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The $85,000 Phone Bill
Unlimited? Not so much...
by Karl Bode Thursday 13-Dec-2007 tags: business · wireless · world · Oddities
We've seen several users incur massive iPhone bills from AT&T (from $3,000-$4,800) because they didn't read the fine print for their data plan. However, None of them can hold a candle to one Canadian man who used his mobile phone as a modem a received a whopping bill for $85,000. He signed up for a $10 unlimited mobile browser plan from Bell Mobility, unaware that tethered data transfers would incur additional fees.

Staniaszek's father, also named Piotr Staniaszek, said his son 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's working in the field sometimes, alone, in the shack. What to do? Drink vodka or go on the Internet?" Staniaszek senior told Reuters on Thursday from Calgary, Alberta.

Next time, choose the vodka.

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kalphearion
In nomine Patri
Premium
join:2003-11-08
Broomfield, CO

Just another...

Idiot who skimmed over their contract

Pay up and quit whining

DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA

Re: Just another...

More like a just another salesman who scammed an unsuspecting plan buyer.

mlerner
Premium
join:2000-11-25
Nepean, ON
kudos:5

Re: Just another...

The rep may not have said anything (as is typical for Bell) but it is clearly listed on the site for mobile browsing only, additionally I believe it's in the fine print as well. The thing is, never fully trust a salesman without reading everything in writing first.

DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA

4 edits

Re: Just another...

I've had both Cingular and Verizon wireless salemen flat out lie about their plans. We also saw a few weeks ago »Verizon's Dubious Math Skills the story about 50 or so calls to Verizon inquiring about per Kb charges with about 95% of the answers given by Verizon's agents being wrong. Then when wrong the real price was often 1000X the price quoted by the misinformed agent. It would mean the difference between a quoted $85 bill and an $85,000 bill.

Even with fine print, the way it's worded is often confusing. "Mobile browsing" is vague and to some people could be anything mobile including a laptop tethered to the phone.

I wonder how the actual terms of service are worded. If it's worded Mobile Browsing without specifically defining mobile browsing as through the phone's web client I could see how it could be confusing even to someone who read the 4 pt font of the contract.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

Re: Just another...

I tend to agree... there's a HUGE amount of legal paperwork to protect the carrier (TOS/AUP), and a very quick process to get you signed up/out the door.
When I wanted to 'tether' my Samsung ZX-20, AT&T wanted to put me on a MEdia plan. Since I know better, I asked her if she's _really_ sure about that, and it was the plan I should be on for using my phone as a modem. She came back and set it up as a laptop connect plan.

Many people do not know what they're getting, and many sales people do not know what they're selling. There should be some sort of 'cap' or 'warning' when these huge bills come out. $85,000 is probably more than his gross annual salary. If I went to a bank and asked for a loan to burn through $85k what do you think they would say ? The bill by the kB has to have some sort of sanity check.
--
Canada = Hollywood North
AJICQ499087

join:2001-12-01
Louisville, KY

Re: Just another...

You need to read the fine print. If you don't understand what the contract is saying ask questions and have the answers in simple English written into the contract. If the provider is not willing to write into the contract what is needed for you to understand what you plan to sign, then don't sign the contract. You should go shopping some place else!
--
low cost and fast speed is what customers want in broadband

CConverse

join:2006-01-31
Syracuse, NY

Re: Just another...

said by AJICQ499087:

If the provider is not willing to write into the contract what is needed for you to understand what you plan to sign, then don't sign the contract. You should go shopping some place else!
Except that some place else usually isn't any better. Is there any way to truly quantify the lesser of two (or more) evils?

shaner
Premium
join:2000-10-04
Calgary, AB

3 edits
In order to tether his his KRZR to his computer and use it as a modem, he must download an application from Bell called Mobile Connect.

Here is the link for Mobile Connect.

»www.businessonthego1.com/english···l_mc.asp

Notice that you cannot download the program without the legal stuff popping up.

And here's the important part:

"Note to subscribers of Bell Mobility's Unlimited Mobile BrowserTM: in tethering your Bell Mobility handheld device to your PC or other device, data transmission does NOT occur through the Unlimited Mobile Browser. You will be charged for data transport usage in addition to the monthly charge for the browser.

