This is a long, sorry, sad tale so I'll write it in intricate detail. I used to live in a shared flat last year, with three other people. There was no telephone. broadband or tv system set up, so it was decided to look for a supplier for all 3. Virgin couldn't supply a 3 for £30 deal, as we "were not in a Virgin area" bear in mind this is EDINBURGH CITY CENTRE... hopeless. But thats not my main gripe. We eventually opted for BT, getting a broadband contract with the useless lump of plastic they call a hub, a phone line, and a BT vision package. All three are 12 month contracts as far as i know.
Come december, i am being financially crippled and have to move house to a flat that is cheaper to rent. This meant abandoning the BT nonsense (or so i thought - i couldnt change the name on the account to another flatmate!) Since it was my name on all the documents, i was then still liable for ensuring the bills got paid, while rest of flatmates used the services. This meant me going round once a month to collect cash for the bills and paying them out my own account (risky, as a non-payer could easily leave me out of pocket) it was not ideal at any time, it was a real headache for everyone else.
Recently they had problems due to a faulty phoneline, this fixed itself without any major help from BT (thankfully!) but the broadband and BT vision required a phone call to get working again. This led to a down-time of two weeks, which i am pretty sure is compensation-worthy since the bills were still always paid. All seems to be working now.
Now though, there are three people left (two new people from after i left) and basically they are saying they refuse to pay for the BT vision and the phone line since they "don't use it" and stated that they were misled into thinking that the landlady was responsible for it all (hence less troublesome). And the other doesnt need the internet as he has sold his laptop, so its all really going pear shaped. this means that although the broadband is being paid for, grudgingly at that, i am left with the phone line and the vision to cough up for out my own pocket. If i had circa £470 going spare i would just cancel these contracts and be rid of it all. But i dont, so i have to see it through.
Now the biggest hiccup of them all; i'm told the landlady has insisted that the flat in question is cleared out by all residents by the end of june, which means that essentially the last 3 or 4 months of the BT contracts will go un-used, never mind unpaid. I do not stay in touch with the landlady, she herself is a piece of work like BT so id rather stay away from it all.
what can i do? BT simply wouldnt have it that i wanted to end early without being charged a fortune for the privilege, and there's almost no way I'll ever get any money from the current flatmates post-june. I hope to plunder the BT hub and vision box and cabling before they move out so i can at least salvage some money from them on ebay!
Do i have a leg to stand on?
Any help is greatly appreciated.