Vancouver woman racks up $37K on monthly iPhone bill

[gars]

Too bad - when I was with O2 in the UK - They used to have a deal where for £20 a month, you had UNLIMITED data worldwide. I was in Turkey on my BB, and was just going nuts with my data - and didn't pay an extra cent.

My only gripe with this woman - is that she was notified that she had a large amount of data - YET, she still asked to have her data turned back on.

[jpoon]

she asked for all this trouble really...

[FerrariEnzo]

IF Telus does make a deal with this stupid women, i think EVERYONE on telus should be also made a 1time offer.. otherwise, ITS NOT FAIR!

[iEatClams]

Originally Posted by Jayhall

life isnt fair, Im used to that. You are over thinking this. Im just curious as to what kind of profit is involved. I know pretty much every corparation has rediculous profit margines, its how buisness is done, but in my opinion making a 18,953% profit margin is rediculously unreasonable. (I made that number up btw) Sorry if you dont like my opinion, Id like to explain why I think this way, but Im pretty sure we are on different levels of thinking

I'm not sure, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Telus doesn't make the majority of the profits in this case. I believe the Egyptian Phone company is the one that charges Telus a shiet load of money to allow customers to Roam in Egypt. Sure Telus makes a good profit, but the cost of providing this service for telus is high due to the telecom company(s) in egypt/africa.

[iEatClams]

Originally Posted by The7even

I didn't forget that. Companies need and SHOULD be always making profits.
But they shouldn't be making these profits by fucking you and me up the ass.
Profits should come from an honest way of doing business and this is CRITICAL to the business and the people it services because it reflects the quality of the business and the value of the services it provides.
If a business is giving you shit, diarrhea, cock and ass juice, OF COURSE they will need to fuck you in the ass in order to get by, but if what they're giving you is truly good and worth a god damn thing, they will make that money regardless and will have no problem with profits.

I think part of the problem is our government. They should have more anti-monopoly, duopoly policies and encourage competition. Honestly, theres soo few choices out there that there's not much to choose from. In the old days, if you hated one store/company, you can go to the competitor for better service/pricing etc.

Now, with everything, theres just 2-3 choices so that everything is kinda the same. There are too many conglomerates out there. You have GIANT ASS corporations that own fucking everything. So when you think you are going to a competitor, you're not., you're still shopping from the same fucking guys.

[Nlkko]

Bitch didn't think "Africa is expensive"

[HonestTea]

Originally Posted by EmperorIS

Customer comes in ask if he can pay in rupees ... do i look like fuking Aladdin ?

[goo3]

Originally Posted by taylor192

If she did call and ask what plan to use, then Telus is to blame.

My GF did the same when we traveled to the US recently. Called Rogers and asked what she needed to do this time, cause the previous trip she called and asked yet, was supposed to have been put on a plan, yet then got a $500 bill.

These companies suck. Once your bill reaches $200 they should be notifying you that something is wrong so you can change it.

To address all those who say we should be smarter: my CC company calls me when my monthly bill is more than normal to make sure everything is alright, and they cap me at $12K so I don't go crazy and spend $37K in a month. Why can a CC company figure this out yet major telecom companies cannot?

$37K fraud costs the cc company or their insurance $37K
$37K roaming charge costs Telus $300

[Klobbersaurus]

http://communities.canada.com/vancou...hone-bill.aspx


she won, i guess it pays to be clueless sometimes

[Jayhall]

Originally Posted by azndude69

I'm not sure, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Telus doesn't make the majority of the profits in this case. I believe the Egyptian Phone company is the one that charges Telus a shiet load of money to allow customers to Roam in Egypt. Sure Telus makes a good profit, but the cost of providing this service for telus is high due to the telecom company(s) in egypt/africa.

