Previous renter blocking line, zero answers from Vodafone

[jujubeess]

Dear Sir/Madam,

I apologize for the English, but my German girlfriend has gotten zero assistance over the phone or at Vodafone Stores for the past 3 months. At this point, we are frustrated beyond measure.

We are current mobile phone customers and former Internet customers. We would like to remain internet customers, but Vodafone has been incompetent and unable to provide any answers.

We moved apartments in Hamburg in February 2018. In January 2018, we contacted Vodafone to tell them we were moving. We gave them the new address. Vodafone confirmed they could move our service to the new address. The day after we moverd, Vodafone cancelled our contract and told us they could not service our new address.

We tried multiple service providers (1&1, Telekom, etc.). None could service us. We discovered that the previous renter still had a contract with Vodafone on the line in our apartment. In March, we contacted Vodafone again, and they confirmed that the previous renter still has the line, but that they could switch it to us.

1 month later, Vodafone has not switched the line and refuses to tell us why they cannot switch the line. And further, have told us we cannot get internet at the new apartment until May 24, when the contract of the previous renter expires.

When my girlfriend called the Vodafone service/sales line, they put her on hold for many minutes, then told her there was nothing they could do. When she said she was not satisfied and discovered that the representative had not actually contacted the technical team like he said he would, they hung up on her.

She left a horrible review for the caller and she has faxed Vodafone to let them know she is cancelling our phone contract and we are taking our business elsewhere. 

We have been without internet for 3 months. Vodafone has been completely unhelpful. They are allowing a previous renter to block our phoneline even though he has not lived in the home since February. Every phone representative we have spoken with has given zero answers. My colleagues have no explanation for me and my family in USA is shocked that a company could display such disregard for their own customers.

I hope to get this resolved at some point. But I have zero faith in Vodafone's ability to simply communicate in good faith with a paying customer, let alone provide satisfactory customer service.

With sincerest disappointment,

Matthew

[Der Ritter]

Unfortunately you still have not replied to my actually rather simple question:

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@Der Ritter@  schrieb:

What precisely is it that you wish to achieve with this post?  I don't quite get it.

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I seriously wonder why.  Could it be that you do have all the correct answers and they just don't fit in with your world of dreams?  It alsmost seems so...

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@jujubeess@  schrieb:
The contract is only valid for that tenant at the particular residence.

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Please post a link to the legal foundation in Germany for this claim.

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@jujubeess@  schrieb:
Which rights are being violated? Let’s change the scenario. (...)

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Please don't try to deflect.  Don't get me wrong:  I understand your situation quite well, but yet still there is no violation of any of your rights as far as I can see.  And besides:  Simply "kicking out" the previous contract owner would possibly be a violation of his/her rights.

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@jujubeess@  schrieb:
I wish for them to grant me access, remove the previous tenants access, continue to charge the previous tenant, and allow me to pay them for my access. If the previous tenant desires the line again, he must prove residence at the home (I.e. his registration with the city).

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Well, unfortunately this is no more than wishful thinking.  And just on a side note:  If Vodafone does cancel the connection, they also have no right to charge the previous tenant any longer.

And now please be as kind as to reply to the question above.  Thanks.

[jujubeess]

I have not memorized the German law books. But based on your theory, the owner of a particular property does not have the right to access their own phone line? Is that correct? If I purchase a home, and the previous owner did not cancel his contract properly, and he continues to pay the bill, he is allowed to hold my phoneline hostage?

We are not "kicking out" the previous contract owner and are not "canceling the contract". He has a right to internet at the residence. But that is not his current residence. By vacating the premises, canceling his lease on the property, he has forfeited all rights to use the property (which includes all connections and services on that property).

And my newly introduced scenerio is actually the reason that you can not maintain ownership of a utility at an address for which you have no legal standing. The contract must be paid by the customer. They have a binding agreement with the individual, not with the building in perpetuity.

This is not a "dream world", according to the EU regulations, which provides  basic communication services . Now, I have contacted the Bundesnetzagentur about this complaint.

So I repeat, what do i wish to happen? I wish for them to grant access, remove the previous tenants access at this location, continue to charge the previous tenant, and allow me to pay them for my access. If the previous tenant desires the line again, he must prove residence at the home (Ie his registration with the city) or wherever he currently lives .

Vodafone is required to maintain their contract and supply internet at their new residence if it is within their network.

[Der Ritter]

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@jujubeess@  schrieb:

By vacating the premises, canceling his lease on the property, he has forfeited all rights to use the property (which includes all connections and services on that property).

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Where does it say so?  Please post links to the respective laws and legislation.  Thanks.

As said before, I fully understand your desperation and your wish to get this resolved.  However, between "I wish they would..." and "Seems like they can't..." there is a rather wide gap at times.

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@jujubeess@  schrieb:

Now, I have contacted the Bundesnetzagentur about this complaint.

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Then we can close this thread for the time being, I guess.  If an issue is addressed to an instance such as the BNetzA (or, as in other cases many claim to do, their lawyer), then no moderator can assist you here any longer and we will have to wait for the outcome.

[jujubeess]

You are asking me to find a law that says explicitly that only the owners/renters of a home have a right to access that home and use the things inside that home? Isn't the Right of Private Property in the constitution enough?

And if a moderator would like to close the thread, I would appreciate their reasoning in an actual response. But since you are the only person responding, and the moderators are not helping me, I believe the thread should remain open. I have been hoping for an official response from a Vodafone entity confirming or denying my assertion. But as of now, I have only been told "We cannot help you." That is not a satisfactory answer. I am guarenteed a right to make and recieve phone calls from a fixed location. Vodafone is infringing on that right. I want them to explain why.

[Jens-K]

Hi jujubeess,

I think Der Ritter already said everything regarding this topic.

We have no right to cancel another customer's contract. The line is neither yours nor the property of the previous tenant. It belongs to the Deutsche Telekom, which we and every other DSL provider rent the lines from.

I understand that this is a frustrating situation, but as you heard here, on Facebook and our hotline there is no solution. You will not receive any other info.

If there is a cable connection available this could be an alternative. But I guess you already checked this.

I close this thread.

Regards,

Jens