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The problem with staying the middle of nowhere: an $85,000 phone bill!
A couple of months ago, my cell phone bill came to $150. Ouch. Turns out I don't have a very good long distance plan, so texting and leaving tipsy messages for my friends from my vacation was a little pricey. Still, I guess I can't really complain -- a 22-year-old man working in the oil fields in Northern Alberta received a shockingly high cell phone bill -- for $85,000! Good grief! That's a house, not a phone bill. I'm surprised that phone bills even get that high.Apparently, Piotr Staniaszek thought that he could use his cell phone as a modem for his computer and, since he was holed up in a shack in the middle of nowhere by himself, spent his time surfing the net and downloading movies.
Bell Canada, his provider, has agreed to reduce to the charges to $3,400. Still. That's pretty steep.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Romstr Dec 15th 2007 3:11PM
Wow...doy...know your contract
Valerie Dec 15th 2007 4:02PM
The same thing happened to me with AT & T. The phone bill was over $4,000 when I signed onto the Internet with the wrong numbers. I couldn't for the life of me get any satisfaction. No one wanted to be sympathetic to the fact that I was new to this computer thing. So I had to pay it !!! I changed phone companies !! They are on my .... list !! I was a customer for over 40 years!!!!
Jeanna Dec 15th 2007 7:52PM
Phil, I know no such thing. I do know that I get calls all the time about how "clueless" people claim to be. Maybe I am jaded, but when I am getting calls about people saying how they do not know how to send a text message and they want credit for these "bogus" charges and thier account shows 125 text messages a month for the past year, yeah it jades my judgement. I am sure there are some people that are truely clueless as some of thier phones features. But it is my job to help those people.
When a person gets a wireless phone the charges are right there in black and white. Read! And you very well must have the service I work for as we have done the credits and retrocative thing for many of our good customers.
To all wireless users: when your cuctomer care person is recommending that you change your service to include a special feature package it is not to make the company money, it is to help you. A perfect example is a call I handled this week. The customer calls to say their bill is higher this month and wants to know why. When I explain that they have pay per text instead of a text package they complain about the cost. I recommend that their past six months history shows they have used 100-150 text per month and it cost $10-$15 a month and they should add a text package for 200 text at $4.99 they yell and say I am trying to push features. They trun it down and say they will just stop using text messages. Do you think they will stop....chances are they will be on the phone next month complaining about the cost of text messages AGAIN.
All I am saying is, Read a contract before you sign it, and know what you are paying for before you leave a store.
Melissa Dec 15th 2007 7:57PM
Wow Jossy, you pay $39 for 300 minutes? You totally get screwed. I pay $39.99 for 1000 minutes plus free nights and weekends with T mobile (and I never go over), you really should check into getting a better deal. It sounds to me as if you may be better off with a prepaid. My mother uses a t mobile prepaid, she bought 1000 minutes to go with it and at the end of the year when the minutes expired she had only used 60 of them and t mobile only charged her $10 to top it back up to 1000 for another year.
kyle Dec 15th 2007 8:07PM
Do away with Cell phones! If you can't afford them, don't buy them, simple as that. You see all these "nuts" driving with one hand on the wheel, and the other either dialing a number or speaking on their cell. Joggers with cell phones, and not looking where they are running. Jerks in stores calling to say what is on sale and what is not. Nothing is that important the call can't wait!
End of Script! - Nothing more to be said.
