Man shocked by $143,000 phone bill from overseas trip
(Gray News) - When it comes to your phone plan, it helps to read the fine print. A Florida man learned that the hard way after he incurred a fortune in roaming charges during a trip to Europe.
Rene Remund told WFTS he was charged $143,269 for using 9.5 gigabytes of roaming data during a three-week trip to Switzerland.
He said he’s been a T-Mobile customer for more than 30 years and said he had been assured beforehand at a T-Mobile store that he would be “covered” while overseas.
At first, Remund said his eyes deceived him, as he thought the bill was for $143.
He said he got in touch with a representative, who assured him the bill was correct. At that point, he turned to legal help.
T-Mobile ended up crediting him for the account.
The Federal Communications Commission encourages people to know the details of their cellular plan coverage before they go on international trips, including whether your mobile phone will work there, what the roaming rates are and how to track your usage.
T-Mobile similarly encouraged its customers to check the details of their plans before setting out, as some older plans don’t include international roaming.
“If you’re not on a Go5G, Magenta, ONE Plan, Essentials, or a Simple Choice plan and you’ll be traveling outside the U.S., you can add World Class International Roaming to each line,” T-Mobile said on its webpage devoted to explaining its international roaming services. Customers can do this by managing their plan.
Other options include blocking international data and having a prepaid plan while overseas.
Copyright 2024 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.