How much did you spend on your last vacation abroad? $5K? $10K? $25K? What if your mobile network operator wanted you to pay nearly $150K at the end of a little three-week Euro-trip simply for using your phone internationally as you would stateside in exchange for 40 or 50 bucks?
As surreal as it may sound, that’s exactly
what a Floridian faced after touring Switzerland last September. Instead of eating truffles nonstop for the entire duration of said vacation, all that Rene Remund had done to incur charges of $143,442.74 was send photos and messages to family and friends to keep them informed of his and his wife’s wellbeing and fun activities.
In total, Remund apparently consumed around 9.5 gigabytes of mobile data in Switzerland, which
T-Mobile decided to equate to roughly 3.75 pounds of pure gold for some reason. If this story is starting to sound familiar, that might be because the same “Un-carrier” did
a similar thing to another vacationing customer just last month, hitting them with a slightly lower but still very much obscene $78K bill.
Of course, these things can (and probably do) sometimes happen on any US network, being caused by international data roaming prices. But that doesn’t excuse T-Mobile employees for purportedly assuring this particular customer prior to his Switzerland trip that he was “covered.”
Worse yet, a customer support rep apparently insisted the $143K+ bill was “good” after reviewing it, which Remund obviously did not accept, hiring a lawyer to try to reach the “president of T-Mobile” himself and ultimately contact the press. Surprisingly (or not), T-Mo decided to handle the situation in the only acceptable way we can think of after discussing the matter with a news publication, crediting Remund’s account for the whole $143,442.74.
The moral of the story is that you should be super-careful about the terms, conditions, taxes, fees, and surcharges on your wireless plan whenever traveling abroad, especially if your plan has been retired by your carrier and you receive vague assurances from customer care about your international “coverage.”
To be safe from a potential heart attack caused by a six-figure phone bill, it might be a good idea to get one of those fancy
new Go5G options, which
come with 5 gigabytes of high-speed data for 215+ countries and destinations around the world included in their standard monthly price. If you need more than 5GB, you can purchase, for instance, a 15GB “International Pass” valid for 30 days at only $50, which is just a tad lower than $143,442.74.
Last but not least, it’s important to remember that journalists can be your best friends if you ever find yourself in this type of sticky situation. Our inbox here at PhoneArena is always open, and although we obviously can’t promise we’ll get T-Mobile to waive your charges in a similar scenario, we could definitely attract some public attention on your behalf.
