The Student Room Group

Problem with Housemate - Advice Please

Sorry to post as anon but this is for my g/f and she doesn't want to be identified. She lives in a house with 5 other girls and one of them has been refusing to pay her part of the internet charge because she can get free internet by using the unencrypted network router belonging to the house over the road. My g/f and her friends have now blocked this housemate from their internet connection, but, of course, it doesn't matter to her cos she just uses the other one. Me and another girl's b/f have said that we would tell the people over the road what has happened, so that they could also block her and she would be right in the **** without any internet - but the trouble is the girls are too nice and just want to ignore it and get to the end of the year when they def won't be sharing with her again. I just wondered what other people think - is it a male thing to want to get even or are the girls right? btw the housemate in question has her boyfriend to stay most weekends, sometimes for 4/5 days at a time and never offers to pay any extra for gas/electricity/etc and, of course, the b/f uses the other internet too - so I think she has got it coming!

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I'd be very tempted to tell the people across the road, but then it might descend into a petty war of who in the house can get one over on the others, if you get what I mean. I can understand why your girlfriend and her friends don't want to cause a confrontation. Why don't they try having a house meeting together, and then people can all address their issues and hopefully come to some sort of understanding?

Alternatively you could tell the people across the road and get them to block her but not say anything (and deny all knowledge, obviously) and then this girl will have to come crawling and ask her housemates to unblock her if she pays her share of the bill.
why not all just use the internet over the road :smile:?
Reply 3
To be honest, I think it would only cause more stress and uncomfortable feeling in your girlfriends house if *somehow* it turned out that the people over the road suddenly encrypted their connection. I mean, you wouldn't be able to certify that the people over the road wouldn't come round and cause a bit of trouble. They may even point out to the girl that it was you/the other guy, that informed them of her theft.

She doesn't sound like someone who would readily apologise, which you would be effectively forcing her to do if all her connection options were cut off.

Just don't forget that your girlfriend and her friends have to live with this other girl, whilst you only visit.
Reply 4
Theres not much you can do. If shes blocked from the house connection then she doesnt have to pay her share. How much extra for the other people in the house a month are we talking??

I wouldnt tell the people over the road because as someone else said it'll turn into a petty argument of getting one up on each other and the people there will still have to live with the girl until the end of the uni year.
Why should she be paying for "her" part of their internet connection, if she's not using it?

The fact that she's using someone else's internet connection is between her and that person. And if that person really cared about people using their internet connection, surely they would have secured it...
Reply 6
I would tell the people over the road then not mention a thing. hahahah! Then would keep her blocked from the house net for badness. To whoever said 'why dont they all use the one over the road' well, it would get too slow and I presume the girls are already on a contract as it is.
Reply 7
If she's not using it why should she pay for it? Seems like she was the only one smart enough to take advantage of a freebie.
I'd tell the people over the road. Admittedly i occasionally use next doors internet but we all do and only when ours cuts out. My boyfriend stays over alot too and he does offer to contribute something but the girls refuse to take it. What this girl is doing is unfair on her housemates and on the people whose internet she is using. She's got it coming.
Reply 9
We have a similar situation in our house... We have a contract for £36 a month for phone, internet, television. 3 out of the 6 people brought a phone which they are allowed to use, they won't let the others use it as they did not contribute to the handset, so I refuse to pay the £2 for the phone which is in question. I pay £4 a month. Because of this I have been cut off the house internet, so I am not allowed to use the phone or internet yet still expected to pay the full amount!

I have my girlfriend to stay whenever I am at home, but then I am only there for half the time as the rest of the time I stay with her - so why should we pay more for any bills.

She would happily contribute to my proportion of the bill!
Reply 10
People accross the road should know her cruel nature...
Nobody has considered the fact that in a house, the signal for the room which she is in, could be better from the house across the road!

Our house is 3 terrace, I can get better signal in my room from next door than I can from our own connection.
She shouldn't be using someone else's connection without them knowing about it, full stop. They might be tech-ignorant and not know about securing their connection. Basically she's using up their bandwidth, and some of their download allowance (if they have one), without paying a penny. Not on. Have a word / send them a letter explaining about wireless security and mention that someone is using their connection. You don't need to say who.

I personally am not bothered about the legality of stealing a wireless connection - but if someone was hogging my bandwidth? I'd be thoroughly pissed off.
If you were that bothered you would password protect it... For all she knows it could be a standard WIFI point in a local pub or something :biggrin:
just block her off the internet and she should be fine. I honestly do not see what the problem is, if she doesnt want internet why should she pay for it? just block her, when she does need internet, then when she pays again let her use it. THink fo it this way, you want her to pay for the internet? well you are just forcing her into paying something she doesnt use just like tax
Reply 15
It's a tough one cause you could argue, if she's not using something then why should she pay for it... but if she initially agreed to a monthly fee and has since found out she can use somewhere else for free then it's a bit suspect. Ciderpeter - surely you should only be paying the Internet and TV if you're not allowed to use the phone, did you want it in the first place?

I'm in a similar situation with the other part about staying with my boyfriend at his student house. At certain times I'm there longer but it balances out as half of the time neither of us are there as he stays with me... I don't touch the heating so don't use any extra gas and use the same lecky and water that he does... I certainly don't use the equivalent to what he would if he were to stay there all the time. I've said on many occasion to him that I'll pay towards his proportion. Similarly I hardly use the Internet...

I've not had anything said to me yet about how much I stay, but to be fair I spend most of the time with him in his room so hardly see any of his housemates...
ciderpeter
If you were that bothered you would password protect it... For all she knows it could be a standard WIFI point in a local pub or something :biggrin:


Yes but like I said, they might not know about protecting their WiFi.

sufiankane
just block her off the internet and she should be fine. I honestly do not see what the problem is, if she doesnt want internet why should she pay for it? just block her, when she does need internet, then when she pays again let her use it. THink fo it this way, you want her to pay for the internet? well you are just forcing her into paying something she doesnt use just like tax


But she does use the internet. She uses someone elses wireless internet without them knowing about it. That's what I see as the problem here, not that she isn't paying for the shared house's internet, but that she IS using a service that she isn't paying for.
Reply 17
If she can get the internet for free, let her! Can't see the point of paying for something when you can get for free.

The boyfriend thing is a problem though. Weekends are ok but if he wants to be there that often he should chip in somehow. I've been in a similar situation myself where 2 of my friends practically had live in bf's. Brought it up and I was called stingy and black listed. Ended living in a house with 4 ppl against me. Very tricky situation!!! Couples can be so self righteous sometimes.
I'd be thoroughly annoyed about the internet, but do nothing. they still have to live with her. If she's going to be awkward, let her. Its just losing her friends at the end of the day.

Me and my boyfriend alternated between our houses last year (mostly lived with at mine though because his house was rubbish), but we did all cooking etc together, he showered at his so didn't use water, didn't change the heating etc so I felt no need to ask him to pay extra for bills.

But his housemate who was in charge of the bills didn't pay them all year. So at the end of the year he got a final demand for about £2000 (which included all the late charged he had gained from not paying all year!) and worked out how much everyone owed him for it. I saw his working out left 'accidentally' on the coffee table and he'd put me down as owing a couple of hundred, so I just crossed my name out. I thought if my boyfriend isn't paying bills here and I'm not contributing towards electricity use etc there I'm not paying. And sure enough he redid the calculations.
sounds like one smart girl in a house full of stupid ones

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