Featured Image Credit: WSVN-TV
Topics: News, World News, Canada, Phones, Money
Kit Roberts
A woman was left horrified after being presented with a bill for more than $200,000.
Mobile phone plans might seem great on the surface, but if you're not careful, you can easily get stung with a nasty bill. Using too much data or travelling internationally without checking are both great ways to have a huge bill land in your inbox when it's time to settle charges.
However, one woman took this to an absolute extreme when she didn't realise that she was getting charged for international services as well as the accompanying data.
Selena Aarons shared her plan with her two deaf brothers on the same plan, with an average monthly bill of around $175.
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Unfortunately for Selena, when her brothers went to Canada for two weeks, she found herself charged in excess of $200,000 for the messaging during that time period.
TikToker sherifelsahly explained all in a viral video.
He said: "Selena Aaron's has her two deaf brothers under her T Mobile plan. They mainly use their phones to text each other and their usual monthly bill is $175.
"But when her brothers went on a two week vacation to Canada, she forgot to switch to an international plan. They sent over 2000 text messages and used a bunch of data as a result."
I have questions. Firstly, how on earth is a monthly bill of $175 an average? That's a pretty raw deal considering you can get loads of plans with unlimited messaging.
Secondly, I think I just need to do some maths very quickly.
Selena's bill ended up at $201,005.44. The video claims that she sent around 2,000 messages over the two-week holiday.
That means that she was paying on average around $100.50 per text. Per text! Messaging your mate 'OK' to meet for a pint later? Boom, $100. Asking your partner to grab some milk while they're out? That'll be $100.
There are ways to get around these kinds of international charges, though one of these proportions is fortunately an outlier.
Some cell phone providers offer a maximum charge facility, meaning that your service is cut off once you reach a set limit for additional charges. It sounds harsh, but it does help you avoid getting a nasty surprise.
Another option might be to take out a separate SIM card for when you travel abroad. Some providers have plans which are specifically catered to providing international service, and while many aren't cheap, it's still a good deal better than getting stung by an unexpected bill running into the hundreds or even thousands.
$100 a text though. I mean, T-Mobile did reduce it down to $2,500, but even so. I need to go and lie down...