Jeanna Dec 15th 2007 8:08PM
Melissa, you are so right. Prepaid is the way to go for some people. Especially teens when you are trying to make them responsible for their wireless services. I have a teen and made her get her own phone. She has learned so much about being responsible for herself and her finances. She budgets her airtime and learned to pick out the plan that suits her calling style and wallet. Yeah, it includes unlimited text, but that is a BIG thing with teens. It is like our version of the partyline on the phone, oops did I just date myself? LOL
Christine Dec 15th 2007 8:12PM
To all wireless users: when your cuctomer care person is recommending that you change your service to include a special feature package it is not to make the company money, it is to help you. A perfect example is a call I handled this week. The customer calls to say their bill is higher this month and wants to know why. When I explain that they have pay per text instead of a text package they complain about the cost. I recommend that their past six months history shows they have used 100-150 text per month and it cost $10-$15 a month and they should add a text package for 200 text at $4.99 they yell and say I am trying to push features. They trun it down and say they will just stop using text messages. Do you think they will stop....chances are they will be on the phone next month complaining about the cost of text messages AGAIN
Jeanne, I had to laugh. I work in a retail cell store, and you nailed it here.
And to Phil - Blockbuster charged late fees cause people returned movies late, causing them to lose money on renting them out to other people. They stopped that practice only because NetFlix came along and changed the entire industry. If it is your opinion that a better business approach is to pay staff to call grown people and remind them to return their movies you need to retake Business 101 in high school. Not only are they losing the late fee revenue, they're also having to pay additional staffing hours. This means higher costs, and those are passed on to the customer. Ultimately, Blockbuster is failing, and failing fast. I'm not suggesting that late fees are the entire reason, but they are part of it. And while you may say too bad for Blockbuster, that also means jobs are being lost - lots of jobs. And even if it isn't *your* job, it adversely effects the economy.
Whether it's cell phones or movie rentals or whatever, I think it's simply further evidence of people increasingly failing to take personal responsibility, and their thinking that big corporations somehow owe them something beyond what they've agreed to provide. As Jeanne said, your cell phone charges are clearly detailed - if you bother to look. And late fees are embarrassingly simple to avoid.
RAYRAY Dec 15th 2007 8:18PM
i have verizion with 1400 min. jossy has a very good point. i got the bigger plan because some time ago i had a vehicle breakdown and it took a long and alot of calls to get the problem taken care of. this time i went over my 300 mins., but that was a rare occasion. since then i've been paying for overkill with the 1400. knocking my plan down to 700min. would be at least $120 per yr. savings.
ALSO, verizion has a plan that you can use your phone as your modem instead of buying a wireless card which costs you $60.00 a month. if using a lap top, you can can call and activate your modem for the time on a monthly basis , and be charged only for time (24hr) used. need 3days you pay approx 6 bucks unlimited use. this does not interfer witrh your reg. mins.
RAYRAY Dec 15th 2007 8:18PM
i had T-MOBILE at one time. they had the worst customer service ever. i wanted to upgrade my phone from the sansung R2225, because i couldn't hear it ring. T-MOBILE was so nasty, i changed to nextel with 4 mos to go on my contract. i paid the 4mos. cause it was cheaper than dropping it. then i started getting calls from TM offering me a upgraded phone, a free month, basicly wanting to kiss my ***, to get me back. i told them look at my history of use, u'll see it hasn't been used for 4mos. i've been with nextel , for that time. a whole lot too late, if you had worked with me earlier i woul've still been ther .(maybe)
now i have VERIZION, they have the best service i've come accross. i've had :sprint,t-mobile,nextel (when they were the only ones with 2way (good co) ,) &,verizion.
if t-m, was the last company on earth with cell service, i'd go back to the phone booth.
bingster Dec 15th 2007 8:24PM
I just cancelled cell phone service. It really isn't that important to pay $$$$ more than needed. Sorry, I really liked using my anwsering machine (screen calls that way) and if someone has to contact me, they will call back. Everyone is paying good hard monies for junk like cell phones and phone services that aren't needed. And, text messaging is a joke...NOTHING IS THAT IMPORTANT TO KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THE STEERING WHEEL AND ON THE PHONE!!! Same goes for your eyes...especially when driving...
Christine Dec 15th 2007 8:25PM
"just another gimick to suck money out of people and people are so dumb to fall for it"
So, Jossy, because *you* only use your cell phone to talk about milk and bread with your hubby, that must mean that it's a completely useles 'gimmick' that we all stupidly fall for. LOL! Tell that to those who have been able to increase their incomes by being in constant touch with their jobs. Tell that to those who's lives have been saved because rescue workers were able to get to people faster.
