Does anyone know if we can ask for a refund or should we just have a glass of ice cold water
We just found out that in our previous apartment we were actually paying a monthly fee for cable tv as a part of Nebenkosten. The thing is, we also had a UPC subsription which provided internet, tv and a landline so their offer also included the fee for cable tv. We left the apartment in January 2019 and a few days ago they sent us a receipt for extra charges that exceeded the flat rate for the month we handed over the apartment. We are ok with this but the breakdown of expenses just made us realize that we paid an extra 38 chf every month for 4 years
Are you sure that your UPC bill actually included the basic cable fee and was not just for the services? Not all service subscriptions actually include the basic cable fee. Accordingly, UPC is actually quite expensive if you consider the all in cost including the basic cable fee which is so often hidden in the Nebenkosten.
One thing is for sure: If do not ask you will not get a single Rappen back.
The latter. You'd agreed to the charges, including the provision of cable TV, as part of your contract. The fact that you've been paying for UPC independently is neither here nor there, the other service that you were paying for was provided even if you never used it.
You could probably have had it removed from your contract and avoided paying it for all that time, but retrospectively there won't be anything you can do.
I thought this UPC cable supply fee was a thing of the past but it seems not.
I'd ask both the landlord and UPC for a refund and see what happens. It could be the landlord had been charging you for fees they never actually paid to UPC. If they had really paid it then you shouldn't have paid the fee directly to UPC. (I would have thought)
Thank you for the replies.
We transferred the same subscription to our new address and our current andlord asked us in advance about it and left out the cable tv fee. To be honest, the previous apartment was our very first rental here and we just paid the Nebenkosten without any questions thinking all these are fixed expenses. I would still think it was normal if the current landlord had not excluded the fee from the Nebenkosten.
I think both Upc and the previous homeowner failed to inform us about overlapping fees.
I just feel cheated
What did your rental agreement actually say about the calculation of your share of the common costs? After all you signed the contract and we have to assume you knew what you were doing.
Has the landlord failed to comply with the contract terms? You can’t be cheated unless they did.
38CHF per month is not a common cost. It's specific to the apartment etc but the contract should have some mention of it, even if indirectly.
It is sometimes paid by the landlord and included in the nebenkosten. If I remember correctly, when you sign up for UPC they ask if the landlord already pays the fee. At least, this used to be the case. It seems that these days this cable fee has pretty much disappeared, or at least it should have done. There was for a while a few years ago a bit of a campaign to tell people to stop paying it. I suppose some on old contracts might still be paying it.
It's still actual, the only thing that has changed in the past couple years is now the individual is billed rather than the building.
Tom
If the landlord is not billed by UPC for the cable connection, the landlord cannot forward this non existing cost to the tenants. It would be bogus, likely fraudulent. Nebenkosten are only actual incurred costs but not some made-up stuff. The tenant has the right to see and inspect all the bills. If they do not add up to what is charged the landlord is in hot waters.
For the current bill the action should be clear: Contest it.
For past, already paid bills things are different. I think up to 3 or 5 years in the past might be corrected. Up to ten years in case it is considered fraud.
(Obviously unlimited in case the other party has no objection and pays w/o objections)
I thought UPC included the cable fee in their subscriptions these days. Otherwise there's no way any of their offers would be able to compete with other providers. I certainly remember a few years ago everyone was being encouraged to ditch the cable fee. It was/is one of Switzerland's biggest 'intransparent business practices' and some might say scam.
PS I had UPC in 2012 always paid the cable fee myself and the landlord confirmed or at least claimed that he didn't pay it.
From UPC themselves:
https://www.upc.ch/de/support/verrec...abelanschluss/
Regular, non promotion prices for subscriptions which include the basic cable fees:
Happy Home 100, CHF 89 / month
Happy Home 300 with 600 Mbit/s aka Happy Home 600, CHF 109 /month
Happy Home Giga, CHF 129/month
Connect 100, CHF 59 / month
Connect 300 with 600 Mbit/s aka Connect 600, CHF 79 /month
Connect Giga, CHF 99/month
No, we get separate bills for the cable fee and the subscription.
Tom