Examples of data transport charges using a rate of $12 per megabyte: send an email = $0.15; download a web page = $4.50; download a song = $123.00. Note that these examples do not include all data transmission associated with these activities, which can vary depending on user activity, software application behaviour, communications protocol and network conditions.

We encourage you to minimize these charges by subscribing to an appropriate data plan. Visit »www.businessonthego1.com/english···cing.asp or call 1 866 235-5249 (1 866 BELL-BIZ) to subscribe. Be sure to check the data usage counter on your screen to keep track of your data usage.

By clicking "I accept" below you acknowledge that you are over the age of eighteen years and are liable for and agree to pay these charges for data transport services."

DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA

Re: Just another...

If that's the case (about the contract being in bold, plus the click through notice on the installer) he should pay the $3700 and be happy about it.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

Re: Just another...

I agree,

Tzale
Proud Libertarian Conservative
Premium
join:2004-01-06
NYC Metro
said by DotMac4:

More like a just another salesman who scammed an unsuspecting plan buyer.
So frigging true.... This guy should have read the contract, but $85,000 is outrageous...

-Tzale
--
Hello Verizon FIOS 12.03.07!
457,000,000 miles of fiber optics placed and counting!
~THANK YOU MY ANONYMOUS FRIEND~

djrobx

join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
kudos:1
Reviews:
·VOIPo
·Verizon Wireless..
·RoadRunner Cable
·AT&T U-Verse

Re: Just another...

Even the "goodwill" $3700 is outrageous. They offer the "real" unlimited service for $75 per month. That should be the maximum "fine" for improper use.

Its downright criminal for big companies to demand such extoirtionate amounts from people when they are clearly able to provide the said service for a fair price.

whizkid3
Premium,MVM
join:2002-02-21
Queens, NY
kudos:9

Re: Just another...

Its outrageous, its highway robbery, and its wrong. The only one 'ripping anyone off', are the telephone companies. It smacks of Standard Oil tactics. Control the monopoly, and then rape the public with your pricing. (While technically its not a monopoly, it is once you get any one of the carriers' telephones. Its certainly not market based pricing.)

When you 'steal' (or lose) a DVD from a rental company, the most they will charge you is the price of the movie, or maybe a little more. When you 'steal' (or lose) a book from the library, the most they will charge you is the price of the book, or maybe a little more. Here they are charging you thousands of times the cost, and hundreds of times the monthly rate if you had a service plan; all for being unknowledgeable. djrobx has it right:

said by djrobx:

Even the "goodwill" $3700 is outrageous. They offer the "real" unlimited service for $75 per month. That should be the maximum "fine" for improper use. Its downright criminal for big companies to demand such extoirtionate amounts from people when they are clearly able to provide the said service for a fair price.

Tzale
Proud Libertarian Conservative
Premium
join:2004-01-06
NYC Metro
said by djrobx:

Even the "goodwill" $3700 is outrageous. They offer the "real" unlimited service for $75 per month. That should be the maximum "fine" for improper use.

Its downright criminal for big companies to demand such extoirtionate amounts from people when they are clearly able to provide the said service for a fair price.

exactly
--
Hello Verizon FIOS 12.03.07!
457,000,000 miles of fiber optics placed and counting!
~THANK YOU MY ANONYMOUS FRIEND~
sven_kirk3

join:2002-07-23
Lithia Springs, GA
customer trying to scam the system. He was caught trying to cheat the system by not buy a laptop card. He is getting what he deserves. There is NOTHING free in the world.

m3rl1n

@arbor.net
Having worked as a salesman in the cellular industry....... this is sadly the most likely case. People should read the fine print of their entire contracts, but realistically, this is just not the case. They depend on the sales people for guidance, and there are far too many unscrupulous sales people. Then, the company adds to consumer confusion by calling it an unlimited data plan for $10. The internet is data transfer by definition, isn't it? If I was this person, I would take it to court claiming false advertising. win or lose, he will be creating precedence for future cases against these unscrupulous companies.

