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No one likes getting their cell phone bill. An innocent little call outside your calling area that goes on too long could easily rack up the roaming charges you weren’t expecting. But just when you think your slightly larger cell phone bill is frustrating, just be happy you did not get a phone bill like these people. After reading about these six big cell phone bills you will be happy did not show up in your mailbox, yours might not seem so bad.

$7,624 Bill - Soldier’s cell phone bill sparks charity organization

Unfortunately, soldiers stationed overseas can easily accumulate a large cell phone bill due to roaming and international calling rates, as what happened to Brian Fletcher. He worked up a $7,624 phone bill for calling home from Iraq.

Fortunately for him, teenagers Brittany and Robbie Bergquist were watching the story about Brian Fletcher. They went up and got all the money they had to help pay his bill, realizing he had enough stress where he was without having to worry about that. They also had family serving overseas and decided to keep collecting old cell phones and money to pay for calling cards to send to soldiers so they could call home for free. It was the start of the non-profit organization Cell Phones for Soldiers. They continue to collect phones and raise money for the soldiers serving abroad.

It’s nice that something good came from this cell phone bill. All it took started with a couple people who just wanted to help someone out.

$10,000 Bill - Magazines targeting teens

One of the problems with big cell phone bills is when you are taking care of the phone for someone else. Sean Clark got a cell phone for his 18-year-old daughter, who is developmentally disabled. He signed up for an unlimited text messaging plan because she liked to text message.

He ended up with a $10,000 cell phone bill with several pages worth of charges. At first the company agreed with him that he was a victim of fraud. He signed up for unlimited text messaging and blocked downloads to prevent expensive charges. However, it was later determined that the text messaging was, in fact, premium text messaging. Premium text messages are like 1-900 numbers that charge per minute.

Premium texting is not included in text messaging plans and the companies that run them are third party. His daughter had seen ads in her teenager aimed magazines. Clark managed to get the bill cut to half but the rest is up to him. Discussions with the third party service about waiving the cost were denied as well since his daughter did sign up for it.

Clark also wonders why he was not warned about escalating costs long before it got too big. He just hopes that other people won’t have this happen to them.

$20,590.67 Bill - Reduce, reuse, recycle, regret

Erika Anders switched her cell phone provider a few months before her contract was up. Trying to avoid an early termination fee, she downgraded her plan to a minimum and was going to call and terminate her service when the contract was up. She already had her new phone so she recycled her old phone at a Best Buy drop box.

Anders called and cancelled her plan when the time came but her last bill was $20,590.67, including multiple calls to Brazil. She did not wait to do anything about the bill, so she filed a police report. She also wrote letters contact the fraud department of the service provider and Best Buy, but ultimately went to Lawrence Walsh of the Post-Gazette when both companies ignored her letters.

Lawrence sent her letters to both companies and Bureau of Consumer Protection office. Upon visiting the Best Buy, he found the issue to be the placement of the drop box. Anyone could easily take any cell phone and leave. Even though she locked and password protected her phone, someone was still able to hack it and use it, since her plan was still in place.

The Bureau had the bill waived and it was recommended to Best Buy to have their drop box in a secure place in the store. To everyone else, do not recycle a cell phone that still under a plan.

$21,420 Bill - Where this subscriber has never been before

Retired Oliver DeSofi has a typical monthly cell phone bill of about $150. November’s bill was not a typical bill, with a whopping $21,420 total. When he called the service provider about that bill, he was informed his December bill was shaping up to be about the same with almost $10,000 already on it.

There were thousands of calls made from places he’s never been and numbers he’s never dialled, such as calls made from Nicaragua. DeSofi insisted to the service providers that he has been taking care of his wife and not been to those areas but even with a bill listing 166 calls a day, sometimes four within the same minute, several calls to a 000-000-0000 number, and many of the numbers have been disconnected. The service provider concluded that there was no fraud. His service was cut off when he refused to pay for calls he did not make.

They were strict when dealing with DeSofi and his attorney but reviewed the bill again when the Herald-Tribune Media Group made an inquiry into the matter. After reviewing the bill, the service provider credited his total because those calls were out of the normal usage. In addition to his bill being credited and an apology, DeSofi was also offered $120 on his account. After what he has been through, he is not going back.

$54,000 Bill - Cell phone not the best choice for a modem

A British man, Ian Simpson, got a hefty $54,000 cell phone bill when he
downloaded several TV shows and albums to his laptop computer. He added an inclusive Internet deal to his phone so he could surf the net, but his plan only allowed 120 megabytes of downloads. He was shown how to hook up his cell phone to his computer as a modem and found the download faster than on the handset but it was not meant to be used as a computer modem.

Simpson first found out about the charges when he called to find out why he was cut off, suddenly leaving him wondering why he was not warned and cut off sooner. At least he was cut off…it probably would have been much worse.

Although there was a misunderstanding on Ian’s part, he did run up the charges. Fortunately, his service provider is looking to work something out so Ian does not have to go bankrupt.

C$85,000 Bill - Nothing to do out there

In recent news, a Calgary man received a cell phone bill of C$85,000 for using his cell phone as a modem for his computer to download movies. Piotr Staniaszek works in Alberta at an oil field and spends much of his time alone. He figured the unlimited mobile web browsing plan for $10 would allow him to, you know, access the web, so he used it to download movies from the internet.

Unfortunately, the plan he signed up for was not meant for large downloads to a computer but rather browsing the Internet on his phone. His service provider has knocked off almost C$82,000 in a “good will” gesture, leaving C$3,400.

Staniaszek intends to fight it further explaining that the usage was not explained to him. He is also baffled as to why he was not notified when charges started to pile up, but it would not take much to accumulate a big bill downloading movies on a per KB basis. Many cell phone systems billing systems are not in real time.

Who’s to blame?

It’s hard to argue where the fault lies with cell phone bills of this size. Some say the subscribers misunderstood the plans and should pay, whereas others point out providers should have checks in place to notify subscribers about rising charges and cut off service before it gets out of hand. Cell phone bills like these are out of the average person’s ability to pay in a timely manner.

In several instances, providers have either cut or cleared big bills, usually when the media gets involved, but there is no guarantee they will do that all the time. Providers are really good with making a sweet looking deal, only to fill the terms and conditions with the negatives of the plan. They know the average person can’t be bothered with reading the terms and conditions but is up to the subscriber to read the terms and conditions and ask any questions.

Many cell phone users expect their provider to notify them or cut off their phone with suspicious or abnormal usage and most expect bills that are allowed to run up to be cleared but there are no regulations to cover those instances. Charges made on phones when they are lost or stolen are also difficult to fight since it is up to the user to report a lost or stolen phone and cancel the service.

Tips to avoid getting a surprise cell phone bill

If you are a cell phone subscriber or if you are looking to get a cell phone, here are some tips to hopefully avoid a big bad cell phone bill.

• Make sure you understand that amazing plan. Discuss with the customer service rep what you plan to do. You may find out something you want to do is not covered in that plan, or any other.
• Premium text messages are like 1-900 calls and aren’t covered in text messaging plans. Unlimited text messaging will not cover them.
• Mobile plans are meant for viewing on your cell phone, not downloading. Unlimited plans still may have a limit listed in the terms and conditions.
• Don’t use your phone as a modem.
• Explain cell phone usage to cell phones and plans for children. They may not understand what they are getting into. Better yet, disable any and all unnecessary features to avoid accidents.
• Report lost or stolen phones immediately.

If you do end up with a big cell phone bill due to circumstances beyond your control, review these tips on how to dispute your bill. Making the proper inquiries and notifying key individuals can help take the pressure off, and possibly your amount due.

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