Ah! So that is where my data goes to

[jedikaiti]

Oh and another reason I am hesitant to do so is I am worried about people illegally downloading movies etc. With a lower data cap this doesn't give people carte blanche to do as they like. I can't stop it and they have been warned they are not allowed to in any case or I will have their guts for garters. They already have the lions share of the current data as it is. It just seems totally unnecessary to me to be watching that much football, but on the other hand that seems like I am imposing my views on him and limiting access to something he enjoys.

I guess it comes down to I just can't see the point. It works fine for me even if it is slow and I don't really care. I could propose they put the account in their names and then they can ramp it up to whatever limit they want and I pay a share of what I use to them but that would see them paying way more than what they are currently proposing.

That can be fixed by adding some basic (built in) security to your router... contact your internet provider for help.

[siamesecat2965]

I wouldn't even offer the option of them getting their own account.  I'd simply tell them sorry, its not possible, the current plan is adequate for MY needs (and for normal usage for roommates, etc.)  And just say you agreed this was ok when you moved in, and I'm not willing to make any changes.  You don't have to explain about going up and down in amounts of data, and the cost, etc.  All he needs to know is that you will be sticking with the plan you have, and that's that. I've said it before; the less you say, the better.

[MrTango]

From your OP, it is clear that you did think about it!     You thought about it and decided that the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.

[DavidH]

It comes across that you don't think his interest in watching football is important so you're finding reasons to say no.  If your concern is illegal downloads, then fix that problem since he may or may not be doing that already.  If you don't like his choice of content, then don't watch with him, but it's really not your place to tell your tenant what they should or should not watch. 

I don't see a reason not to upgrade if he will pay the difference and any associated fees.  I certainly don't see any reason to say he can't have his own account.  If the roommates are good otherwise, this wouldn't be a battle I'd pick if it wouldn't cost me anything to go along with it.

[hobish]

It comes across that you don't think his interest in watching football is important so you're finding reasons to say no.  If your concern is illegal downloads, then fix that problem since he may or may not be doing that already.  If you don't like his choice of content, then don't watch with him, but it's really not your place to tell your tenant what they should or should not watch. 

I don't see a reason not to upgrade if he will pay the difference and any associated fees.  I certainly don't see any reason to say he can't have his own account.  If the roommates are good otherwise, this wouldn't be a battle I'd pick if it wouldn't cost me anything to go along with it.

That is exactly my point, but you put it better. I also don't see why you don't just recommend they get their own account. You can password protect yours, let them use theirs, and there you go.

[camlan]

It comes across that you don't think his interest in watching football is important so you're finding reasons to say no.  If your concern is illegal downloads, then fix that problem since he may or may not be doing that already.  If you don't like his choice of content, then don't watch with him, but it's really not your place to tell your tenant what they should or should not watch. 

I don't see a reason not to upgrade if he will pay the difference and any associated fees.  I certainly don't see any reason to say he can't have his own account.  If the roommates are good otherwise, this wouldn't be a battle I'd pick if it wouldn't cost me anything to go along with it.

Agreeing to the upgrade will lock the OP into her plan for another 12 months--she may not want to do that.

If I recall correctly, the OP rents out rooms to people frequently. These people may not be there for the entire 12 months of the upgrade, and it will cost the OP money to go back to the lower plan.

These people rented the room knowing the internet situation. This one man has reached the cap for the month in a few days. Which means that everyone else living in the house now has to spend the rest of the month using the internet at dial-up speeds.

If I were the OP, I'd be upset with him for using so much, so quickly.

In the OP's place, I'd refuse to do the upgrade, but I'd suggest that he could get his own account, which might mean more wires and cables coming into the house, but would keep his internet usage separate from the other, more considerate people living there. And in the future, the OP could then rent that room with the added bonus that the occupants could arrange for their own internet service and get as much as they needed.

[Pippen]

It comes across that you don't think his interest in watching football is important so you're finding reasons to say no.  If your concern is illegal downloads, then fix that problem since he may or may not be doing that already.  If you don't like his choice of content, then don't watch with him, but it's really not your place to tell your tenant what they should or should not watch. 

I don't see a reason not to upgrade if he will pay the difference and any associated fees.  I certainly don't see any reason to say he can't have his own account.  If the roommates are good otherwise, this wouldn't be a battle I'd pick if it wouldn't cost me anything to go along with it.

He can watch whatever he likes. I would love to watch 7 hours a day of super HD youtube videos of dachshunds cavorting about. I would enjoy that immensely. But if I did and the data ran out I would think "No more dachshunds for me." Actually it would more like "Hmmm. This super HD sure brings those little dogs into sharp relief but it is chewing through our data like nobodies business and maybe others might like to use some too so I'll make sure I don't hog it all."

[LizC]

I'm in the camp of "password-protect your own access by the weekend" and let them know they need to get their own connection, because the excessive data use is not what they agreed on when they moved in. He can get his own line, own access, own data limits, and then it's nothing to do with you at all. (When I moved in briefly with my parents years ago, for about 4 months, I had my own phone line and internet service installed, so as not to clutter up theirs. It's basic courtesy.)

[Pippen]

Oh and another salient point but maybe not. Who knows. You fine people can decide.