Oleg
Bellsouth Fastaccess
Premium
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL
kudos:2
Everyone knows using iphone or cellphone for dial-up will ring the bill up

DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA

1 edit

Re: Just another...

Can't tether an iPhone as far as I know (they're may be 3rd party hacks though).

james1

join:2001-02-26
Yeah seriously! I mean it's ONLY $85 000!
What was he thinking when he read "Unlimited Browsing" and assumed that it applied to all browsing? What an idiot! Oh wait, I'm being a sarcastic jackass again.

shaner
Premium
join:2000-10-04
Calgary, AB

1 edit

Re: Just another...

n/m

james1

join:2001-02-26

Re: Just another...

Wow, who would have guessed that connecting a computer to the phone to use the same data-link would not basically be the same thing as far as the phone company was concerned. Obviously WE would have guessed that, but the average person out there isn't as smart as us. They need to be explicitly told that "always on" doesn't mean guaranteed uptime, or "Unlimited mobile Browser" doesn't mean you can download anything you want through the phone connection.

pkarlos_76

join:2004-08-24
Edmonton, AB
Reviews:
·Shaw
said by james1:

Yeah seriously! I mean it's ONLY $85 000!
What was he thinking when he read "Unlimited Browsing" and assumed that it applied to all browsing? What an idiot! Oh wait, I'm being a sarcastic jackass again.
Not everyones mother and father and grandfather and grandmother is as adept as some peoplein this forum are in these things!! In fact many of these people call the Computer Case a CPU.....

james1

join:2001-02-26

Re: Just another...

Correction, they point to the Monitor and call it the CPU.

mlerner
Premium
join:2000-11-25
Nepean, ON
kudos:5
said by pkarlos_76:

said by james1:

Yeah seriously! I mean it's ONLY $85 000!
What was he thinking when he read "Unlimited Browsing" and assumed that it applied to all browsing? What an idiot! Oh wait, I'm being a sarcastic jackass again.
Not everyones mother and father and grandfather and grandmother is as adept as some peoplein this forum are in these things!! In fact many of these people call the Computer Case a CPU.....
True but Bell did their best to advertise it only for browsing. No where does it say specifically that you can tether your phone to your PC with this plan and the reps are usually pretty good about that but then sales and support have gone down in quality recently.

bthornhill

join:2004-05-10
Hey, we're not talking about American pesos here, we're talking Canadian dollars. That's a lot of dough.

evilghost
Premium
join:2003-11-22
Springville, AL

Re: Just another...

said by bthornhill:

Hey, we're not talking about American pesos here, we're talking Canadian dollars. That's a lot of dough.
HAHAH! Awesome!

MysticGogeta
The Robot Devil
Premium
join:2005-03-14
League City, TX
said by kalphearion:

Idiot who skimmed over their contract

Pay up and quit whining
Just curious do you make 85k a year? I sure as hell don't and defiantly would like to.
--
Team Discovery-Join the fight

JoeOnSunset
Doublethink Is Doubleplus Ungood.
Premium
join:2002-11-25
Ormond Beach, FL
quote:
Yes, arrg! People should be perfect! Grrrr. I like living in a society where every transaction comes with 20 page agreements! I've never been hosed by a company because I am too smart and infallible. Blaaaah!! We should encourage companies to do business like this! Meh! Companies are always right and people are always wrong, except meee! Whirrr!
Does that about sum it up? Cool, now this thread can be shorter.
NYDude25

join:2007-08-23
Massapequa, NY

Reduced amount

Apparently, he has already had the bill reduced to C$3,400.

He should be happy with that.

jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH

Re: Reduced amount

well for 85000$ he would prob declare bankcruptcy and they wouldn't see a dime so it is better for them to get some money.
--
3 free for you/3 free for me: Free Stock Trades : PM Me

Camelot One
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-21
Greenwood, IN
kudos:1

1 edit
said by NYDude25:

Apparently, he has already had the bill reduced to C$3,400.
Hmmm....I need to get him to renegotiate our mortgage......
With skills like that, he could make a killing in the private sector!

