Hi all,

I moved to a new apartment and I asked Sunrise for a combined Internet & tv subscription. I signed the contract, have received the modem with the tv box and they told me they will activate the line soon. So far, so good. A couple a days ago I received a call from Sunrise telling me that the former renter of the apartment did not cancel his subscription and that he's still paying his bills (I guess he is not aware of that). Therefore, the line is still owned by the former renter and they can't provide me with a new one. I, the landlord and the guys of the Sunrise called the former renter who gave us the same answer: "I left Switzerland, I sent a email to cancel my subscription and I won't bother myself to do anything else". The guys of Sunrise told me that they (or any other Internet provider) can't do anything for me as long as he's paying his bills. Does any one know what can I do to solve this problem? Thanks.

Get cablecom. Or connect your stuff to the line which is still being paid for and if it doesn't work, ring up and say your name is former-tenant and demand they fix what he, err I mean you, are paying for.

Thanks adrianlondon for your suggestion. Do you think Swisscom can fix the problem? Unfortunately, Cablecom is not available in the apartment. BTW, the former-tenant was (is) with Sunrise.

Is the former tenant a Sunrise customer or Swisscom customer?

First thing you do is take everything back to Sunrise and demand that they release you from the contract. They should have checked the status of the line first. Had they done so they would have been informed of the situation.

Ask the former tenant to send you a copy of the email. I really doubt the tenant who left the country is still paying when he told the provider to cancel. I suspect the bills are still coming though.

Involve the landlord. The previous tenant cannot block the use of the phone lines to you. Tell the landlord he needs to fix the problem ASAP or you are going to pursue the matter legally.

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If the person is still paying, the line is still active, you can't just plug in your modem and get free service?

Ok I know it's wrong but it would prove or otherwise that it's active and being paid for?

Just guessing and probably sunrise won't tell you.. But maybe it's a case of the person paid the last months rental which will run out soon, maybe end of the month?

Sadly not - you need the password. You can't just plug in any modem.

Ahhhh ok I've only ever used swisscom, same house, same modem..

The former tenant is a Sunrise customer. Sunrise checked the status of line which is still active. They did call the former tenant in front of me who explicitly said he won't do anything further. I already asked the landlord who sent him an email (with a cc to me) and with the same answer. Do you know how can I pursue this issue legally?

Unfortunately, sending an e-mail to cancel a contract isn't enough over here. It all needs to be done by letter, preferably registered. Until the previous tenant does that Sunrise will keep sending him bills, even if he isn't paying them.

Is it really your problem? Sunrise agreed to provide you with a service and they are not providing you with that service. It's really not relevant to you whether Sunrise has problems with the previous tenant. That is a separate contract, and not your problem or the landlord's problem. They should pull their finger out and do what needs to be done to fulfill their side of the agreement.

This is what I actually told them. They said that from a legal point of view they can not cancel a "running" subscription and no other provider would be able to do. I even have threaten to cancel my contract. But, it did not help.

Tell your landlord to sort it out with ex-tenant/sunrise, or you won't pay any rent!!

The landlord knows the previous tenant has vacated the apartment and I find it difficult to believe that they cannot use their powers to inform Sunrise that the previous tenant has no right to maintain Sunrise service at this location. At the end of the day, the landlord has a problem with the previous tenant which should not be your problem. Do you know who owns the unit? (perhaps a private person and the landlord is only the property manager?)

If the previous tenant has not received his deposit back, then he is really a moron here because the landlord may be able to charge the costs of installing a new telephone line and jacks to this previous tenant.

How to move forward. First step is you insist that the landlord arranges for a new telephone line in the apartment at his costs. This request needs to be put in writing, send it registered mail and give them a deadline to confirm it has been arranged with an estimated installation date. Depending on the location of the current telephone jacks in the apartment, you should have at least the same amount installed. Then you can order telephone /internet/tv from any provider. In your situation I would avoid Sunrise and go with Swisscom.

If you do not receive a positive response to your letter, then you need to escalate the matter and take it through the landlord/tenant mediation process.

I truly empathize with you. I know of other situations where tenants had problems connecting services and it is really frustrating.

Out of interest, have you tried to plug a basic telephone into one of the telephone jacks? If the line is live, it should work.

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This sounds like a case for Kassensturz.

Just call Sunrise support, pretend you're the previous renter and say your router got fried and you don't have username nor password anymore.
Ask them to reset and snail-mail you those again.
Fix a label with his name on the post-box above your name and remove it after the letter has arrived.
The former guy explicitly said "I don't care".
So why do you?

"Marty, it's perfect, you're just not thinking fourth-dimensionally!"

If he stops paying, you can connect your own line.

You don't actually use that land-line for people to call you, do you?

Be sure to upgrade to the most expensive service in his name, so you get the most out of it.
;-)

Try sending them a polite (registered) letter explaining that, due to the delay, you are incurring costs for mobile internet. Enclose an invoice for the costs, giving them 30 days to pay. Invoice should include your full name and address details and your bank account IBAN number.

You may find that this moves your case to a department which does have the authority to take the necessary action. Who knows - they may even pay your invoice.

Not a chance...

Worth a try. I did this last week in a nine-month old dispute with Fedex, and the thing was resolved within three days. Just need to find some way of moving the case away from the impotent jobsworths in the customer services department.

Sunrise said I won't receive any bill as long the line is blocked.

One thing I should have added is that since you do not have telephone/tv/internet at your home you probably are using your mobile phones more to compensate for this.

You need to keep track of these costs. For example, if you purchase a USB stick from Swisscom as an interim solution for internet at home, you can keep track of the costs. The person you will want to go after for compensation is your landlord.

Bottom line here is that the landlord needs to sort this out for you.

Take all the equipment back to Sunrise and cancel the contract. Through no fault of yours they cannot provide you with a service and the contract is therefore invalid.

I would not, under any circumstances, impersonate the previous tenant.

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