Phone Bills should have a Cap

originally posted by: MisterSpock

originally posted by: RazorV66
a reply to: Akragon

Have you looked at her paper or online bill?
There has to be a line for line accounting of the charges on there to see what it is.

Agree, I'd love to see what a 1500 dollar a month phone bill looks like, itemized, that is only basic talk/text/data service.

I've seen it many times, I've seen phone bills of 8K, and 10K no joke.

originally posted by: JAGStorm

originally posted by: MisterSpock

originally posted by: RazorV66
a reply to: Akragon

Have you looked at her paper or online bill?
There has to be a line for line accounting of the charges on there to see what it is.

Agree, I'd love to see what a 1500 dollar a month phone bill looks like, itemized, that is only basic talk/text/data service.

I've seen it many times, I've seen phone bills of 8K, and 10K no joke.

For a single line plan?

I don't believe it, maybe as a massive accounting error, but not one that would be legitimate(for a single line basic talk/text/data plan).

Certainly don't believe an individual would pay that on a monthly bill.

originally posted by: Akragon
This isn't really about me, though I have a few friends that seem to have this problem

There shouldn't ever be a reason to have an insanely priced phone bill! Ever!!

Myself, I have a grandfathered plan.... I pay $45 a month for everything I'll ever need. And even if I happen to go over my data limit its $10 for an extra gig of data... which never happens

Mostly these days the average bill is at least $80... which is why I will never give up my plan

I have a couple friends with $2-$300 plans, which is nuts... but whatever... these days pretty much everyone needs their phone

now when I say "insane"... this is what I mean

I have one friend that routinely has a bill of over 1k... for a phone...……..

I didn't pay that much for my first car... but this month she got a bill for $1500!!

What gives these companies the right to charge that amount of money for phone service??

And this isn't the first time its happened!!

How is it that a phone company can basically demand someones entire paycheck for an essential service?

Highway Robbery... and they get away with it... they will end up dumping her in collections, and she will be forced to pay that bill

This is disgusting behaviour.... and it should be stopped

Phone service should have a max they can charge regardless of what is used

A simpler solution is not talk on the phone so much. Seriously, I don't understand people who literally have their phone glued to their ear all the time. Most of the time, you ain't talking about nothing anyway.

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: JAGStorm

I disagree, and shes not buying anything... I've watched her sit on hold with her company in tears... and they have no reason to be charging her these prices as I've said in the OP

They have reduced her bill to a quarter of the initial price at least five times, and the same thing happens again a month or two later... Yet theres unlimited packages with other companies at a sliver of that price...

Its this company, its not her... There is no possible way to accumulate a $1500 bill other then someone in the company screwing with her... I've checked her usage... she doesn't come close to 10G

And even IF she did... $1500 for what? These companies offer digital space... nothing more

Its straight up robbery... and repulsive that anyone is ever charged that kind of money for a service

There is ABSOLUTLY a way to run up a bill that much. I've seen it so many times, I've seen business phones at 8 & 10K - a month.

Cell phone companies provide a service, if she doesn't like the cost, don't use it, simple, or she can create her own network. Now i'm not saying they aren't screwing people with high costs, because of course they do, but to think she is the exception is wrong.
Like others said, post the invoice, there is something else going on. She has overages, she is going over her plan over and over, she is streaming, she is going outside of it in some manner.

It also does not matter what other companies costs, she is not with those companies. If I drink coke, I can't complain that pepsi is cheaper. I can either switch or accept that coke costs more.

Not trying to sound harsh, but the nothing's my fault stuff is old.

a reply to: Edumakated

You would think its that simple... but she doesn't talk on the phone much...

Regardless she finally gave in and ditched that company... but she will get stuck with the bill...

There should be preventative measures in place so NO ONE ever gets this kinda bullsh!t happening to them

originally posted by: MisterSpock

originally posted by: JAGStorm

originally posted by: MisterSpock

originally posted by: RazorV66
a reply to: Akragon

Have you looked at her paper or online bill?
There has to be a line for line accounting of the charges on there to see what it is.

Agree, I'd love to see what a 1500 dollar a month phone bill looks like, itemized, that is only basic talk/text/data service.

I've seen it many times, I've seen phone bills of 8K, and 10K no joke.

For a single line plan?

I don't believe it, maybe as a massive accounting error, but not one that would be legitimate(for a single line basic talk/text/data plan).

Certainly don't believe an individual would pay that on a monthly bill.

YES, believe what you want, it is fact. I know I worked with it day and day out for two decades.

www.wsj.com...

