Shawn moved into a new apartment and wants to start paying Comcast and Verizon monthly bills, but he says neither company will accept his money because the previous tenant hasn’t canceled his services yet.

He describes the issue on a blog post, which he submitted:

Service reps from both Comcast and Verizon told me that I have to wait for the previous tenant to cancel their service or have it disconnected if the bill is unpaid.

I suppose the reasoning behind this is to ensure that I’m not the same person trying to establish new service while escaping the older bill. However, if they’d send someone out here, they’d very plainly see that I’m a totally different person. I look different. I have a different name. I have a lease that I signed at the end of October. And, probably the most damning evidence-I DON’T HAVE ANY TELEVISION OR INTERNET ACCESS.

So here’s the deal. I need cable and I need the Internet. I’m missing football and tethering my Android phone isn’t going to cut it much longer. For television, Comcast is pushing me dangerously close to cutting a deal with DirecTV or DISH. For the Internet… well, I’m screwed. That’s what happens when two companies own the area.

This sounds somewhat odd to us. In our experience, companies can have you fax a new lease or some other proof that the irresponsible former resident has vacated the premises. This is annoying, but less annoying than missing football. Perhaps you should escalate this to a supervisor and mention that you’re willing to offer proof?

If that doesn’t work, perhaps you can report Comcast and Verizon to your local government or public utilities commission.

Any other suggestions?

The Telcos Don’t Want My Money [@Shawn]

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