The bill is in my name but is paid via a trust management account which is then offset against another trust account for tax purposes. There are 4 connections of which mine is one. To actually upgrade the plan would require the authorisation of the accountant and If I say it is so he can watch football on he internet the likely responses would be...

"Get stuffed"
"Are you kidding me?"
"No"

Mainly because if we were to be audited there would be this nebulous crossover between business and private usage which opens up a whole can of worms with the Tax department. Believe it or not our Inland Revenue inspectors here are pretty dingdangity awesome and they still owe me a Chocolate Fish (a marshmallow chocolate treat generally used as a reward for children and a common saying for when you do something well) for a bet I made with them once but I don't like pushing into their 'grey areas' as it makes me uncomfortable.

Also any increase in the monthly charge that they would cover would have to be paid direct into the account which just creates a headache for the person doing the books and I really can't be bothered explaining the financial setup behind it to them.

[Twik]

Oh and another reason I am hesitant to do so is I am worried about people illegally downloading movies etc.

I agree with Hobish about "how they use the data" not being any of your business - and where does the "illegal movies" concern come from? That seems like a bit of a leap and a bit of an "interesting assumption".

Considering people can and do get charged with pirating, it's not a leap, and it's an issue anyone should consider if allowing someone else to use their connection.

[TootsNYC]

so there's absolutely no reason to say yes. Just say, "No, sorry, it's not something I want to do. It's not as simple as paying for a little bit more. So no."

And in a way I can understand that WHY he wants a bigger data cap might matter. If he wanted it because he was doing work from home that used it up, or was Skyping with his child in a far-away country, or even if he was researching a master's thesis on soccer strategy, you might be willing to go to all the work/effort/whatever.

But for *any* purely leisure activity, whether it's soccer or movies or anything else, what he's asking is more complicated than you're willing to do.

[artk2002]

Oh and another reason I am hesitant to do so is I am worried about people illegally downloading movies etc.

I agree with Hobish about "how they use the data" not being any of your business - and where does the "illegal movies" concern come from? That seems like a bit of a leap and a bit of an "interesting assumption".

Considering people can and do get charged with pirating, it's not a leap, and it's an issue anyone should consider if allowing someone else to use their connection.

I agree. It's not a leap at all. The RIAA and MPAA are notorious for going after whoever owns the connection.

[snowdragon]

I would be severely limiting his access to the internet, he is hogging the data plan and acting like a child about it. You are paying for it, you should get to use the HD connection, not the dial up.  He can either get his own hotspot, or his own account, but you should not have to deal with dial up because he's a self centered hog.

[DavidH]

As a question, why does what he is using the bandwidth for matter?  As a tenant, I'd be livid if my landlord decided whether my usage of the internet was valuable or not.  Does anyone else's landlord decide if their choice of internet content is worthy of then bandwidth required to view it?

If you are worried about pirating, take steps to limit that, don't use that as a red herring since he apparently has enough bandwidth to do that with the current usage.

If your concern is your accountant wanting to know why you want a bigger cap, the appropriate answer is that one of your tenants is asking for more bandwidth, nothing to do with what the tenant is using it for.  I'm not sure how this is different from any other use of the internet by your tenants, whether to have a video conference with their dying relative or otherwise.

Are you being inflexible, yes, you appear to have decided you don't think it's worth doing because of the content he views and thus won't do it.  On the other hand, being inflexible is certainly your right.  If he will pay the difference and then pay any fees to upgrade or downgrade, it doesn't seem to me to be a big issue, but again, you have the right to refuse.

You can certainly just say that he can work within the terms he agreed to or leave since the internet issue isn't changing. 

[WillyNilly]

Oh and another salient point but maybe not. Who knows. You fine people can decide.

The bill is in my name but is paid via a trust management account which is then offset against another trust account for tax purposes. There are 4 connections of which mine is one. To actually upgrade the plan would require the authorisation of the accountant and If I say it is so he can watch football on he internet the likely responses would be...

"Get stuffed"
"Are you kidding me?"
"No"

Mainly because if we were to be audited there would be this nebulous crossover between business and private usage which opens up a whole can of worms with the Tax department. Believe it or not our Inland Revenue inspectors here are pretty dingdangity awesome and they still owe me a Chocolate Fish (a marshmallow chocolate treat generally used as a reward for children and a common saying for when you do something well) for a bet I made with them once but I don't like pushing into their 'grey areas' as it makes me uncomfortable.

Also any increase in the monthly charge that they would cover would have to be paid direct into the account which just creates a headache for the person doing the books and I really can't be bothered explaining the financial setup behind it to them.

^ What I'm reading here is details details details it would be way more of a hassle then its worth and I really don't want to do this...

So just say "no".  Don't explain or anything beyond "look I'm sorry this is frustrating for you but no.  I was very clear with you before you moved in what the data limits were.  You agreed to them.  I'm sorry you are experiencing overages, but really that's on  you to resolve.  There are several reasons why me changing my plan would not be feasible for me and I'm not going to do it or even justify my answer.  Other then this you are lovely tenants and I would be happy to continue our arrangement as it stands, but nothing is going to be changed on the plan."