See 10 replies to this post

xdatax

@comcast.net
thats some expensive porn , lol

-illusion

pornhappy

@rr.com

Re: Reduced amount

lets hope he wasent dl canadian porn, as that ws just a waste of 3,400, at least get the euro/uk stuff.
Shark_615

join:2006-01-17
Pickering, ON

Re: Reduced amount

Nothing like going to www.fatslapperswithdodgyteeth.com on a rainy Saterday afternoon eh!

james1

join:2001-02-26

Re: Reduced amount

Site down for me. Anyone else? (lol had to say it)

Snickerdo
Premium
join:2001-02-28
Niagara Falls, ON
said by pornhappy :

lets hope he wasent dl canadian porn, as that ws just a waste of 3,400, at least get the euro/uk stuff.
Pfft, I can tell you've never seen the stuff that comes out of Vancouver.
wilburyan

join:2002-08-01
Reviews:
·Shaw
no way should he be happy with that... especially considering the bandwidth likely cost the provider a few dimes.

It's insane what canadian companies charge for data... take bell for instance... for $45 I can get a 4MB plan, with each additional MB costing $12????

Lets say a user decides to download a 700MB divx movie (don't give me any lip about copyrights...) that movie would cost him $8400!!!!! And assuming his provider has EV-DO coverage he will be downloading at 3mbit and would have the movie in a matter of 2 hours. Can we say ridiculous overpricing???? A network that gives you the potential to rack up $4200/Hour??? All for a service that costs providers a VERY small fraction of what they are charging.
vanDSLuser
from Vancouver 2010
Premium
join:2004-07-28
White Rock, BC
Reviews:
·Shaw

Re: Reduced amount

If Google would buy the 700mhz up here they would be able to offer data that doesn't such and who knows, maybe Bell wouldn't either.

Rogers data pricing is even worse though.... they don't even have a 5GB for $70 cell-card plan.

Make it affordable, and guess what, you've sold yourself another blackberry + data card - 150/mo revenue EASY.

Sircolby45

join:2005-11-26
Reviews:
·WildBlue
said by NYDude25:

Apparently, he has already had the bill reduced to C$3,400.

He should be happy with that.
$3,400 is still RIDICULOUS! No way I would pay that. Take a zero off that and then I probably would.

m3rl1n

@arbor.net
of course. What kind of image does a company that seriously considers forcing a customer to pay $85K receive? nothing positive, I am sure. I know that ATT wireless's policy is to suggest the best plan that you have for the person ($80 laptop connect) and then credit the rest.

I have, however, seen cingular force a customer to pay $7K bill. I tried to help her but it was to far out of the range we should be crediting.
zxt

join:2007-07-28
Los Angeles, CA
3.4k isn't cheap.

I would probably pay it if its just around 2x the highest unlimited plan they got...say $200 or less.

parkut
Crunch Addict
Premium,MVM
join:2001-12-15
Harrison Township, MI
kudos:6
Reviews:
·AT&T U-Verse
·WOW Internet and..
·AT&T Midwest

I wonder why...

Every time I read about something like this, I wonder why the carriers don't protect themselves and their subscribers from outrageous charges by cutting the service off if it's being used at a rate that would drive the "average" consumer bankrupt.
--
Hello, my name is Bill and I'm a crunchaholic...


Proud to be the current host of Crunchenstein #1, #3, #5, and Foldy #3
wilburyan

join:2002-08-01

Re: I wonder why...

A friend of mine who received an $800 data bill made the same arguement... he talked the provider (Telus) down and he was able to upgrade his package to the highest tier would brought his bill down to $150.

pfak
Premium
join:2002-12-29
Vancouver, BC
Any sane provider does, most providers (eg. Fido in Canada) gives each account a "advance" of say $300, 75% of that advance it will send you a SMS, when you hit 100% it will cut off your service until you phone in and deal with the charges (read: pay them off).

I have no idea why Bell doesn't have a feature like this, but it shows you just how greedy they are.
--
Xenophase - Vancouver's premier online gaming community.

