Cox FBL update

Delivery mailing lists have been a buzz this week trying to figure out what is going on with the Cox FBL. Someone tried to sign up for the FBL and received a message saying Cox was no longer accepting applications. They forwarded the rejection to some of the mailing lists asking if anyone else had seen a similar message. Panic ensued. Rumors and futile suggestions flew wildly. OK, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but there did seem to be more than a little consternation and confusion about what was going on.
Everyone can stop panicking now.
Yes, Cox did stop accepting new applications for their FBL. They were swamped and overwhelmed with applications and had quite a significant backlog. One of my clients got caught in this backlog. I applied for them back in mid-October and they were just approved last week.
In order to solve the backlog problem, they shut down new applications. They will be working through the current applications and when they’ve approved all the current ones, they will start accepting new ones. I expect that it may be a couple months before they’re accepting applications again.
No need to panic. No need to email lots of people at Cox. No need to contact their FBL provider. Remain calm.
If you were lucky enough to get an application in, they will be getting to it as soon as possible. You will receive an email when you are approved.
If you have already been approved, there will be no interruption in your FBL. You will continue to receive reports during the signup hiatus.