Money Moral Dilemma: My tenants left without cancelling their broadband - should I keep using it?

jimbog

One night, when walking down the road trying to locate an address,  I used the light escaping from someone's living room to read what I had written on a piece of paper. Was that theft?

[Deleted User]

jimbog said:

One night, when walking down the road trying to locate an address,  I used the light escaping from someone's living room to read what I had written on a piece of paper. Was that theft?

Was it your piece of paper?

Grumpy_chap

Not a relevant analogy as using the light does not deprive another or cost them money.

crmism

This in an occasion when you, as an aggrieved landlord, should take every advantage of your ex-tenants' stupidity and make full use of the broadband service until, if ever, they bother to do anything about it. I'm sure that, if it ever came to a court action, you could justifiably claim the money as a partial offset to what you are owed in rent. Good luck!

Waggle

As a landlord owed rent you are better off not giving your ex-tenant the slightest excuse for wriggling out of the debt.  They could tell the court that they agreed with you that you use their broadband to settle the debt.  The fact that you had benefitted from their broadband contract could be enough to rule against your recovery of the debt.

jimbog

Grumpy_chap said:

Not a relevant analogy as using the light does not deprive another or cost them money.

The broadband isn't depriving the tenant as they're not there and it is being paid for/not being paid for regardless

mattyprice4004

Grumpy_chap said:

Not a relevant analogy as using the light does not deprive another or cost them money.

Like the money the tenants deprived the landlord of by leaving early? 
I'd be plugging in a phone and ringing my relatives in Australia... 

al223

Not sure the cases linked to have any bearing on this case, as someone is paying to provide broadband to the address he is living in, that isn't the same as camping out outside someone else's property, stealing their broadband. 

Turnip

Perhaps the question should be "How do I cancel somebody else's broadband/phone"? 
It's not going to be straightforward to try and cancel somebody else's account despite you owning the property. For a start you need to know the provider - not difficult but it doesn't exactly state the provider on the phone socket, unless it's Virgin. 

Beauborg

If your tenant left behind an expensive sofa, would it be right to sit on it?  Surely the answer is yes, at least until they collect it?
So what is the moral issue in using broadband that’s already been paid for and is going to presumably stop at some point?  It’s not costing the tenant anything that you’re using it, is it?