expenses as well.

Attach the relevant bill, outage acknowledgement and receipts. If service remains down, request a restoration update and submit the credit request now, explaining that the outage is continuing. Update the end time later. Keep a copy outside the affected connection so you can retrieve it if access remains unreliable.

If the response does not resolve it

Use the FCC Consumer Complaint Center: select Internet Service Issues and choose the issue that best matches the dispute. The FCC's issue descriptions explain categories including billing, equipment and speed. Describe both the outage and any unresolved charges, and attach your concise evidence.

Read the FCC complaint questions and answers for how submissions are handled and how to follow up. Keep the acknowledgement and respond to requests for information. Filing does not guarantee the credit you requested.

To check state-specific protections, open the USAGov consumer protection directory, select your state or territory and follow the official office's instructions. Ask whether it handles broadband billing disputes or can identify the appropriate local office.

Good to know

Distinguish a provider outage from a problem affecting only your wireless network, device or home power. Record the checks support asks you to perform.
If your home lost power too, record that separately. Ask how overlapping power and internet outages affect the requested credit.
After a credit is approved, check the actual bill. If it is missing or differs from the promise, follow up with the written confirmation.

Illustrative example: Morgan loses home internet after a storm and saves the support acknowledgement. Once service returns, Morgan requests a service credit and separately lists a temporary mobile-data purchase. The provider approves a credit but declines the additional expense. Morgan asks for the policy supporting that refusal before deciding whether to escalate.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on November 5, 2026, for the United States. Confidence: high for official internet complaint categories and access to state consumer offices; medium for entitlement to a particular credit or additional compensation, which requires checking the agreement and applicable jurisdiction. No nationwide daily compensation amount is asserted.