Canadian hit with whopping 85,000-dollar cellphone bill - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

waichingliu81 · 12-13-2007, 06:30 PM

AFP - 1 hour 34 minutes ago

OTTAWA (AFP) - An oil field worker in western Canada was shocked this month to be charged 85,000 dollars for surfing the Internet on his new mobile phone, local media said Thursday.

Calgary resident Piotr Staniaszek, 22, had signed up for Bell Canada's cellular phone service at about 150 dollars per month, with unlimited mobile Web browsing.

He believed the plan allowed him to use the phone to connect with his computer, using it as a modem to download a lot of data, high-definition movies and other bandwidth-hungry applications.

But when his first bill arrived in the mail, Staniaszek realized to his horror that the company was charging him on a per-kilobyte basis for Internet downloads.

"I didn't know what to think. I thought there was probably a mistake," he told public broadcaster CBC. "I told them I wasn't aware that I would be charged for hooking up my phone to the computer."

A spokesman for Bell said the company will adjust Staniaszek's bill to 3,243 dollars, as "a measure of goodwill."

But Staniaszek said he still plans to try and fight it, "because I didn't know about the extra charges. Nobody explained any of this to me."

"The thing is, they've cut my phone off for being like 100 dollars over," he told CBC News. "Here, I'm 85,000 dollars over and nobody bothered to give me a call and tell me what was going on."

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/2007121...7f81b96_1.html

coffield3 · 12-13-2007, 06:36 PM

geez!

catlover79 · 12-13-2007, 06:36 PM

TJL · 12-13-2007, 06:55 PM

Wow. That's a lot of porn.

I mean movies!

Zebra 3 · 12-13-2007, 08:10 PM

One more reason to hate Bell Canada!

Mikado · 12-13-2007, 09:54 PM

I hate big communications companies PERIOD! (They all assume everyone is as rich as they are, and consider $1000s of dollars as "affordable")

OH Nuts! · 12-13-2007, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikado

I hate big communications companies PERIOD! (They all assume everyone is as rich as they are, and consider $1000s of dollars as "affordable")

right on!

catlover79 · 12-13-2007, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikado

I hate big communications companies PERIOD! (They all assume everyone is as rich as they are, and consider $1000s of dollars as "affordable")

They're almost as bad as the oil companies.

TripperFan · 12-14-2007, 11:03 AM

LOL - this is like the guy who owned the company I used to work for. He sponsored some Russian tennis player and gave her one of the companies BlackBerries (my old one actually). When I had it, I might make a couple of calls a day or have a couple of incoming ones. No big deal.

When she had it - he was getting phone bills between $4000 - $7000 a MONTH!!

Apparently during her travels, and while waiting at airports, she was making calls to friends all over the world not thinking about the crazy roaming charges! She ended up having it taken away from her after about 5 months of this nonsense.

PZelda · 12-14-2007, 06:47 PM

Something like that happened to a friend of mine - he got slapped with a $1k bill and his phone got shut off. Heh.

Just be careful if you decide to do that when you're with Verizon...

catlover79 · 12-14-2007, 07:00 PM

I'm glad I don't have Verizon. I've heard tons of horror stories about them.

TripperFan · 12-14-2007, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I'm glad I don't have Verizon. I've heard tons of horror stories about them.

Aren't they also in BIG trouble financially or something? eh - maybe why they tried to "slip by" the larger than usual phone bill. hehe

catlover79 · 12-15-2007, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TripperFan

Aren't they also in BIG trouble financially or something? eh - maybe why they tried to "slip by" the larger than usual phone bill. hehe

I think I heard something about that, too. Doesn't surprise me.

Mikado · 12-15-2007, 01:26 AM

I love how big companies often use the slogan "For just a few dollars a day" , let's see a few is litterally 3...X 365 days, comes out to $1,095 a year ($1,098) on a leap-year.....THEY may think that's not a lot of money but, *I* sure do!

