# Poor Guy...



## cancon

I'm sorry, but although I think this guy is really unfortunate, I cannot help but laugh I'm so evil...

[WEBQUOTE="http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/147567/man-receives-40000-phone-bill.html"]A Canadian oil-field worker was stunned to get a C$85,000 (£40,000) mobile phone bill after using the handset to download movies and other files to his computer.[/WEBQUOTE]


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## TechGuy

Wow, that sucks, but I could see how he could get confused. I think everyone knows that cell phone companies are out to confuse you.


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## bkzballa

Lol I agree.


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## dr911

TechGuy said:


> Wow, that sucks, but I could see how he could get confused. I think everyone knows that cell phone companies are out to confuse you.


Yea.....tell me about cell phones. I got T-Mobile. Move here to Arizona from KC, KS. I asked there "so-call" repetitive to give me a "local" phone #. I was told verbally & they "text" my local #. The # I received is a local # ..........100 miles away from me. I have complained to them........no luck. I am going to e-mail the "upper management" about this and give them 2 choices....1.- A new "local" # or 2.- Let me out of my contract. *T-Mobile out right lied to me.* I will also file complaints with the FCC, FTC and the state attorney's office (here and where there main office is located at) !!!:down::down:


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## ~Candy~

Since I don't have one of those evil devices anymore, I guess I don't even understand how much patience one must have to download that many movies in one month


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## Cookiegal

dr911 said:


> Yea.....tell me about cell phones. I got T-Mobile. Move here to Arizona from KC, KS. I asked there "so-call" repetitive to give me a "local" phone #. I was told verbally & they "text" my local #. The # I received is a local # ..........100 miles away from me. I have complained to them........no luck. I am going to e-mail the "upper management" about this and give them 2 choices....1.- A new "local" # or 2.- Let me out of my contract. *T-Mobile out right lied to me.* I will also file complaints with the FCC, FTC and the state attorney's office (here and where there main office is located at) !!!:down::down:


I've edited your post. Please be careful of your language. There are better choices, as you can see, the word "complained" fits in very nicely and is sufficient.


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## ~Candy~

Wonder WHERE he was downloading from  WOW, he could be in double trouble


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## Couriant

playing devil's advocate here... surely that is shown in the manual? I always check to see what I can do first before doing it... especially when it deals with cell phone companies.

Case in point with AT&T... my wife had Pay as you Go type thing ($50 a month, with rollover) then she wanted a new phone (the standard Nokia phone was too bad for her) so she found the phone she wanted, but all the AT&T people she spoke to in one day was saying that she could not get the phone and put her new card in (the retail store wouldn't even order the phone for her). So she got the phone she wanted with a plan and when she tried to get it activated, the person she spoke to was like "They said what??" My wife was finally able to get the old chip activated in the new phone... but worse still, they still had the new number that was with the new plan on her account, so she was charged for that as well her plan was "pro rated" so she went over her daytime minutes and had a charge there too.

Cell phone companies... 

Speaking of AT&T, weren't they sued for being a monopoly so they had to break up their services?


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## loserOlimbs

Wouldn't expect it in the manual, but I'm sure his contract mentions the rates for DATA service. Lucky for him the phone company helps you glaze over the contract when you sign.

Me, Verizon for years and not a lick of trouble.


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## dr911

loserOlimbs said:


> Wouldn't expect it in the manual, but I'm sure his contract mentions the rates for DATA service. Lucky for him the phone company helps you glaze over the contract when you sign.
> 
> Me, Verizon for years and not a lick of trouble.


As for a "contract".....mine was a "verbal contract".....nothing signed. I even asked T-Mobile for my a copy of my "contract", they said I have to "write" to their "legal dept". Yea....right....waste my time & 41 cents for a stamp. I should have my Friend type it out on her letter head. (She's a family friend & a very good lawyer !!)



> I've edited your post. Please be careful of your language. There are better choices, as you can see, the word "complained" fits in very nicely and is sufficient.


Sorry....*Cookiegal*, I was just "ticked-off" when I wrote that post !! I apologize.


