Rene Remund had used 9.5 GB of T-Mobile data on roaming in Switzerland. | Representative image
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Rene Remund, of Dunedin, Florida, received a phone bill worth Rs 1.1 crore after coming home from Switzerland.
- The longtime T-Mobile customer hired an attorney but letters written to the company got no response.
- The carrier’s representative suggested using international data roaming or flight mode and WiFi during overseas trips.
When a Florida man returned home from a three-week trip to Switzerland, he didn‘t know his phone operator would charge him for using roaming data – worth $143,000 (Rs 1.1crore).
Rene Remund, a T-Mobile customer of 30 years, said he always notifies the company before leaving the United States but his last visit to their store resulted in a massive misunderstanding.
“They said you’re covered. Whatever that meant. You’re covered,” the unsuspecting Dunedin recalled his conversation with an employee from last September.
Remund and his wife then travelled overseas, spending time with friends and family in the countryside, where he said it never occurred to him a single time how much the exchange of photos and texts could cost him.
He received his T-Mobile bill shortly after returning from Switzerland. Initially, he thought it was $143 but it wasn’t until days later that the actual amount dawned upon him.
He immediately called T-Mobile, only to be told by a representative that it was “a good bill”.
“What do you mean it’s a good bill?,” asked Remund.
“Well, this is what you owe,” they said, to which he responded: “Are you kidding me?”
Remund then hired a lawyer to write letters to T-Mobile but his counsel got no response.
A few days later, in an emailed statement to ABC, the company said:
“We recommend our customers check the travel features of their plan, such as international data roaming, before departing…..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 airplane mode and wi-fi when using data to be certain the device doesn’t connect to an international network.”
T-Mobile also called Remund and offered to waive the six-figure bill.