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$4,800 Phone Bill for an iPhone That Wasn't Turned On

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$4,800 Phone Bill for an iPhone That Wasn't Turned On

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http://theinquirer.net/?article=42235
from WinCustomize Forums

Jay Levy went to the mailbox one day to find a 54-page bill from AT&T covering his family's three iPhones.  Now an absurdly long bill printout from AT&T isn't anything new, but this one had a twist.  A $4,800 price tag.

What happened?  Well Jay and his family went on a Mediterranean cruise not too long ago, and they had their three iPhones with them.  Now, they knew if they used the phones overseas, they'd incur massive charges so the phones were turned off for the entire trip.  Unfortunately for Jay, that didn't mean he was safe.  It turns out that even when an iPhone is off, it downloads email so you have your latest messages whenever you do turn on the phone.  So while the phone was "off" it was still accessing international networks for a fee of around $25 per 20 megabytes downloaded. 

Needless to say, Jay is not pleased with Apple or AT&T.  The lesson here is to make sure you read every bit of the contract and familiarize yourself with the phone manual before you take it anywhere out of network.  Who knows what those sneaky little devices are up to!

17,357 views 33 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Cell phone companies are BS. Don't think for a moment that it was a "mistake" on AT&T's part. Other companies do the same thing with their PDA's. The more net access you have in general, the higher chance you're going to have to be screwed.


Where does personal responsibiltiy play a factor here? 

These people did not shut their phones off, and knowingly had e-mail set to automatically check.  It's not the fault of the phone company.

Instead of blaming "the man" maybe people should step up and say "hey, we made the mistake".




Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top
These people did not shut their phones off, and knowingly had e-mail set to automatically check. It's not the fault of the phone company.

Instead of blaming "the man" maybe people should step up and say "hey, we made the mistake".
It's the "knowingly" part that is the stickler here for me.  Yes they are responsible.

Should Apple (not AT&T) put an alert that they are roaming and allow for email or phone service to be turned off?

Should AT&T (not Apple) throw an alert if usage goes all crazy and shit?  My bank gives me a call every time my wife gets a bug to buy.  I think that falls under protecting everyone and is good customer service.

Should this guy get loud, raise a ruckus, try to get part of his money back, alert other folks and then STFU and pay the bill?  Oh yeah.

I'm not wringing my hands for this poor schmuck nor am I screaming for blood because the big-bad cell company is a thief.  I'm saying that there is a shared responsibility here that is lacking.
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top
G-d! That really is awful....just a small question, though: If you weren't going to use your phones.....why did you take them?????

  
Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top
If you weren't going to use your phones.....why did you take them?
Maybe becuase phones do other things than make calls.  Music, games, notes, contacts, etc. . . 
Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The problem is, does AT&T just turn off their service? You're wife goes on a shopping spree, and you get a "CALL". On your "PHONE", which they had put to sleep. They didn't turn the phones back on during the trip, so there's no way for AT&T or Apple to tell them they're doing the wrong thing. Ideally, the phone should be set, by default, not to roam. Force the user to acknowledge roaming before continuing. If anyone can agree with this theory, the "big bad phone company" isn't at fault. Apple is. Apple made the software which seamlessly went to roaming. But then again, most people who love the iPhone and hate the cell companies want to point the blame to AT&T. Honestly? AT&T didn't have a lot of options for what they could do... They couldn't call, they shouldn't just stop service because the users bill is high... Rock and a hard place.
Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top
All I have to say to them is "iSUCKERS".

There, fixed that for you.



Thank you...lol



Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Um... why you you bring a phone that your not going to use? There is almost no way I'm letting my family take phones with them on a trip (especially with pre-teens and teens) and somehow expect everything to go just a planned.


Secondly... how in the heck do you have that much email to down load that ends up costing you almost 5 grand? $25 per 20 megabytes goes into 5000 a whole bunch of times.

Third: I guess there is no off switch on the iPhone
Reply #33 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Joe, they were roaming, so each connection had a "roaming" fee tacked on. It wasn't the number of megabytes they downloaded, it was the number of times the iPhone established a connection to check. And yes, you can turn off an iPhone, but you need to read the instructions, something most Apple users aren't as familiar with.