My Phone is EVIL - $438 in data charges this month

[ziki88]

So this morning I was woken up to a phone call from my furious father saying I have to pay $438 dollars for my data usage on my phone. I just got the phone last month (VZW Apache) and was aware of the pay-as-you-go data usage, but I figured I will rarely be using it because wherever I go I'll just use wifi. Little did I know that when I went to open my internet browser, my wifi was never turned on and it used over the air to get my data. GREAT


Am I f**ked or what?

[Junner2003]

Well, I wouldn't say that your phone was "evil". The icons for WLAN and GPRS/EDGE in the top bar look entirely different!

[NotATreoFan]

So this morning I was woken up to a phone call from my furious father saying I have to pay $438 dollars for my data usage on my phone. I just got the phone last month (VZW Apache) and was aware of the pay-as-you-go data usage, but I figured I will rarely be using it because wherever I go I'll just use wifi. Little did I know that when I went to open my internet browser, my wifi was never turned on and it used over the air to get my data. GREAT


Am I f**ked or what?

Your best bet here is to have your dad call Verizon, with you on the phone also, and explain your situation (you thought WiFi was on). If they are accommodating like AT&T, they will remove the data charges if you agree to sign up for a data plan on your phone.

Keep the $30-50 data plan on your account for a month or so, and then remove it. Much better then being on the hook for $438.

[NorskeDivision]

You are going to have a hard time addressing that.

Legally, you only have one recourse. It would need to be a malfunction of the phone. That is to say it indicated a connection via WiFi while actually utilizing your data connection. In that sense you are in a better position than the iPhone user who takes their phone overseas racking up huge charges as it checks email. They have no legal recourse, since the contract clearly states the phone will incur significant charges whilst overseas unless otherwise configured.

I do think our contract law is getting out of control by encouraging consumers to sign contracts whose terms they do not understand, where minor clauses can lead to thousand dollar charges. Any large financial liabilities should be clearly stated in large print such that the consumer can understand how to avoid incuring them.

Of course, this isn't legal advice, just my personal opinion. If it was not a malfunction of the phone or misleading information offered to you by customer service then you are beholden to the good will of your carrier. Often they will adjust fees like this, but that's entirely up to them and they have no legal requirement to do so. NotATreoFan offers good advice, that's probably your best bet.

[Stoneyguy]

I agree with NATF as well. Ask to sign up for one year of their data plan if they agree to waive your data usage for that month. Even if it comes out to the ame amount, at least you have 12 months to pay it off and internet access.

I just wonder if it isnt better to talk to a person in the store you bought the phone from instead of talking to a rep on the phone. The store may not have the ability to do as much, but I would imagine they would be more inclined to help.

[ziki88]

So I just got off the phone with them. The best they could do was take off 25% of the data fees. The rep's explanation was that even though WiFi is always on, verizon automatically uses their network for internet, unless there's no verizon signal...then it'll use wifi. LOL

What I did was I mentioned a magical phrase...data plan. After crunching some numbers the representative gave me a deal...I do data plan until my contract is up (feb 19)...SAWEET

Thanks for the suggestions guys

[NotATreoFan]

So I just got off the phone with them. The best they could do was take off 25% of the data fees. The rep's explanation was that even though WiFi is always on, verizon automatically uses their network for internet, unless there's no verizon signal...then it'll use wifi. LOL

What I did was I mentioned a magical phrase...data plan. After crunching some numbers the representative gave me a deal...I do data plan until my contract is up (feb 19)...SAWEET

Thanks for the suggestions guys

What kind of deal did you get?

[ziki88]

The deal was he refunded the $438 charge and instead we did the data plan (~$44) till feb 19

[NotATreoFan]

The deal was he refunded the $438 charge and instead we did the data plan (~$44) till feb 19

Exactly what I was hoping they would do. Grats...

[Monty Burns]

Exactly what I was hoping they would do. Grats...


yeah man, seriously lucky. Glad it worked out for you :)