I mean, I get it. You think it's a dumb gimmick.
And all those 'dumb' people, who fell for it and are getting the money sucked out of them. Like poor you, suckered into paying that $40/month for 10 minutes worth of bread and eggs, all against your will I'm sure.
Bastards!
LOL
Jossy Dec 16th 2007 1:40AM
have a cell, it's off all the time. only have it for emergency while on the road. people could call me but it's off and i haven't set up a mesage box. actually, nobody can call me, nobody has my cell phone number. yes, i'm very responsible and refuse to pay money to talk...that's insane!! i have 300 free minutes a month, i may only use 10 to leave a message or talk to my husband at work if i'm shopping and think he may need me to pick something up for him. milk, bread, cereal, food items. never needed a phone in the old days, why do people feel they need one now? just another gimick to suck money out of people and people are so dumb to fall for it. i watch havoc 101 on direct tv late at night and you can text short messages in and see what you text. young kids and people pretending to be young kids text for hours on end at 99 cents a text and 49 cents to vote for a music video that they want to see and hear. i'm wondering what those phone bills are. this is on every night of the week and runs all night, at least 3 to 5 hours. i have no pity for people that use cellphones and get exhorbitant bills. stupid is as stupid does. i've been meaning to change my plan with alltel, my cell phone company. i don't need 300 free minutes a month so why would i want to pay $39 a month for this plan. i should have changed my plan ages ago but never remember to do it. must tie a string around my finger, write big notes, hang 'em on the walls, so i pick up the phone, call 'em, and tell 'em i want the cheapest contract that they have. they debit my checking account every month to pay the bill, i never use the dang phone, so this is why the entire topic is never on my mind. thanx for having this topic, think i'll call alltel right now while the subject is fresh in my mind.
peter Dec 16th 2007 3:25PM
where this guy might be is in a raoming area on his cell. Or it might be people at cell phone place messed up on someone elses phone and put in wrong vin # or serial number. So this other person lives over here and they put a new tower or something this guy will be charged for it. has happened to me person bought same phone different store and cell phone clerk typed in 1 wrong number to set persons phone up. 2 months later i got bigger bill for$225 more than it should have. The bill was for tower set up in that persons area.
phil Dec 16th 2007 3:26PM
Jeanna said: "Take some responsibility on your wireless use. If you are not sure, call and ask your customer care rep, that is what we are there for."
Now, Jeanna, you KNOW that cell phone companies COUNT ON people doing stuff not knowing what they are doing so they can rack up the charges. Take Blockbuster...they made a killing on late fees and blamed the customer the whole time UNTIL they did away with late fees. Now they call you with EVERY DVD that is late by more than two days! Could have saved lots of people the $80 late fees lazy or forgetful customers were regularly paying.
My daughter racked up $75 worth of text messages in two months (I know, doesn't sound like much comparatively, but it is still a LOT of money to pay for "Hey, what are you doing now" messages) because someone sent her a text message that she did not know she could receive, and she replied--back and forth. The company ended up crediting us the balance and allowed us to switch to unlimited retroactively. GOOD company with GOOD customer care understanding.
Jeanna Dec 16th 2007 3:26PM
This does not surprise me. People are so clueless when it comes to thier cellphones uses. I work in customer care for a wireless service and hear all the time complaints about "I could never talk that much.; "I did not download this"; "My kids have no idea on how to use that"; I do not know how to use the internet". Well I have news for them, "Yes, you do talk that much, every month your airtime is going over and I can see your history" "Yes, you did download that, Your phone will even ask you if you are you sure this will cost $xx.xx"; " Your kids know more than you will ever know on this technology"; "Your phone use shows you are on the internet every month" Take some responsibility on your wireless use. If you are not sure, call and ask your customer care rep, that is what we are there for.