Florida Man’s Trip Overseas Ends In Sticker Shock Over 143K Bill After Making One Mistake: ‘Are You Guys Crazy?’
A U.S. tourist has recounted the moment he got slapped with a six-figure bill after a short vacation to Switzerland took a disastrous turn.
News.com.au reports that Rene Remund, a traveler from Florida, and his wife embarked on the trip last September, revisiting a destination he previously frequented.
Remund made sure to inform his mobile phone provider about his travels, and he was assured that he had “coverage.” However, while sharing snapshots of the Swiss countryside with friends and family, Remund was incurring thousands of dollars in daily roaming charges.
Remund looked at his T-Mobile bill when he returned home and said, “Excuse me.”
“$143,000 … are you guys crazy?” Remund recounted to the ABC Action News.
The phone bill claimed that Remund racked up 9.5 GB of data while in Europe. Though 5-10GB is not typically deemed a large data usage amount, being subjected to roaming fees can swiftly lead a user to accumulate thousands of dollars in expenses.
Remund detailed the events following the shocking realization, saying, “I called [T-Mobile] and the girl put me on hold for a while.”
“She said let me check this out and I’ll get back to you,” he added. “She gets back and says, yeah this is a good bill.
“I said, ‘What do you mean it’s a good bill?’ And she says ‘Well, this is what you owe,’” he continued. “I said ‘You’re kidding me … you’re crazy.’”
Remund, after confirming that his bill totaled around $143,000.00, enlisted the services of a lawyer to contest the assertion that he was “covered” for international roaming, aiming to avoid such “exorbitant” charges.
His lawyer issued a letter to the president of T-Mobile.
The letter from T-Mobile, which was finally issued just a few days ago according to the outlet, purportedly expressed apologies for the charges, promising Remund a “credit” to completely nullify the entire phone bill.
In an email sent to a local media outlet, T-Mobile emphasized that customers should always “verify the travel features of their plan, including international data roaming, before embarking on their journeys.”
“If a customer is on an older plan that doesn’t include international roaming for data and calling, they’ll need to make sure they’re using aeroplane mode and wi-fi when using data to be certain the device doesn’t connect to an international network,” it added.
Scripps News Tampa reported Remund said it was an absolute relief to no longer have to worry about a six-figure phone bill.
News.com.au highlighted Melbourne activist and author Sally Rugg was victim to a similar situation when she was hit with a $1,600 fee two minutes after she touched down in London.
The Optus customer was informed that the charge was a standard international roaming fee.
Rugg furiously declared her refusal to pay the charge at the time, which escalated the matter to Consumer Affairs, and revoked Optus’ authorization to withdraw money from her account through direct debit.
Numerous others came forward following Rugg’s account, alleging they had also been billed substantial fees upon returning from overseas, despite not utilizing the Optus network during their travels.
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