I dont know if you are right or wrong, I dont really care. Some company somewhere, is causing an astronomical cost to use the phone. Ok, maybe its not telus but its the egyptian service provider. A charge of $25 per kb, doesnt cost them anywhere near that to provide the service. I dont care who is doing the ripping off, all that matters is that someone is doing it in the first place. Telus is waiving the fee's now, what a joke. Bare minimum, this stuck up cunt should have to pay for the ACTUAL COST of the service she used, it would just be nice for telus to take their mark up off of the bill and still charge her what it actually cost. Extremely inflated prices or not, she knowingly used the service, she should pay for that service.

[The7even]

Originally Posted by Jayhall

I dont know if you are right or wrong, I dont really care. Some company somewhere, is causing an astronomical cost to use the phone. Ok, maybe its not telus but its the egyptian service provider. A charge of $25 per kb, doesnt cost them anywhere near that to provide the service. I dont care who is doing the ripping off, all that matters is that someone is doing it in the first place. Telus is waiving the fee's now, what a joke. Bare minimum, this stuck up cunt should have to pay for the ACTUAL COST of the service she used, it would just be nice for telus to take their mark up off of the bill and still charge her what it actually cost. Extremely inflated prices or not, she knowingly used the service, she should pay for that service.

God, I've never agreed with someone more.

Thumbs up to you, sir.

[Mr.HappySilp]

I say she SHOULD pay the full bill. Telus shut off her and warn her about the charges, she demand to turn it back on 100% her fault.

Telus should release the recording of that call and see how the public reacts. You use it, you pay for it.

[Psykopathik]

Even if i shit in a box, and sell it for $100, is it my fault if someone buys it? So it cost me $0.10 for the box.

no one forced her to use her phone. they even warned her. she should pay it all.

fuck, its not like these horror stories aren't all over the news for YEARS.

[corollagtSr5]

why doesn't someone have a petition that alanna pay her 37,000 dollar bill

[Jayhall]

I'd sign that^^

[impulseX]

i would sign that too

[Marco911]

I'm probably one of the most capitalistic people around. That said, I still believe in business integrity in how corporations should treat customers. IMO, Telus is completely out of line.

Unless you are a corporation, no individual whether you are Bill Gates or a high school student signs up for a mobile plan expecting the company is going to give you $37,000 worth of credit. A better procedure in such cases would be to establish a reasonable amount of credit based on the nature of the service provided. Since I estimate that less than 5% of customers run up a tab of $1000 in phone bill each month, lets say the credit limit given to anyone walking off the street and signing up should be $1000. Need more credit? Apply for it, and the corporation can perform a credit check on you.

As soon as that bitch hit the $1000 limit they should have cut her off. If she calls in and wants her plan turned back on, she would be instructed to go online and pay her balance. If she wants to run up a $37K tab, she can do this 37 times. Voila, such a simple procedure would immediately avoid misunderstanding and help companies collect revenue that is FAIRLY earned.

When I lived in the U.S., I was shocked to find so many major corporations that would delight in inventing sleazy ways of extracting additional revenue from their customers through "GOTCHA!" clauses that they bury in the fine print. One of the most egregarious examples are overdraft fees. I was billed over $500 in O/D fees on one of my accounts although I had sufficient funds to cover the balance in another linked account. Bank of America kept approving my transactions at a cost of $25 a pop. Calling customer service is a waste of time, they have a script ready and give you a small reduction hoping you would chalk it up as a lesson learned and pay the rest of the balance. Fortunately, I'm a person of significant resources and ended up suing Bank of America on principle alone. BoA folded and refunded all my money as soon as I took this route.

[murmur]

fucking hell
$37 000?
that's a fucking car.

[The_AK]

Originally Posted by Arash

Well said Marco, I'd say the worst of these "GOTCHA!" schemes can be found in the lending and mortgage businesses practiced in the States which I believe the government itself has a hand in.
Now what really amazes me is the lack of sympathy for this women. The overall crude nature of the RS members... any insight into this?

Sympathy?
RS?

