Transfer phone and broadband from landlord to me

milksheikh

My wife and I just moved into a flat which our landlord was occupying up until the day we moved in. He was using Utility Warehouse for landline and Fast.co.uk for broadband. I am happy to stick with Utility Warehouse for phone, but would like to switch to O2 for broadband (£7.50 vs. £20 per month). We had thought that he could transfer the landline account to me, and I could then switch broadband to O2 using the standard MAC key process. However, when requesting a MAC key from fast.co.uk, he was told that when the phone line is transferred from him to me, the existing broadband would be cancelled and I would then place a new order with O2. Which would be fine, except I don't want more than a few hours downtime (we're too dependent on the internet).

An option we're considering is keeping the landline in his name (and I just reimburse him for the costs), and switch broadband to O2. However, he isn't an O2 customer so I would have to sign up for that, and I don't know if the account names are allowed to mismatch.

Any suggestions on how to make this switch with a minimum of internet downtime?

Thanks in advance!

blackaqua

As far as i'm aware cancelling the line (or transfering names) would result in the termination of your broadband like you have stated on the transfer. This would also mean you would have to pay an activation fee if this isn't covered by your new broadband contract (if you sign up for 12 months it probably will be).

As for the landlord keeping the line in his name, as long as you are all happy with this I'm fairly sure you will be able to take out broadband in a different name.