Verizon offers to settle shocking $17,500 bill
Carlos Mota, of North Philadelphia, got a shocking $17,500 "data roaming" bill from Verizon Wireless after a trip to his native Dominican Republic. Verizon says it's offered to settle the charges for about $1,000.
Verizon offers to settle shocking $17,500 bill
Jeff Gelles, Inquirer Business Columnist
Did you see the Daily News' great (and disturbing) story last week about a North Philadelphia man, Carlos Mota, who got a shocking "data roaming" bill from Verizon Wireless after a trip to his native Dominican Republic?
Mota had a laptop computer and a wireless modem, and said he used the laptop twice, for about 90 minutes, before he got a warning about "data roaming" and immediately stopped accessing the Internet.
When he returned to Philadelphia, he got a $17,505 bill that ranks among the largest "bill shocks" reported to the Federal Communications Commission, which is campaigning to help consumer and carriers avoid unintended cell-phone charges that can run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Mota's story broke - click here to read Stephanie Farr's Daily News piece - just after Verizon Wireless agreed to pay the government $25 million to settle a 10-month investigation into generally much smaller bill shocks. In addition to that payment, the carrier said it would refund at least $52.8 million to about 15 million customers who have gotten unexpected pay-as-you-go data charges since November 2007 for data that, in most cases, they weren't trying to download.
Mota's case is different in that he knew he was buying data - he just thought his $60.75-per-month fee would cover it all. Until he noticed the "data roaming" warning on his computer, he wasn't aware of the potential for charges that in some countries can run as high as $20 per megabyte, according to Verizon Wireless spokesman Sheldon Jones.
"We're talking about trying to settle his account with a reasonable payment," Jones told me. "At this point, we're waiting to hear back." Jones says Verizon Wireless has said it's willing to take about $1,000, paid out over a six-month period.
Of course, almost any Verizon Wireless customer would classify a $1,000 hit as "bill shock," even if it's a lot less shocking than $17,500.
There's got to be a better way to control this kind of costly surprise. As Mota's niece told the Daily News, "For them, it means nothing, but for him, it means his life. It would ruin him."
Jones said he didn't know how much Verizon Wireless pays its data-roaming partner in the Dominican Republic. But he says, "We pay carriers overseas for that service."
Click here to read about the FCC's efforts to combat bill shock.
$1000? Are they serious? The "Executives" at Verizon driving BMW's and eating lunch in Rittenhouse Square clearly have no idea how much money that is to working folks.— NickEeee
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NICKEeee,don't forget the 60 or 70 million dollar golden parachutes these fools get also at the expense of working people!!!- Comment removed.
- He's getting off easy. He should have to pay the full amount. There's a difference between an informed consumer and those that make assumptions such as this. Before he signed the contract, he should have known what the conditions were. If he still couldn't figure out, Verizon offers customer service. A simple phone call could have saved him $18000. Is that too much to ask? Settling this for $1000 only perpetuates the problem and encourages others like Mr. Mota to continue in ignorance. Nothing in life is free, and the stupid people who expect handouts are tearing this country to pieces.— maacj
- Thanks for passing that cost along to the rest of us, Carlos. Let us know if you'd like us to handle any of your other household bills.— Echo
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- The guy is on disability and doesn't work and has money for expensive toys like laptops with cell phones built into them (wish I could afford one), travels internationally, and owns a house. Hey immigration! Are you looking into this guy?— UncleJoe
- I didn't know that if I turn my heat up I will burn more gas so I got a higher bill than expected. Please bail me out Daily News!!— Freddy
- You people defending Verizon are a bunch of morons. So let me understand something, so if someone is on disability they are not allowed to have a USB or visit relatives in another country? Verizon pays next to nothing for the transfer of this data and charges outrageous amounts on roaming and also on non-roaming data transfers. I've gotten killed more than a few times by this greedy, underhanded company for going over data limits and so called roaming. There should be more regulation on price gouging in this and other industries including cable tv and gas pricing. You guys keep defending deregulation and corporate giants and talk to me in few years when you can't afford these basic everyday services. Blind, Rightwing, fools.— XPHAT
- Los, it cost you $1,000 to go to the Dominican, I don't think your hurting that bad. Pay the G, lesson learned.— Lcrest
- Who cares if he's on disability or has a fancy laptop? I don't care what he does or where he goes. Where is his sense of personal responsibility? It't not up to Verizon to babysit him and make sure he uses his internet connection within the confines of the contract. Be a man and own up to your mistakes.— maacj
- It's called reading your contract. Just don't sign you name to something without reading it. I have a mobile data plan and it clearly states where I can use it, all I had to do was read. He should be thankful they are willing to settle for only $1,000 and let him pay it over 6 months.— AgentBauer
- Another bailout....— scootch
- I would not be surprised if Verizon spent big bucks on Republicans because Republicans love when the little guy gets socked by big business, and really loves it when the victim is a minority.— eldiablodelsol2009
Reach Jeff at jgelles@phillynews.com.