[Jayhall]

Originally Posted by Arash

Now what really amazes me is the lack of sympathy for this women. The overall crude nature of the RS members... any insight into this?

if she didnt ask telus to on turn her phone back on and they delivered this bill, I would feel sympathy for her. The fact is they tried to help her by trying to stop this from happening. She didnt listen to them, she decided she wanted the phone on despite the warning they gave her. Shes dumb, she should take responsibility for her stupid choices and pay the bill. Ignorance is not bliss

[Soundy]

Originally Posted by Klobbersaurus

http://communities.canada.com/vancou...hone-bill.aspx


she won, i guess it pays to be clueless sometimes

Not really...

"Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said the company has been calling Fero to try and resolve the situation and the calls haven't been returned."

What's even more idiotic is that Telus WILL unlock phones now - she could have bought a SIM in Egypt and been golden on a local carrier, too.

All ten tips on that page are easily google-able. This bimbo had literally a dozen ways she could have found easily to save herself, including Telus shutting her down BEFORE it got out of hand, and she didn't want to be bothered. She deserves no sympathy.

[LiquidTurbo]

Something tells me she did this on purpose...gotta admit... it's a great way to gain some infamy and get your name out there if you're an attention whore.

[Soundy]

Amazing that she would even WANT this type of publicity, given her sales pitch:

Whether you are looking for coaching or consulting to help launch a new business or grow an existing one; have a special interest in triple bottom line/social venture; would benefit from some support to tap into that sense of direction on your life path; find yourself in the midst of career transition – or a desire to be in transition instead of feeling stuck; are in need of hiring new employees that fit your organization or compassionate and customized approaches to outplacing valued employees you are forced to let go; or you just want an inspiring and engaging speaker on these and related subjects for your event or media outlet, you’ll find that a philosophy and style mixing idealism and pragmatism, equal parts intuition and market knowledge, is what ties it all together.

Okay, yeah... you're exactly the type of idiot I'd want to coach me, consult with me, help start or grow my business, find my "life path", or be otherwise inspired... if I want to be coached and inspired to be a moron, or crave the thought of watching my life and business FAIL.

"Pragmatism". That's rich.

[The7even]

Originally Posted by Marco911

I'm probably one of the most capitalistic people around. That said, I still believe in business integrity in how corporations should treat customers. IMO, Telus is completely out of line.

Unless you are a corporation, no individual whether you are Bill Gates or a high school student signs up for a mobile plan expecting the company is going to give you $37,000 worth of credit. A better procedure in such cases would be to establish a reasonable amount of credit based on the nature of the service provided. Since I estimate that less than 5% of customers run up a tab of $1000 in phone bill each month, lets say the credit limit given to anyone walking off the street and signing up should be $1000. Need more credit? Apply for it, and the corporation can perform a credit check on you.

As soon as that bitch hit the $1000 limit they should have cut her off. If she calls in and wants her plan turned back on, she would be instructed to go online and pay her balance. If she wants to run up a $37K tab, she can do this 37 times. Voila, such a simple procedure would immediately avoid misunderstanding and help companies collect revenue that is FAIRLY earned.

When I lived in the U.S., I was shocked to find so many major corporations that would delight in inventing sleazy ways of extracting additional revenue from their customers through "GOTCHA!" clauses that they bury in the fine print. One of the most egregarious examples are overdraft fees. I was billed over $500 in O/D fees on one of my accounts although I had sufficient funds to cover the balance in another linked account. Bank of America kept approving my transactions at a cost of $25 a pop. Calling customer service is a waste of time, they have a script ready and give you a small reduction hoping you would chalk it up as a lesson learned and pay the rest of the balance. Fortunately, I'm a person of significant resources and ended up suing Bank of America on principle alone. BoA folded and refunded all my money as soon as I took this route.

Very well said.
I'm also happy you sued those faggots.
They're as you said, scripted mother fuckers who will do everything they can to fuck over everyone.

[The_AK]

Originally Posted by LiquidTurbo

Something tells me she did this on purpose...gotta admit... it's a great way to gain some infamy and get your name out there if you're an attention whore.

Maybe,
as mentioned before she came off quite full of herself and arrogant when I spoke with her.