PhoenixDown
-- Wants FIOS
Premium
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY
kudos:1
they can do this but they dont. Not sure why

Trinijoy
Premium
join:2005-09-12
Brick, NJ

What??

Wow they should have a cap you can put on your bill, so you get cut off your internet when you go over a certain price, because that is just plain ridiculous.
Gardener
Premium
join:2006-10-19
Burnaby, BC
Reviews:
·TELUS

Wake up, Bell, show some responsibility

Why didn't the cellphone service detect excessive usage, averaging about $100 per hour, on that $10/month plan? Do they not have credit limits on their accounts? Oh, wait, this is a telephone company.

There is a reason why our family cellphones are pay & talk. Too much use, cellphone stops. Much safer.

T1 Rocky

join:2002-11-15
Dallas, TX

Re: Wake up, Bell, show some responsibility

Good point. If the providers seriously want to collect on a $10 per month contract for overages, shouldn't they send a notice when the bill reaches $100? It's not like they have no way of contacting him, plus they could get another $.20 for receiving a text message notification. It's an all margin product, cut a kid a break and get some good publicity.

AnonProxy
Premium
join:2001-05-12

I have a sub prime mortgage for him

YAY!

nightdesigns
Gone missing, back soon
Premium
join:2002-05-31
AZ

Why no spending limits?

I have a sprint phone and I cannot go over $250 in a month without it cutting me off. Why can't AT&T implement something like this, oh i know, because then they don't get $85k!
--
[[Your signature here]]
zxt

join:2007-07-28
Los Angeles, CA

Re: Why no spending limits?

I think its different in Canada.

nanook
Premium,MVM
join:2007-12-02

Bell didn't lie. It was "unlimited".

TFA reads "The $85,000 Phone Bill
Unlimited? Not so much..."

Well it was unlimited — the size of his bill, that is
walliser

join:2002-01-27
Philadelphia, PA

Am I the only one?

am I the only one thinking that this guys might have wrongfully assumed he found a "loophole" enabling him to get on the internet for cheap?

I am sorry, but when did personal responsibility become extinct? I am of the opinion, if I enter a contract, then I better know what I am getting myself into. If I chose not to bother checking what I agree to, then I have to accept the fact that there may be nasty consequences.

decadent
Premium
join:2002-04-02
Piscataway, NJ

Re: Am I the only one?

I have read in WSJ about 1 million dollars bill from hospital. A guy has almost died because the doctors have misdiagnosed him couple of times and then he spent like half-year in hospitals. His insurance was capped at 2 million dollars and he went over cap by 1 million more. And he was in and out of coma and so on. And when he was released from last hospital, the first call he got was from the hospital to pay up. Anyway, when it went to the news, the hospital decided to make it pro bono. But the thing is that they overcharge in hospitals for everything. Some small things that cost $30 on internet, they changed $3000. They were saying that is cost of doing business. But it is rather "I can get away with it, so I will do it". And the guy probably did not read the contracts either, but I am not sure whether he was even able to do it in his state. There should be some courtesy, if something happens out of ordinary and it is a huge corporation, it can be humane. I can understand, when it is a small company, may be they have no choice but ask to pay.

jester121
Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL

Re: Am I the only one?

Small companies? OK. But screw those "big companies"... they should sell everything at a loss.
mglunt

join:2001-09-10
Fredericksburg, VA
Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS

1 edit
I was once charged $60 for a metal finger splint and another $65 for the nurse to crimp it on. I was pissed, but I know why. Are you telling me you don't?

How do you think the Hospitals can still afford to pay the bills when you have millions of illegal immigrants pouring into the country flooding the ER's using them like Doctor offices and/or jumping the fence to have little anchor babies? Then, on top of that you have trial lawyers like Johnny Edwards suing doctors and hospitals for millions. Someone has to pay for that. Welcome to the $59 profit on the finger splint they bought for $1.


