$10k phone roaming bill cut to $254

Eden Burns, of Mosgiel, with his phone which he took on holiday and returned with a $10,000...
Eden Burns, of Mosgiel, with his phone which he took on holiday and returned with a $10,000 roaming bill. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.

A mobile phone network is slashing a $10,000 roaming bill of a Mosgiel teenager because of its failure to communicate the cost.

Eden Burns (18) returned from a holiday in Europe earlier this month to a $10,000 mobile phone bill.

He bought an iPhone 6 with a 2degrees pay-monthly contract before leaving Dunedin.

When he arrived in London, he received a text message from 2degrees about the cost of using the internet on his phone in the city being 50c per megabyte.

He used the phone in London and was sent a bill from 2degrees for about $200.

The bill ‘‘shocked'' him but he paid it because he was told of the cost.

He began to use his phone less but after arriving in Paris, he posted photos on social media.

As no text with a new price was sent by 2degrees after he arrived in the French capital, he assumed the cost remained at the London rate.

However, the cost in Paris was 20 times more expensive than London - $10 per megabyte.

After arriving in Berlin, he was emailed a $10,000 bill from 2degrees.

‘‘I thought it was a screw up.''

A phone call to the network confirmed the bill was correct.

Mr Burns said the 2degrees network should give its customers a warning if they were building up a big debt.

‘‘It's unfair.''

When contacted yesterday, a 2degrees spokeswoman said the mobile phone company sent Mr Burns text messages on prices when he was roaming.

However, the text message about prices in France was never delivered.

‘‘Due to this we have decided to waive all international roaming charges incurred while the customer was in France, reducing their bill to $254.''

Mr Burns said 2degrees slashing his bill was ‘‘awesome''.

shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement