When an Alberta man arrived home from a trip to Europe, he found that he had gathered more than just good souvenirs while he was gone.
Jason Boutang racked up nearly $8,000 in cell phone charges while using his iPhone for three days while he was traveling in France.
According to Boutang, his Virgin Mobile statement for the month of June came in at a shocking $7,763.70. These charges accrued while he was traveling in Europe from June 1st to June 7th. The car salesman was in France visiting several World War battle sites including Normandy and Vimy Ridge. While traveling he used his iPhone for entertainment as well as for travel guidance.
One of the applications that Boutang used was a translator that he used to help him communicate with the French. He said that he was under the impression that the application was free to use. He also streamed a Calgary radio station for five hours over three days. Sadly, both of these applications require Internet signals which caused his fees to climb to the final total of $7,763.70. Virgin Mobile cut off Boutang’s service after three days. This is likely due to the high amount of charges he had raked in over that time period.
“It’s criminal. I opened my e-bill and fell over,” Boutang said. “I had to get three other people to look at the screen to make sure I read it right. I kind of figured it was from the trip ‘cause my average bill is about $200 a month.”
When he contacted Virgin Mobile about his bill he was told that there was nothing that they could do.
“They said, ‘pay up, every penny. you went outside your neighborhood, you pay the price,’” he said.
According to Boutang, he contacted the company before he left for his trip and he was not informed of the high roaming fees nor was he offered a $200 plan that would have avoided this mess.
Let me get this straight. This guy signs up for cell phone service—does not read the contract and complains when Virgin bills him exactly as his contract says it will. Do I feel sorry for him? Not a bit. Quit whining, get a job and pay your cell phone bill.
Every mobile carrier in Canada is out to cheat you, they have no morals and are scum. They need to be converted to a utility where they get a return on their investment – not a penny more. They have taken our public airways and have crafted an instrument of torture for us – Thanks to our shameful CRTC- finger!!
wow Ron. such a nice human being you are. some people dont know how this stuff works. Should his bill been able to reach $7000 in 3 days? Shouldnt this raise any red flags the moment he reaches over the $200 he could have spent? The companies like virgin/rogers/bell/telus keep the meter running and should have stepped in sooner. Have you ever paid more then $200 for a phone bill? They should be fined for not stepping in sooner.
Ron, you are a fool to comment on this matter the way u did. It is not about contract, it is about customer service and offering the best data and roaming plan to the customer after contacting them about his trip. Also, the fraud department should have flagged his acct since the charges were ridiculously going higher than his usual monthly bill because probably somebody might have stole his phone and causing it. It happened to me with ROGERS and they were kind to call me while I was away, they wipe the charges incurred and offer me a data and roaming plan. Nobody should pay this kind of bill. Virgin failed this customer. Is not about “whinning”as u said is about fairness idiot Ron.
People shouldn’t sign contracts without reading, when you sign something its to certify that you have read and agree with what the document contains. I’m sure this individual had to sign a contract, maybe he should have read it. Why is it that in this day and age, individuals aren’t responsable for their actions. READ WHAT YOU SIGN.
Who reads contracts in full, they’re soo full of lawyer secret code jargon it’s hard to understand. and the reps are likedon’t worry everything we discussed is in there, so you can just go ahead and sign here.
Your absolutely right. You get that big book of small writing. The only way your going to read that entire contract is if your stuck in a room can’t get out and that’s all you got to read.
I don’t understand what he expected. It’s 2010, and if people don’t read their agreements and understand the services they’re using, whose fault is that? This guy streamed radio for 5 hours while data roaming. It’s not the bill that’s “criminal”, it’s the lack of personal responsibility.
Virgin mobile is criminal in their services. If I am two days late paying my monthly bill I have credit agencies calling me, hounding me for $34. In fact I once received an urgent phonecall informing them that I owed them $12 and if I did not pay in the next 24 hours my service would be terminated and cost $25 to reconnect after I paid the fine. When I inquired about a new handset from the company (since mine is a flip phone bought on a 3 year before the advent of the smartphone) I was told that I would have to buy myself out of my contract for several hundred dollars as well as pay for the new handset. The company is deliberately discriminating against its clients based on perceived socio-economic status and views us very clearly as peasants to be controlled, abused and extorted at every opportunity. All the niceties of their ‘customer service hotline’ make me sick when I consider the long list of headaches I have had with this company. People need to stop buying the young & trendy advertising scam and accept that this is a company that provides a substandard service, substandard devices and views its customers as a number, as peasants and as pawns. My contract (and 3 year old handset) expires very soon. Helooo new phone and phone service provider. Goodbye shitty Virgin, I hope your company rots in hell. Oh wait, you’re too ‘good and altruistic’ for that. Well I guess I’ll see you all in purgatory then. This man should pay half the cost of his bill for a few sticks of semtex and send it to Virgin post haste.
To suggest that cell phone fees in Canada are legalized extortion is not even alarming since it is common knowledge. We have accepted our organised shafting with our tails between our legs. Consider this. A standard income in the Caribbean is about $50 per week and yet virtually everyone you see has a cell phone. Curious how the technology there is so different eh? They must be using string to cup technology. Either that or a cell signal is a signal is a signal and we are being royally scammed by these corporations.