Thane_Bitter

join:2005-01-20
London

Hang'um high

Many an idiot has stuck their head through what they assumed to be a loophole, only to be hung in the end.
--
download speed : 506.4 KB/sec.
upload speed : 83.6 KB/sec

RARPSL

join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY

AT&T and the Fine Print

I saw a report on my local NYC station about a week or so ago about AT&T's refusal to offer the iPhone users the same data plans as they do their Blackberry users. A Blackberry user was given an iPhone as a present and he called AT&T to verify that he could use his new iPhone under his current Blackberry Plan. He was told REPEATEDLY by the Customer Service Rep that he could. He then left on a 2 month trip to Europe (as he had in the past) using the iPhone in lieu of the Blackberry that he had used on prior trips. While there he racked up a $3500 bill the first Month (which he paid to keep his phone connected and in use since he had not taken his Blackberry along). Upon getting home there was a $6500 bill waiting for the 2nd Month. Upon contacting AT&T, they investigated and discovered that he had asked all the right questions and was given inaccurate answers. They waved the 2nd bill (there was no mention of what happened to the first bill) and he is now back to his Blackberry when on trips. These charges were for receiving emails at a rate of $.50 to $3 per email not for web surfing and downloads.

robs440
Premium
join:2003-06-26
Orlando, FL

derrrrrrrrrr........

i think they told me about him while i was working at the big orange company.......said he dowloaded all 3 hours of lord of the rings. bet his phone was hooked to the wall charger all the time!

insomniac84

join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

Define Unlimited

An unlimited plan is unlimited, period. This is clearly a scam. And the screwed up thing is that normally an unlimited plan for a pcmcia card modem would be 60 bucks a month, that therefore is maximum reasonable charge they should expect.

insomniac
Oh Yeah
Premium
join:2002-09-22
Naperville, IL

No cap on per-KB charges?

Man, even Sprint has a $70 cap on per-KB tethering. This is just stupid.

NetFixer
From my cold dead hands
Premium
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Reviews:
·Comcast Business..
·Vonage
·Cingular Wireless
·Comcast

1 edit

Clueless?

said by Reuters :

According to the invoice, his son rang up C$60,000 in charges in November, and they have since climbed to C$85,000.
I think I would have taken the hint when I got the first bill for C$60,000.
--
We can never have enough of nature.
We need to witness our own limits transgressed, and some life pasturing freely where we never wander.
Test your firewall.
Aleck79

join:2003-07-23
College Station, TX

theres a fine line between...

... deceptive business practices and being clueless and not reading your contract.

both parties probably share some blame here.

JoeOnSunset
Doublethink Is Doubleplus Ungood.
Premium
join:2002-11-25
Ormond Beach, FL

Re: theres a fine line between...

I'm sure there are PLENTY of people making fun of this guy who didn't read their contracts either.

Many of us just know, without having to be told, that an "unlimited" data plan is probably not unlimited. You don't need to read the contract to know that, since you're on dslreports, you read news stories about the industry, etc. And because of that, you also know what questions to ask.

Imagine--hard as this is--that there are people in the world with DIFFERENT INTERESTS than yours, and that's OKAY. (Try. It's difficult, I know.) Those people don't know before walking into a cell phone store that there is no way "unlimited data" for $10 is really unlimited.

You know, you shouldn't need to be an expert (or even really interested) in a field to be able to make a purchase without getting TOTALLY HOSED. Maybe you don't get the best deal, but you shouldn't have to mortgage your house because you're not a nerd and you wanted a phone.
zxt

join:2007-07-28
Los Angeles, CA

Re: theres a fine line between...

said by JoeOnSunset:

I'm sure there are PLENTY of people making fun of this guy who didn't read their contracts either.

Many of us just know, without having to be told, that an "unlimited" data plan is probably not unlimited. You don't need to read the contract to know that, since you're on dslreports, you read news stories about the industry, etc. And because of that, you also know what questions to ask.

Imagine--hard as this is--that there are people in the world with DIFFERENT INTERESTS than yours, and that's OKAY. (Try. It's difficult, I know.) Those people don't know before walking into a cell phone store that there is no way "unlimited data" for $10 is really unlimited.