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## cancon

dr911 said:


> As for a "contract".....mine was a "verbal contract".....nothing signed. I even asked T-Mobile for my a copy of my "contract", they said I have to "write" to their "legal dept". Yea....right....waste my time & 41 cents for a stamp. I should have my Friend type it out on her letter head. (She's a family friend & a very good lawyer !!)


haha


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## Cookiegal

dr911 said:


> Sorry....*Cookiegal*, I was just "ticked-off" when I wrote that post !! I apologize.


Thanks.


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## Zeroday

Cooperate companies are filled with lies and deceit at every turn.

This just shows you how companies think "they have more power than they do" and rip-off people at every chance they get. who knows, all of us could be paying hidden fees.

It just goes to show you, companies are making us pay more than we should, and they don't indulge us by giving us the information we need to know. Instead, they let us go ignorant and don;t tell us if what we are doing is going to cost us money.


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## ~Candy~

If you are referring to post #1.....I'm willing to bet the amount that he was billed that downloading was covered in his contract..... 

I mean, he's paying $10 a month?  Wonder if he thought that included unlimited calling to anywhere in the world as well 

*Piotr Staniaszek, a 22-year-old oil and gas well tester in rural northwest Alberta, thought he could use his new phone as a modem for his computer as part of his C$10 unlimited browser plan from Bell Mobility, a division of Bell Canada.

He downloaded movies and other high-resolution files unaware of the charges they would incur.*

He should qualify for the Darwin award.


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## cancon

AcaCandy said:


> He should qualify for the Darwin award.


harsh


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## ~Candy~

Yeah, reality is harsh


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## Zeroday

Yea, but it's not effecting me (referring to post 14) - If that is what you guy's are talking about.

Do you know that feeling, when you say something and you realize that you could have put it in better words, but the person has already mis-understood you?

well, whatever - Back on topic.

Do you think someone would get charged if they did the same thing using a Air Card?


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## ~Candy~

Why don't you test it and let us know...........


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## Knotbored

I am the only person I know who does NOT have a cell phone.
But it seems every time I am asked for a cell number and reply "I don't have one" I get a response that person wishes they had never signed up for one, but are now so ingrained into their lifestyle they can't give it up.


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## Elvandil

Knotbored said:


> I am the only person I know who does NOT have a cell phone.
> But it seems every time I am asked for a cell number and reply "I don't have one" I get a response that person wishes they had never signed up for one, but are now so ingrained into their lifestyle they can't give it up.


It's easy enough to have one and not give the number to everyone on Earth. They certainly have advantages, like during emergencies or power failures, or getting lost in the mountains. But more mundanely, for emergencies of other sorts, like car breakdowns or accidents.


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## ~Candy~

I turned in my "CELL" Phone in 1998 and have never looked back. I think it's called a "CELL" phone for a reason


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## cancon

Knotbored said:


> I am the only person I know who does NOT have a cell phone.
> But it seems every time I am asked for a cell number and reply "I don't have one" I get a response that person wishes they had never signed up for one, but are now so ingrained into their lifestyle they can't give it up.


Haha... I know a few people with those principles... But the cell phone is such a practical device that it is advisable just to carry it around with you in case of emergencies... What I find funny is when you try to sign up to something online and the mobile number is asterisked (as in required for you to complete the form). It suggests that everyone has a phone, and that is obviously not the case.


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## ~Candy~

I usually put the local police dept., mortuary, or something equally as creative


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## Couriant

AcaCandy said:


> I usually put the local police dept., mortuary, or something equally as creative


hmmm not a bad idea  lol


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## RSM123

Here's another case, with specifics about the costs :

Ian Simpson, a factory worker from Darlington, downloaded TV programmes onto his laptop using his mobile phone as a modem - and racked up charges of £27,322 in just one month. He says he may go bankrupt unless Vodafone "takes a sensible approach" to his bill.