Stuck With a $10,000 Phone Bill How Travelers Unwittingly Rack Up Roaming Charges; Tips for Cellular Service Abroad

a reply to: JAGStorm

i didn't say she was an exception at all... I've seen it happen time and again

its happened to me with my former cable company... and frickin Bell

needless to say i don't use either anymore

a reply to: JAGStorm

I'm not talking about rare circumstances, I'm addressing the topic.

No where did the OP state their friend is some globetrotting international big wig making 3K calls a day from every inch of the globe(and maybe low earth orbit) to account for such a thing.

Like I said, an 8K a month(your example, even 1k as the OP mentioned) basic single line talk/text/data plan for someone that "doesn't use their phone much" and who isn't the rare example mentioned about, isn't normal.

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: Edumakated

You would think its that simple... but she doesn't talk on the phone much...

Regardless she finally gave in and ditched that company... but she will get stuck with the bill...

There should be preventative measures in place so NO ONE ever gets this kinda bullsh!t happening to them

I get a warning (AT&T) when I am close to exceeding my plan minutes, messages, and data. YOu can even set customized warning on the phone.

Something isn't adding up in your friends story.

originally posted by: MisterSpock
a reply to: JAGStorm

I'm not talking about rare circumstances, I'm addressing the topic.

No where did the OP state their friend is some globetrotting international big wig making 3K calls a day from every inch of the globe(and maybe low earth orbit) to account for such a thing.

Like I said, an 8K a month(your example, even 1k as the OP mentioned) basic single line talk/text/data plan for someone that "doesn't use their phone much" and who isn't the rare example mentioned about, isn't normal.

It's not rare, it is actually a lot more common than you think. Tons of people use 500-1K a month.
Most don't understand the data breakdown and how that affects cost. The same people go over
every single month. Carriers don't hide the info either, they will tell you the costs straight up, it is also on their websites. Just search overage fees.

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: Edumakated

You would think its that simple... but she doesn't talk on the phone much...

Regardless she finally gave in and ditched that company... but she will get stuck with the bill...

There should be preventative measures in place so NO ONE ever gets this kinda bullsh!t happening to them

I get a warning (AT&T) when I am close to exceeding my plan minutes, messages, and data. YOu can even set customized warning on the phone.

Something isn't adding up in your friends story.

I get that very thing on my phone... and i use a sister company of the one she uses with no issues ever... In fact they've been really good with everything.

I've been over this with her... and i was thinking the same thing... something isn't right here

but she routinely gets these gigantic bills with little talk and way under her data plan... when she calls her company they put her on hold for 45 mins and come back with no answers.... just an "oh were sorry, we'll lower your bill"

she still gets stuck with a $4-500 bill, and a few months later.... it all happens again

Ohh the irony of overage fees, and having different rates for SMS, Text, Phone Calls, and overage fees for them all.

I visited Ontario to go fishing in my youth at a friend's cabin. The coverage was pretty piss poor outside of Kingston (Smith's Falls area) and the only regular coverage was by Rogers with spots of another that I don't remember. Mind you I was "international", I didn't use my phone a single time, and I had it shut off completely the entire time and not with me... because who the heck wants a phone going off when you are fishing. Anyhow, one of my friends did not turn off his phone completely. He didn't use his phone, but he did not turn it off and kept it on him. For those of you who are unaware of why a cellphone is called a cellphone, it is because there are towers the are constantly in communication with your phone in a "cell" between them. Your phone is always pinging these towers, yes, towers not singular. If you just so happen to be in an area between these cells run by different companies, you are constantly being switched back and forth between different networks. This constant switching can mean that different rates or fees apply depending on how these networks work with one another! In the US we do not worry about this to much as it is mandated that there are common carriers for telecommunications, and there are standard rates that apply. In some parts of Canada this does not apply, usually further out into areas with poor coverage. Now back to the story. My friend who was fishing with me kept his phone on him out of habit. We were fishing from a boat on/in the Rideau Lake district going in and out of different cell networks. Even though he was not physically using his phone, he was receiving texts and SMS when ever we entered or exited cell coverage. In the end he had an astronomical cellphone bill for that month, especially so because we were out of his network since we were both Americans in Canada.

Man, we get 4 lines with unlimited calls & texts and 5GB shared data for about $149/month with AT&T & the data rolls over each month for 4 months so we always have about 20GB of data "banked". But we also have a home broadband line and rarely use mobile data which is the entire reason bills are so high.

You have to remember that phone bills used to be $100-500/month for a single line cell phone and that was just for TALKING. They would charge by the minute, just like data is now for smart phones.

There should be no limit on phone bills, that is ridiculous, especially when you are talking about data. Now if there were no alternatives to using wireless data then that would be different, but the thing is there is limited frequency and bandwidth space over the air (wireless), so that is why there is a premium on the service.