Shan, If the employee’s make 50 per week compared to our teleco’s employee’s making 500 per week that would be a major reason for price difference, and my understanding is most of the teleco’s don’t offer discounted phones like ours do.
I’m not defending our expensive teleco’s but comparing them to 3rd world countries teleco’s is unfair.
Moron
There needs to be better regulation of cellphone billing. Either set a maximum monthly use limit or a maximum monthly charge.
Any telephone bill over $250.00 should be subject to automatic customer notification.
javanet, There needs to be USER control over when the Bill gets cut off, I can see a 500 dollar phone bill but would hate to see it get cut off because of it, so I was out of the country for a month and missed my payment, if Bell cut me off every time I did that I would find a new carrier.
We can’t know What Virign was charged by the French Teleco for this id10t using his phone, but I bet you it was not cheap from that teleco, to Virgin than virgin has to cover their costs of processing, and the costs of paying for his service and now discounting probably so they need to make sure after discounting everything is still covered, he’ll probably get away with paying 4000 to a creditor
Criminal fees!
when i received a $2800 roaming bill while travelling my supplier cut off service thinking my phone had been stolen AND they removed the ridiculous charges from my bill.
Cell phone rates and service in Canada are a bit of a joke and the contracts are legalized scams
Actually no Canada cell phone contract has ever been tested in court. They are not legal at all.
everyone who uses a cell phone needs to be careful and understand the charge schedule before signing the contract.Unfortunately there are people who just use their phones and pay the bill without a second thought.Does anybody know what charges are being paid for use of cell phones by Government employees? Ultimately,who pays for that?
I had a situation like this only I was using a Rogers wireless rocket stick. I signed up for a plan that would be 100 dollars a month max, 34/mo then +15.00 per gb up to $100. Used it for a year till the contract ran out. Got my very first bill after the full year contract had ran out and they changed the plan without informing me to be 1gb/mo then .85cent a mb if I went over. This bill came Dec 11, just in time for christmas. Grand total was 973.11, I called up rogers and told them I had my contract and it stated 100 max (which is retarded for internet I know, but what can you do). The helpful customer agent told me tough luck, contract was 1 year and this was the new deal. Hoho, I lost my mind, asked to talk to her supervisor, couldn’t help, asked to talk to their supervisor, didn’t help. I wasn’t paying this, I went and hired a lawyer, went to court and we duked it out. I ended up getting all fee’s waived minus my 100 bucks and they had to pay out 1800 bucks for my lawyer. They should just cut off your services if it hits 400-500 dollars or atleast give you a call saying Hey, just checking to see if this is right!
the guy from mythbusters got hit with something like 10,000$ in roaming fees will visiting montreal, he tweeted his outrage, then got a call from the cell phone company president and the charges were reversed.
what a loser. he streamed a calgary radio station for 5 hours!? Did he miss his hourly Nickelback songs?
make him pay every cent.
Really? You went to the other side of the planet and you thought you were not going to be charged? You have to read the terms and conditions. Even if you travel to the US it costs more to use your phone.
@postmoderncowboy: If you expect to be treated any better at a different company (Bell, Rogers, Telus) for being able to upgrade your phone, you are sadly mistaken. All those contracts have Early Termination fees of at least $20/month left in contract or a minimum $100 fee, whichever is greater and several hundred dollars more if its a smartphone with data.
As for the guy with the $8k bill, he’s a car salesman as far as I’ve heard. He should be familiar with people not reading contracts for things they buy.
Everyone knows cell companies are crooks. This is exactly why I only use payasyougo. The most they can rip me off is my $20 fill up.
I worked for a global company and one of my team did the same thing. He was a service rep and was away on training in Germany. On Rogers, he uploaded a computer file to a system in Canada to fix it over his broadband stick and when he got home, the bill was a whopping $27,000. I came out of my body seeing the bill!! Anyway, Rogers dropped $20,000 of it but we were still forced to pony up the $7gs. Lesson learned the hard way. Most people don’t read the fine print. That’s why it’s so small. But lesson learned. He kept his job.
I’m going to be a bit of an a$$… The irony here is that he’s a car salesman… Which means he should know about fine print, and asking the tough questions.
If this had been years ago when the iPhones first debuted, he might have had a leg to stand on. But you can only ignore history and other warnings for so long before it bites you.
Ignorance is no excuse, especially when the warnings are constantly in the news.
Yea, it’s expensive there. I had a 1550 pound cell phone bill one month. Pay up dummy! I did!!
No cell phone, no problems.
Last time I left the country my iPhone texted me and tells you how much it costs to do various things (calls, texts and data). Obviously there isn’t more the company can do to cure stupidity.
Ha! The ironic thing is I heard this guy talking to the radio station in question and they are the one that has the no Nickleback guarentee. So he was specifically making sure he didn’t hear them every hour.
Regardless if you’re too lazy to read or just don’t understand a contract then you probably shouldn’t be signing them. If its all to much for him or any others to understand then that is why there are pre-paid phones.
I’m with Cell Phoneless.