You know, you shouldn't need to be an expert (or even really interested) in a field to be able to make a purchase without getting TOTALLY HOSED. Maybe you don't get the best deal, but you shouldn't have to mortgage your house because you're not a nerd and you wanted a phone.
exactly my thoughts

Bellundo

@teksavvy.com

This could only happen in Canada!

With no governing body like the SEC in America these Canadian companies think they're above all laws and make their own laws. I could just image if Bell branched out into banking and insurance we'd have a subprime mess far worst than America. What Canada needs is more courts and prisons so companies who pull this are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law not make themselves the lawmakers. Like i said it's pretty bad when Americans have to come up to Canada to prosecute Ceos because Canada just turns a blind eye and giggles. Well for old Conrad it ain't no laughing matter now. I'm very sure at least ninety percent of all companies listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange are corrupt with fake books and reportings. Yes and they go on about China and Japan well they don't need to look farther than here.

Bellundo

@teksavvy.com

Re: This could only happen in Canada!

No lines please about the Ontario securites commision they're worst than the better business bureau in Ontario... tisk tisk good god what a country!
rradina

join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

AT&T isn't getting $85,000

The guy isn't paying $85,000. He's had it reduced to $3,400.

If AT&T was smart, they should:

1) Have a maximum in the contract after which additional charges cease. They could make it plenty stiff but letting it accumulate to $85,000 is ridiculous.

2) Place a billing limit on the account. Much like a credit cards have limits, these plans should have dollar limits so that once exceeded, the account is automatically deactivated until the customer calls.

Vamp9190
Premium
join:2002-02-11
Chantilly, VA
kudos:1

Re: AT&T isn't getting $85,000

How fast is the connecting that he could have DL that much data in one month? How many GB did he DL to incur 85k in charges?
rradina

join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

Re: AT&T isn't getting $85,000

Good question. According to Wikipedia, watching streaming video at VHS quality requires 1Mbps. DVD requires 5Mbit/second.

I doubt the data link is providing 5Mbit/second but it might be capable of providing 1Mbit/second.

Just guessing but he may be downloading and then watching. I doubt the data rate is consistently high enough to support VHS or DVD streaming video. (Unless he's watching postage stamp sized porn movies...)

If he's downloading DVD quality, that's about 4GB/movie. If he watches two per night, that's 8GB/day, 240GB/month.

That's not a lot so it sounds like AT&T had some pretty stiff data charges
LoftyDan

join:2002-10-22
Winnipeg, MB

Re: AT&T is getting $0

Read the quick summary of the article, and you'll see this has nothing to do with AT&T. The big Canadian flag should also give you a clue the article is about a Canadian Company, clearly shown as Bell Canada.
rradina

join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

Re: AT&T is getting $0

We've seen several users incur massive iPhone bills from AT&T (from $3,000-$4,800) because they didn't read the fine print for their data plan. However, None of them can hold a candle to one Canadian man who used his mobile phone as a modem a received a whopping bill for $85,000. He signed up for a $10 unlimited mobile browser plan from Bell Mobility, unaware that tethered data transfers would incur additional fees.
You are correct. The post is misleading since it compares the bill to similar big "iPhone" bills from AT&T. Although it doesn't mention the Canadian man used the iPhone (it says mobile phone), I assumed from the opening sentence that we were still talking about AT&T and the iPhone. The last sentence does mention "Bell Mobility" but I failed to connect the dots. My bad.
LoftyDan

join:2002-10-22
Winnipeg, MB

Re: AT&T is getting $0

Such things happen to us all...case in point, I didn't see the iPhone AT&T connection when I was writing my reply, as I was more focus on it being a Bell issue.
NightHawke

join:2002-02-28
Rockport, TX

Drink or Surf?

Both. More than a few occasions I've ran into folks well into their cups, pretty much $hitfaced and can't type worth a damn. It's amusing at times, but when they start getting emo, time to move away from them.

I'll pack the puters, you pack the Skyy or Stoli.

dunworkin
Premium
join:2006-12-18
Bellflower, CA

1 edit

Some people. $85K for surfin'

Some people shouldn't be allowed near a PC without taking a common sense test. Folks sure are quick to play the " It's not my fault, I'm stupid" card.

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