Biggest cell phone blill ever (for me)

[TheRoo]

I just got my cell phone bill, and it was $100 over what it normally is. When my truck got stolen, I was on the phone a lot. I had no idea it was this much, and I am really pissed. At myself (and the son of a bitch who stole my truck). I haven't gone over on my minutes for over a year, so I don't really pay attention to it. I guess I should probably start. I will, of course, pay the charges that I signed up for and service that I did use. It's kind of an expensive lesson though.

[slick]

I had a mistake like that once. I went to Toronto last year to visit friends and was of course, roaming on my cell.
I read something on Cingular's website on roaming in Canada, but I read it wrong. The rates I saw were for those people who have the Canada plan added to there plan, I didn't have that added. So when I calculated the minutes I used, it should have been $50 in phone charges (I was there for 7 nights). However, since I had the wrong rates, it was over double that.
It was a shock, but my fault, sorry to hear about your bill and truck (should also note that I was in an accident in Toronto, so it was a bad trip for money, lol).

[powerboy]

My highest one, was for $273. Over $230 more then what I paid. When I found that out, I called up Cingular. They found out that they had made a mistake, and told me not to worry about paying it for that month or the next month, that they would take care of it. Now that was cool.

[iradney]

My highest cell phone bill ever was when TTO and I first started chatting. We texted and called each other everyday, including a legendary 8 hour phone conversation (yes, you read right).
That month, my bill was R1900, which is about $274. Worth every penny tho :)

[Kara]

Oh come now. It's not your fault. Obviously it's the provider's fault entirely. Do you occasionally pay your bill? Do you breathe air? Do you possess DNA? Then you are entitled to a credit for the entire amount! You must call your provider forthwith and request, nay demand, a credit. Do not take no for an answer! Oh, they may deny it at first, but it's all part of "the game" and once you begin yelling and screaming and insult enough of their family members, they're required to apply a credit.

Sorry, I get these calls a lot. It really sucks when this happens to people. Seriously, it wouldn't hurt to call your provider and see if there's any credit they can give you to soften the blow, even a tiny courtesy credit. They may not be able to (I don't know who you have and what their policies are), but it's possible, especially if you call in and present it just the way you did here. If I ever got a call from a customer and they said what you did, I'd probably die of shock. I've never heard anyone say it's not their fault or that knowing it is their fault, they are accountable for the charges. Most say "Hmm, I bet they'll take the charges off for me," then call in and begin yelling and screaming as soon as they hear that we can't (or in some cases that we can credit maybe $5 - $10 as a courtesy credit and they become "insulted" by this offer). Like I said, I can't speak for anyone, even reps in my own company, but asking is free.

Any international calls? There seems to be a law of probability that every time your phone gets stolen, the thief knows someone on the other side of the planet and begins calling them non-stop. By the way, everyone can protect themselves from this by putting a block on international calling. My company does it by request and there's no cost to do it. I have it blocked on mine since I never make international calls anyway. That way if it does get stolen, it can't be used for making such calls. I don't know if all providers do this or not.

[CSR Kim]

When I was with Cingular, I had let my brother use my phone off and on for about a month. When I got the bill, it was almost $400. At first, I thought my brother just talked/texted a lot. Then I started reading the bill...it said I was charged for night/weekend minutes. This was strange, as when I got the phone (my first cell phone ever) I had specifically requested a plan with free nights/weekends, as I was away at college at the time, and it was cheaper than using long distance.

So I called Cingular. Ended up arguing with them for over 2 hours that I was supposed to have free nights/weekends. They said I originally signed up for long distance service. Finally talked to a supervisor (who condescended and talked down to me the entire conversation) who said that if I had my original contract, and could fax it to them and prove what I had originally signed up for, then they'd take off the charges. Thank goodness I actually had it...went right to it, pulled it out, and lo and behold...free nights and weekends is checked as a part of my plan, and written at the bottom of the contract as well.

That experience led me to leave Cingular as soon as my contract was up. I have t-mobile now and haven't had a problem with their service in the almost 3 years I've been with them. (Sorry for the tangent...this experience irks me even years later).

As for the original post. I second what Kara said...call your provider. It can't hurt to ask.

[draggar]

Just do what everyone else does.

Call the company, complain, bitch, moan, and so on. Threaten to cancel, say they made you use up all your minutes, demand to be credited for it all, blah blah blah.

Then, get in contact with the retention department and see if they can put you on a better plan for less money. :D

[draftermatt]

My highest bill was June of 2001. It was over $400.

[Ms. Pounce]

<---Tracphone girl.... can't go over your minutes if you don't have any. :D

[Spiffy McMoron]

Well, for what it was worth, I just got my first cell phone bill, and it was a cool $120. :eek: It's worth noting that I signed up with the $20 plan. $35 was the initial signup, which I knew about. $25 for random charges and taxes. the rest--a whopping $40 came from downloading two ringtones.

Colour me unimpressed.

[Barefootgirl]

When my dad died last month, I was in China. I spent the entire afternoon on my mobile phone, calling my travel insurance, my boss, my husband, my mother, British Airways, etc, etc and being called by them. My normal mobile bill is about £40 (£80) a month. I just received a bill for £240 :D . Roaming with China Mobile sure is expensive!