Tenant vacated without cancelling phone account.

tomhalloween

had a tenant vacate my rented house. On re-leasing the property the new tenant tried to set up a broadband account with Vodafone. It then became apparent the previous tenant had a phone account with sky. No new account can't be set up until the existing one is terminated.
Sky are refusing to terminate the account as I am not the account holder.

Has anyone any idea of a way around this problem?

Whosthis

Kind of obvious, contact the previous tenant and have them cancel the account.

hytrogen

I take it the tenant didn't leave on good terms or you would be calling them already to cancel it?

SteelyDanJalapeno

Have the previous tenant cancel the contract

ceecee14

This happened me when I moved into my house, previous tenant had active sky account. Went to a sky stall in a shopping centre, they were so mad for my custom they made a few phone calls and sorted it.

triple nipple

Either have them cancel it or send in proof of ownership to sky/Eircom and they can cancel off the line

tomhalloween

I cannot contact previous tenant. I offered to provide sky with new tenancy contract and/or proof of ownership but they are insisting only the account holder can terminate the account.

the_syco

tomhalloween wrote: »

It then became apparent the previous tenant had a phone account with sky. No new account can't be set up until the existing one is terminated.
Sky are refusing to terminate the account as I am not the account holder.

Has anyone any idea of a way around this problem?

Get a modem off adverts.ie and use the broadband until the old tenant cancels it?

Mrs OBumble

tomhalloween wrote: »

I cannot contact previous tenant. I offered to provide sky with new tenancy contract and/or proof of ownership but they are insisting only the account holder can terminate the account.

They will likely get over this attitude once they've not been paid for a few months.

In the meantime, mobile broadband is indeed the most pragmatic option. Though it till annoy the new tenant if they want TV.

suds1984

Eircom probably own the line so if you get onto them with proof of ownership they might be able to do something (I.e. Free up the line for new provider) I had to do this when I moved (emailed copy of tenancy agreement to them). It's a pain in the ass as it can take weeks to get sorted out!

the_syco

tomhalloween wrote: »

had a tenant vacate my rented house.

How long did they rent it for? It is possible that the tenant considered it cheaper to pay for the remainder of their contract, than pay the cancellation charge.

quietsailor

why are they even talking about you cancelling the previous tenants contract - it's not your business to be involved in and they shouldn't even be referring to it. People can move houses and take the account with them ie they keep the same package, same account number and just change the address it applies to with most utilities.

The new tenant should be able to set up a new contract at the house anyway - I've seen rented houses with a UPC and 2 seperate sky feeds as different people wanted different things and weren't willing to share

testicle

quietsailor wrote: »

why are they even talking about you cancelling the previous tenants contract - it's not your business to be involved in and they shouldn't even be referring to it. People can move houses and take the account with them ie they keep the same package, same account number and just change the address it applies to with most utilities.

The new tenant should be able to set up a new contract at the house anyway - I've seen rented houses with a UPC and 2 seperate sky feeds as different people wanted different things and weren't willing to share

Do you propose that the previous tenant digs up the phone line and re-lays it to their new house? What if it's on a different exchange?

MarkAnthony

This is a bloody mess and needs to be sorted by Comreg. They've done great work on the UAN process for active lines but new tenants and occupiers are still having difficulties.

Would the new tenant sign up with Sky? If so Sky can (and must AFAIK) engage the New Tenant Process.

If not Eircom may be able to help but God help you if you get stuck trying to get Voda to activate a cancelled line while Eircom bugger about making it available again.

Best of luck and I recommend involving the Comreg at an early stage, they need a call to action on this.

Akrasia

I've got the same problem. I'm in a new house, the old tenants never cancelled their broadband and I can't get a new contract until they do. I called every broadband company and none could even tell me what service provider was in the house. I've contacted the landlord several times and the landlord has contacted the previous tenants but it's still not cancelled.

I bought a fiber modem for 25 quid on adverts, plugged it in and it worked straight away. I'll use it until they cancel the account. It's not my fault they haven't cancelled their service and are blocking me from setting up my own account.

MarkAnthony

Akrasia wrote: »

I've got the same problem. I'm in a new house, the old tenants never cancelled their broadband and I can't get a new contract until they do. I called every broadband company and none could even tell me what service provider was in the house. I've contacted the landlord several times and the landlord has contacted the previous tenants but it's still not cancelled.

I bought a fiber modem for 25 quid on adverts, plugged it in and it worked straight away. I'll use it until they cancel the account. It's not my fault they haven't cancelled their service and are blocking me from setting up my own account.

Dial 19800 - then get on to them and ask for a New Tenant Process.

Akrasia

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Dial 19800 - then get on to them and ask for a New Tenant Process.

I can't dial anything because it's a broadband only account so there's no dial-tone

Anyway, i ran around after them for weeks and I've given up now. The ball is in their court. When the broadband stops, I'll know the account is finally cancelled.

dave67892005

I just left Sky and still have the Modem if you would like it. should just plug in and work until the cancel the account

tomhalloween

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.I have contacted comreg hopefully they can help.

MarkAnthony

Akrasia wrote: »

I can't dial anything because it's a broadband only account so there's no dial-tone

Anyway, i ran around after them for weeks and I've given up now. The ball is in their court. When the broadband stops, I'll know the account is finally cancelled.

Avoid non POTS lines like the plague - just sayin' I know it's not your line but you're more limited on who you can move to as they're more expensive whole sale.

TheBody

You could try asking one of the reps on the Sky forum here:

http://www.boards.ie/ttforum/1598

MarkAnthony

TheBody wrote: »

You could try asking one of the reps on the Sky forum here:

http://www.boards.ie/ttforum/1598

Cant be Sky if it's a non POTS (voice) line.