cell phones

[sonoma1993]

Americans love their cell phones -- most of us can't live without them. Yet the Better Business Bureau reports that cell phone providers are the No. 1 cause of complaints among consumers.

This is mostly due to incorrect billing, confusing fees, unexpected charges, and deceptive contracts. These can certainly add up, but I was shocked to learn that the most significant -- even devastating -- monetary damage can occur when your cell phone is lost or stolen.

A $26,000 Cell Phone Bill

San Francisco resident Wendy Nguyen was even more shocked to receive a bill for $26,000 after her cell phone was unknowingly stolen before she left for an overseas vacation. Cingular held her responsible for charges incurred after the phone was taken, up until the time Wendy discovered the theft and called the carrier.

She was able to prove via airline and passport documents that she was out of the country and couldn't possibly have made the unauthorized calls from San Francisco during that time, but Cingular still held Wendy accountable for all charges.

Not only that, they advised Wendy that if she couldn't pay the bill she should consider filing for bankruptcy!

cellphones

that crazy how for Wendy Nguyen, cingular stiff her with that $26,000 fraudulent charges , even though she provided proof she wasn't in the country.


can a moderator move this threat over to p&n. I thought I posted this in P&N but I guess I was still in the off topic section.

thanks

 

[Goosemaster]

yeah right...I would take them to court and sue their asses off.

 

[jpeyton]

I hope Wendy doesn't pay a dime.

Cingular wants to collect big bucks by claiming ignorance. If the phone hasn't been reported stolen, they look the other way; nevermind the overtly obvious fact that an average customer like Ms. Nguyen (who probably doesn't spend more than the average person on her cellular bill) wouldn't rack up a $26,000 bill. Even a simple courtesy call (to check with the customer that the usage is legitimate) would have sufficed.

Banks and financial institutions employ simple safeguards (like calling their customers) when they notice any activity that breaks from the norm.

 

[cubby1223]

I am just curious how anyone racks up $26,000! What are the thieves doing with the cell phones? And for what benefit?

 

[mugs]

Why would this belong in P&N?

I feel bad for her and all, but if someone made $26,000 worth of calls while she was gone then a lot of those calls had to be overseas, and I imagine Cingular would owe overseas phone companies some money for the use of their network - who should pay for that?

Edit: And even though she can prove she didn't make the calls, how does Cingular know she didn't let someone else use the phone?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: cubby1223
I am just curious how anyone racks up $26,000! What are the thieves doing with the cell phones? And for what benefit?

They extract money from the user. You know how you can call certain numbers and pay $1 for a new ring tone (to be charged to your cell phone bill)? Same principle. They setup numbers to call from stolen phones that will charge the user fees.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: cubby1223
I am just curious how anyone racks up $26,000! What are the thieves doing with the cell phones? And for what benefit?

They extract money from the user. You know how you can call certain numbers and pay $1 for a new ring tone (to be charged to your cell phone bill)? Same principle. They setup numbers to call from stolen phones that will charge the user fees.

And if that's what happened, Cingular would only get a miniscule portion of the $26,000. So if Cingular could get out of paying the people that were called with the phone, I'm sure they would.

 

[jagec]

It's funny that the credit card companies take care of their clients, even if it means giving up on a lot of potential money, and THEY get a reputation for being predatory.

 

[csiro]

Cingular is stupid to allow a customer to rack up $26000 in charges. This amount must have been way off her normal monthly charges and should have triggered warning bells all over the place. Don't they have software to monitor these kind of things like the do with credit cards?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: mugs
And if that's what happened, Cingular would only get a miniscule portion of the $26,000. So if Cingular could get out of paying the people that were called with the phone, I'm sure they would.

Everything is game in the US, but outside our borders, things can be fast and loose. Shell companies can be setup and taken down in days, money can be transferred from bank to bank, laundered, individuals are harder to identify/find, etc.

If Ms. Nguyen doesn't pay, Cingular will eat most of the $26,000 bill, which is why they are so fervently pursuing it. Racking up $26,000 in transmission charges would require calling Pluto for a year straight

 

[Cuda1447]

26k is ridiculous. And Im amazingly surprised the line wasn't shut off after a couple hundred, as thats what most cell phone companies do. However, holding the customer responsible for say $200 if they do not report the phone stolen is not ridiculous. Calls are made from the phone, it is the consumers responsibility to make sure they are the only ones calling from that phone. What if someone steals it and takes it overseas. The cell phone company still has to pay all those international rates, thus it should be charged back to the customer for their mistake. After a few hundred though, wow.... just shut the phone off thats crazy.

 

[kranky]

If the cell carriers were interested in protecting their customers from bills like that, they would offer you the option to deactivate your phone for the rest of the billing cycle after your bill reached an amount you choose.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: kranky
If the cell carriers were interested in protecting their customers from bills like that, they would offer you the option to deactivate your phone for the rest of the billing cycle after your bill reached an amount you choose.

Pretty sure you can block calls to certain area codes, like the ones in the Carribean that are used in scams - but you have to be proactive about it.