James Delahunty
26 Apr 2009 13:01
A caller named Alberto told an incredible story to HLN money expert Clark Howard on CNN which emphasizes once again, the need to read fine print. Recently vacationing in Mexico, Alberto used his data card to download Wall-E for his nephew. When he returned home, he was shocked to receive a bill for $62,000 from his wireless carrier. The carrier lowered the cost to $17,000 when he contested it, saying that is what it cost to deliver the movie to him.
While that cost for downloading a movie is totally ridiculous whatever way you look at it, Alberto did make a huge mistake by not checking and activating roaming options for voice and data plans before he went traveling. Unfortunately, this is quite a common problem. There is another class action case brewing over a $2,000 bill received by an iPhone owner after using the service in Mexico.
The carriers insist that the roaming charges in other countries are extravagant and that they have to pass on the fees to the customers. So, again, remember to check your carrier's website or any information you got when you joined for roaming options before you leave.