Posted on 04/18/2024 2:05:36 PM PDT by Twotone
A Florida man has revealed how he and his wife were stung with a $143,000 bill after a three-week vacation to Europe last year.
Rene Remund, 71, lives with his wife Lynda, 65, in Dunedin, Florida, but is originally from Switzerland.
In September, the couple returned to the town in which he grew up and enjoyed 'magical' moments with family and friends.
Many of those moments were captured in photographs, which were sent back to the U.S. using cellular data.
But it appeared to come at a cost. The couple returned home to shocking cell phone charges from their carrier, T-Mobile, amounting to $143,442.74.
'I'm looking at it and I say, 'Excuse me, $143,000, are you guys crazy?'' he told local news outlet Scripps News Tampa.
Over the course of the three-week trip, he and his wife used around 9.5 gigabytes of data but they were charged roaming fees, which averaged more than $6,000 a day.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
The worst thing that can happen is you use up your time.
Also, NEVER EVER EVER connect your credit card to your cell phone.
When I went to the Philippines, I bought sim-cards for local usage and made use of Facebook to contact anybody at home. It still cost me $300, but I didn’t get charged $143,000.
Roaming charges will kill ya .
Went to Puerto Rico in 2022...got a SIM card for $35.
Whenever we travel overseas we call the carrier ahead of time and subscribe to the appropriate roaming package for the duration of the trip. Not super expensive as I recall. Certainly less than $143K.
If you’re traveling abroad and don’t fully understand the ins and outs of your plan, just keep the cell data turned off and buy a burner when you get there.
Must have been using a Solid Gold Diamond Studded phone ,LOL
Exactly. My wife and I have traveled to Israel, Italy, and elsewhere with our cell phones, and have just used the regional add-ons offered by most cell companies during our trips. I think they were about $100 per phone for up to a month of travel.
Well, somebody didn’t read the fine print.
My brother lives in Germany but spends 3 or 4 months in the U.S. He calls his phone service provider and gets a state side phone number for the duration of his stay. When he gets back home he calls them and returns to his regular (German) number. Has done it for the past four years. No additional costs or fees.
Verizon is pretty straightforward. You get a daily pass for $10 which covers most countries. T-Mobile is a little squirrelly. My wife has them and when we went to Bermuda she called and told her the same thing, that international was covered in her plan. We called twice and confirmed and had no problem. That said she didn’t send any pictures and save for a few texts rarely used her phone.
Sounds like they charged him by the millimeter
So, why can’t anyone live without a cell phone for a few weeks?
Roaming fees aren't in the fine print. They're right out in the open.
Somebody didn't think ahead.
I have Verizon.
I pay a one-time overseas roaming fee in advance and can call or text anyone already in my contacts. No roaming charges, no crazy bills. I think it cost $35 or $50. Spoke to my kids everyday, no problem.
I have never understood why one goes away on vacation and keeps in daily touch with the people one is getting away from.
How did he not review his plan before going overseas? I would check before going to Mexico or Canada!
No surprise from Tmobile....I quit them 10 years age when they had strange billing practices.
They probably could have avoided the astronomical fees by settling with T-Mobile for temporary addition to their monthly bill for travel in Europe. I did that with Verizon on a trip to Iceland - added “International” coverge for Europe” and was not charged roaming charges while there. Yes, my bill for that period was higher but it was not astronomical. And yes T-mobile has such plans - costs extra - and avoids the roaming charges.
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