Now people need to be careful with 5G b/c there is going to be a push to drop your home broadband connection and only use your mobile device as a "hot spot", which is bad for like 20+ reasons (privacy being #1 in my book, tapping/surveillance is MUCH easier on wireless through the courts). Once people drop their home broadband, the data caps are going to come in and people are going to be paying outrageous prices like the poster is talking about. They will make you change your contract (by making new devices not compatible or something - to force you to upgrade to a new "limited" contract - same thing they have done over and over).

You are paying for convenience. Use that convenience and you pay for it. It's that simple.

We pay fifteen bucks for our tracphone plan and the only thing we run out of is battery life from time to time. It was a sixty nine dollar phone, it isn't that much different than my daughters eight hundred buck phone.

We do do a lot on the internet, I have a computer, the wife has two laptops and two kindles and a smart phone. Our internet is AT%T phoneline with not too fast of a speed, I remember dial up and a modem, this is fast enough for me. Our house phone and internet is over a hundred though, it sucks being out in the woods. Cell phone signal at our house sucks too, I suppose it would be good exercise going outside every time the phone rings to answer it.

a reply to: Edumakated

Oh, I totally agree.
I don't really like talking on the phone, and when I do talk, I use the phone I have with my internet carrier....a semi-land line.
I also have my cell which uses my wifi in the house, so no cell tower charges at home.

I pay $20US plus tax per month for my cell, I think I have unlimited calls and text. Not sure what my data plan is, but I never get charged an overage as I don't use the phone as my main internet.

a reply to: Akragon

What gives them the right? The fact that people like your friend are stupid enough to sign contracts that have those terms in them.

People are so hooked on their phones they will pay it.

I personally blame the phone companies less than the people who sign up to be abused like that. You said it yourself -- there is no reason for it, and you obviously have figured out how to dodge that bullet so it's not like anyone is forced into phone and obnoxious bill or no phone.

We barely pay $100 for 2 phones, and if it was more expensive than that, we drop mine because I've lived without for years.

If people stopped paying, the companies would have to either go out of business or adapt by figuring out how to charge less, but as long as wonderful customers like your friend exist who will pay more than our mortgage for her phone plan, they'll be perfectly happy to let her and all the rest do it.

That's called capitalism.

< snorts >

Reminds me of one of my mother's old employers circa 2000, Courier service for medical deliveries at home, was mandatory to have a company provided cell phone. Your private phone did not suffice, they paid the bill to make SURE you couldn't screw it up somehow.

Anyway, my mother had one hell of a talking to after racking up a $600 bill one month calling just ONE friend she constantly yakked at all day long on the clock. I can totally see how someone would get saddled with a bill double or triple that amount today -- it's called having zero self control.

There's a reason I stick with el cheapo Tracfone service -- I'm paying $15 a month at best and never use up all the minutes, texts and definitely not the data. It's a phone, treat it like one and it's the cheapest monthly expense you'll ever have. Treat it like it's a PC, and stupid is as stupid gets gouged for.

originally posted by: MisterSpock
I don't believe that a SINGLE phone plan with talk, text and data is 300 dollars, let alone "routinely over 1K" a month.

There is much more to that story they probably aren't telling you. I have to wonder if they have appstore purchases being billed to their phone service, or something.

Yeah, I thought Australia was expensive but these days a ph plan with unlimited calls and data ,, plus 'free calls' to about 20 overseas countries and extremely cheap calls to other places including the US is at most $130

I can talk to someone anywhere in the US for "4cents per minute" so talking to the US or various other places costs at most for an hour $2:40 ... BUT it 'costs' me 45c a minute to speak to Holland or Germany (although I think I can make some arrangement to get it reduced a Lot ~80% for 4 'specified countries' or something like that depending on who your provider is

The 'ultimate high speed double reverse ASIC based gigabit, getapet, fibre connections' are maybe $130 a month which includes all sorts of 'free' crap and of course, unlimited data


But $40 a month will get you Unlimited talk and text, about 7gigs of data ( 'extra data ~$10gig) on a "prepaid plan". On "postpaid plans" it can be Much cheaper still

Unless they're "videochatting" on Skype et al with people all over the world ... maybe?

What does the contract say?

Is there a limit and after that you get charged more? How does the last statement looks like?

I don't know but shouldn't there be a list of where the money was spent?

It looks extreme for sure, but they should be able to prove where and how the bill came to be, right?

ETA:

Not on the US right now

Not long ago, got a statement saying "Other Charges: 20".

Right, "other"... So i called them to explain what those were.. and no one knew! Next day the 'other' charges disappeared

a reply to: Akragon

Why would one need to talk so much,if indeed it's important speak in person,just like anything use in moderation,what is so hard to have self control over yourself,don't blame others sounds like an old drunk blaming everyone but himself,hard to find any pity,sounds like a 12 yr old that found a phone