Simpson thought he had an all-you can eat deal for unlimited web use and "probably" downloaded 20-30 TV shows and four albums. But his £41.50 per month contract maxed out at 120 megabytes of downloads per month, enough for most users, Vodafone says. "Few customers exceed the fair usage. But it seems clear Ian has run up these charges legitimately," a spokesman told The Mirror.

So Simpson was on the wrong package and cannot be accused of acting intelligently in this matter. But his phone bill illustrates the outrageous expense of mobile data - downloads were priced at up to £18 per minute.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12/27/massive_vodafone_uk_mobile_data_bill/


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## ~Candy~

Probably did it at work too, no less.


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## cancon

here's another one...

[WEBQUOTE="http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/150909/27000-phone-bill-for-vodafone-customer.html"]News 
[PDAs/Phones]
Wednesday 2nd January 2008
£27,000 phone bill for Vodafone customer 10:33AM, Wednesday 2nd January 2008
A Vodafone customer has been charged £27,000 after using his mobile phone as a modem to download audio and video files to his laptop.

Ian Simpson, a 29 year old factory worker from Darlington, took out a £41.50 monthly contract that he believed offered unlimited internet access. However, the contract Simpson chose actually had a 120MB monthly limit.

Simpson told the Northern Echo that he downloaded "20 or 30" television episodes as well as four albums, which racked up charges of up to £18 per minute once he had exceeded the limits set out in the contract.

Vodafone says that it is sympathetic to Simpson's situation, and is currently considering reducing the charges.

"Customers are advised of the charges for data after the fair usage limit has been used as part of the terms and conditions. Very few of our customer exceed the fair usage," says a Vodafone spokesperson.

A similar case occurred last month in Canada, where 22 year old Piotr Staniaszek received a £40,000 phone bill for using his mobile phone as a modem to download movies to his laptop.

Matthew Sparkes[/WEBQUOTE]

The latter mentioned being our thread topic...


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## adamm321

knotbored...
We also have never owned a cell phone. Our kids all have them and their experiences with them have not encouraged us to feel we need one, just the opposite. I can remember the days before cell phones when there was only one telephone company, when everyone had a landline and no answering machine and 411 was free and the yellow pages had everything you needed to know in it. In those days, I had an easier time reaching people than I do now. I would bet that in eight out of ten calls I make to my kids, either, they left their phone somewhere, forgot to charge it, it isn't working, or they have it on silent and didn't notice someone was trying to get ahold of them.

As for emergencies, we have done without a cell phone all this time. Having one is not as much of an assurance to me that it will be there when you have an emergency as it seems to appear to most people.

Plus, the economics of it. We pay for a land line and three kids all pay for their own separate cell phones. Who is making out in this arrangement? [g]

I don't doubt that there are people who absolutely need a cell phone and probably are thankful every day they have it, but I guess we just don't happen to fit in that category and I get the impression that a lot of people don't. To many people it seems to be an expensive toy.

Just my opinion.


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## RootbeaR

AcaCandy said:


> I turned in my "CELL" Phone in 1998 and have never looked back. I think it's called a "CELL" phone for a reason


Yes it is.

I really feel sorry for the guy. I live in Canada and had a bell cell phone. It is almost impossible to read their contract. I purchased it from a bell store and asked specifically for a bottom line figure for the first and second months so I could budget. I assumed first month would be more for the hook-up etc.. The charges I was lied to about. Ridiculous. Twice what I was told.

I had the phone as my only phone for about a year and a half. In all that time, not once was the bill correct. Kept getting text messages saying something like, "sorry for inconvenience, will be sorted out next month, upgrading billing system."

I had a flat rate unlimited plan and used accordingly. I still cannot tell you what a monthly bill should be.

I have not seen a service from bell in Ontario which you did not have to sign a two year contract in order to get.

This case was settled and I think he only had to pay about half.


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## Couriant

There is one thing in life that I have always caught myself with:

Never assume anything.


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## RootbeaR

Couriant said:


> There is one thing in life that I have always caught myself with:
> 
> Never assume anything.


Very true.

The assumption I made was that the first month would not be representative of an average monthly bill. Hook-up fees, purchases etc.. are not expected on every bill. I was only buying one phone once.


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