12-13-2007, 06:30 PM	#1
waichingliu81 debbie allen Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 28, 2006 Location: london, england, UK Posts: 4,347	Canadian hit with whopping 85,000-dollar cellphone bill AFP - 1 hour 34 minutes ago OTTAWA (AFP) - An oil field worker in western Canada was shocked this month to be charged 85,000 dollars for surfing the Internet on his new mobile phone, local media said Thursday. Calgary resident Piotr Staniaszek, 22, had signed up for Bell Canada's cellular phone service at about 150 dollars per month, with unlimited mobile Web browsing. He believed the plan allowed him to use the phone to connect with his computer, using it as a modem to download a lot of data, high-definition movies and other bandwidth-hungry applications. But when his first bill arrived in the mail, Staniaszek realized to his horror that the company was charging him on a per-kilobyte basis for Internet downloads. "I didn't know what to think. I thought there was probably a mistake," he told public broadcaster CBC. "I told them I wasn't aware that I would be charged for hooking up my phone to the computer." A spokesman for Bell said the company will adjust Staniaszek's bill to 3,243 dollars, as "a measure of goodwill." But Staniaszek said he still plans to try and fight it, "because I didn't know about the extra charges. Nobody explained any of this to me." "The thing is, they've cut my phone off for being like 100 dollars over," he told CBC News. "Here, I'm 85,000 dollars over and nobody bothered to give me a call and tell me what was going on." http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/2007121...7f81b96_1.html

12-13-2007, 06:36 PM	#2
coffield3 <3 Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 23, 2006 Location: England Posts: 7,379	geez!
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12-13-2007, 06:36 PM	#3
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392
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12-13-2007, 06:55 PM	#4
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,588	Wow. That's a lot of porn. I mean movies!
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12-13-2007, 08:10 PM	#5
Zebra 3 Striped Tomato Forum Veteran Join Date: Jun 26, 2002 Location: Bay City Posts: 5,812	One more reason to hate Bell Canada!
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12-13-2007, 09:54 PM	#6
Mikado Main st bridge Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 06, 2005 Posts: 25,892	I hate big communications companies PERIOD! (They all assume everyone is as rich as they are, and consider $1000s of dollars as "affordable")

12-14-2007, 11:03 AM	#9
TripperFan In God's Arms Now Forum Star Join Date: Sep 14, 2003 Location: Heartbreak Ridge Posts: 12,086	LOL - this is like the guy who owned the company I used to work for. He sponsored some Russian tennis player and gave her one of the companies BlackBerries (my old one actually). When I had it, I might make a couple of calls a day or have a couple of incoming ones. No big deal. When she had it - he was getting phone bills between $4000 - $7000 a MONTH!! Apparently during her travels, and while waiting at airports, she was making calls to friends all over the world not thinking about the crazy roaming charges! She ended up having it taken away from her after about 5 months of this nonsense.
	__________________ If I don't see you in this world, I'll meet you in the next one.....don't be late James Marshall Hendrix Voodoo Chile The Forum Legend formerly known as TripperFan "religion is for people who are afraid of hell--spirituality is for people who have been through hell"---anonymous

12-14-2007, 06:47 PM	#10
PZelda Two Valeries! <3 Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 15, 2002 Location: I'm STILL missing NYC. :( Posts: 78,223	Something like that happened to a friend of mine - he got slapped with a $1k bill and his phone got shut off. Heh. Just be careful if you decide to do that when you're with Verizon...
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12-14-2007, 07:00 PM	#11
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	I'm glad I don't have Verizon. I've heard tons of horror stories about them.

12-15-2007, 01:26 AM	#14
Mikado Main st bridge Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 06, 2005 Posts: 25,892	I love how big companies often use the slogan "For just a few dollars a day" , let's see a few is litterally 3...X 365 days, comes out to $1,095 a year ($1,098) on a leap-year.....THEY may think that's not a lot of money but, I sure do!