Tourist hit with insane $143,000 phone bill for three-week vacation after making this crucial mistake
He was told he was 'covered'
A tourist was hit with an insane phone bill during his three-week vacation after making a crucial mistake.
Vacations are meant to be our chance to unwind and return home feeling rejuvenated, but modern technology doesn't always make it that easy.
We've already seen how costly social media can be, as in the case of the father who nearly went bankrupt after his daughter racked up a $55,000 phone bill while watching TikTok during a family trip abroad.
Now, another traveller has been blindsided by an astronomical phone bill after what should have been a relaxing European getaway.
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Rene Remund and his wife Lydia both live in Dunedin, Florida and were left stunned when they received an eye-watering $143,000 phone bill after their three-week vacation.
The 71-year-old, who was born in Switzerland, decided to take his wife back to his hometown in September for a nostalgic visit. Beforehand, Rene went to a T-Mobile store to update them on their travel plans and was told he was 'covered.'
“They said you’re covered. Whatever that meant. You're covered,” he said.
Like a lot of travellers who want to preserve their travel memories, Rene didn't hesitate to take photos throughout the trip and send them to people back home. However, the seemingly innocent act ended up using 9.5 gigabytes of data over the course of their three-week stay.
When the couple returned home, Rene discovered he'd been hit with roaming charges that resulted in a bill totalling $143,442.74 from T-Mobile.
"I'm looking at it and I say, 'Excuse me, $143,000, are you guys crazy?''' he told local news site Scripps News Tampa.
Rene immediately contacted T-Mobile, hoping to resolve what he assumed must be an error. However, a customer service representative confirmed the charges were legitimate and reportedly told them that it's 'what they owe.'
In response, Rene hired an attorney who sent letters to the T-Mobile's president. When those went unanswered, the attorney contacted Scripps News Tampa, which seemingly led T-Mobile to waive the charges.
Speaking to UNILAD, T-Mobile said: "We were able to work with Mr. Remund to resolve this issue last month. There were many factors at play here, but we always recommend that customers double-check the travel coverage in their wireless plans to understand their international data roaming terms and if their destination is included in is included in our Simple Global list.
"If they use free calling apps, they must switch to airplane mode and use Wi-Fi to avoid their phone hopping onto an international network where they may be charged for roaming. We will notify customers before roaming charges start and if they are excessively roaming on international networks."
Before you next head away, make sure to double-check your data roaming plans to avoid coming home to any nasty surprises.