You’re in FRANCE and streaming CALGARY
radio for 5 hours??
You deserve an $8k bill…consider it a stupidity tax.
Oh, and did you also expect to cross the street
without looking for traffic first too??
1) This guy should have read his contract
2) This is a car salesman. They con people every day with “fine print”. He should have been charged double.
Prepaid phone plan (Pay as you go plan) will not have this problem. It is hard to estimate the cost of roaming even you read and remembered all the fine prints of phone Contract.
any idiot knows t turn your data off when u board a plane. i hope he pays in full.
What planet do you guys live on? Read your contract. Right. Most contracts only summarizes some of the fees and simply have generic clauses allowing other fees and charges to apply. Even if you call the company and ask you can’t prove what the rep. told you, and normally it is not legally binding on the phone company… To make worse even if you manage to get the information you need in writing the phone company will send you a new agreement every few months, which even without proof you received the new agreement you will have been presumed to accept it by not objecting in writing.
After reading the many posts, there is one thing I do see ,That virgin has hired a P.R. firm to spin there message many people believe that Cell phone services are crimminal enterprises or at lest not up front with there double speak contracts; next time pay as you go
Service providers should be required to contact the individual if the bill amount exceeds what amount is considered excessive. In this guy’s case, his normal bill is $200, so at $400 he should have been contacted. This kind of blind billing should be against the law.
This is absolutely ridiculous…you do the crime, you pay the time, or in this case the money. With the majority of people in North America owning cell phones these days, not knowing that there is a little thing called roaming charges is just irresponsible. He should be made to pay the fee….because in reality, streaming live radio from the other side of the world on your phone…how do you think you’re going to get that signal? It would have to access the internet. Good grief. Same with the translator. Although cell phone companies/bills may be crocks, this guy really is pretty stupid for not knowing the very basic parts of his contract which don’t take a lot of reading to get to…you leave your state/province/city, you pay a higher rate. Pretty common knowledge.
I’m sorry, but I have to side with the cell phone company here. First of all, it doesn’t matter who your provider is, when you cross into a different country, you get a text stating that you’re roaming. Also, who on earth thinks that you can travel to a different country, use your phone to connect to their internet, stream music and not be charged some sort of roaming or long distance charges? Also, the money isn’t all profit for Virgin. It takes a lot of power to bounce the signals and connect to foreign towers, and the rates are often set by the country you’re travelling in.
I also find a hard time believing that he called to inform them of his trip and wasn’t given any information at all. As someone who worked as a rep in a call center for years, everyone (even bad reps) warn about roaming fees. It’s habit. “Oh, you’re travelling? want to add a package to save money?” I can’t even remember how many times the customer cut me off before i could even give the details saying they would barely use it, etc etc.
Pay up and consider it a lesson learned.
Phone companies create some amazingly ignorant setups to extort money like this. 7 days for 8000 is theft on the part of Virgin, they should have cut him off at 500 or so, especially since they offer a 200 a month unlimited plan for roaming in Europe. Having said that I check before traveling and often add long distance to my phone, I got burned once by a hotel phone, never again.
Time,to learn to read.
Like everything else these days, WHO ME, I didn’t know.
and what is worse I haven’t learned.
YOU GET NOTHING FOR NOTHING
What a dumb ass.he actually complains about this. I went overseas for 26 days..do you know what my bill was………$0. I cancelled it becuase im responsible enought to phone them AND ask them the questions i know they wont answer or tell me on their own. Grow the &^%$ up buddy. 3 days lol. sounds like a teenage girl.
Yeah, right, everyone is going to read every word of every contract, including the fine print.
And the world is going to slow down to a crawl, goof…
What makes this guy even stupider, is that by default the iPhone disallows data while roaming. Did he think Apple did that just to create a hassle for the user? Seriously!
Pssh. This guy is an idiot. And rather than just own up to the fact that this is entirely his fault, he tries to shift the blame to the company. Furthermore he gets his story published on this online news source in hopes the bad publicity with force Virgin’s hand. I hope Virgin doesn’t budge.
So we all have heard similar stories over the years of this type of thing happening… stories not only on the internet but in the traditional media outlets as well.. and he is suprised?…. in the old days, stupid died off, today they get 15 minutes of fame.
Remember folks, Virgin Mobile is now owned by Bell Canada. Ever wonder why “The Source” doesn’t offer Rogers phones anymore? That’s right, they also bought up all “The Source” stores too.
Boycott.
What did he expect? He visited a foreign country, used huge amounts of data (3-5 hours of streaming radio), and didn’t expect to be billed for roaming? Roaming isnt a new concept! It’s pretty much common sense.
Every phone companies should have some sore of block service until further notice if you happen to reach $1000.00 . Once you been notify and you agree with the amount the block goes off until you reach another $1000.00 . This way this type of error can never happen in the first place
This guy is an idiot, but 8 thousand dollars is a bit steep… Maybe cut him a deal? Everytime I call Rogers about their roaming policy they all say something different, have no clue, and I end up getting charged insane amounts, so now I turn my phone off everytime I leave the country.
I could not believe it when i was like whoa and then did you see that? This is fragerance of impathatical ridiculiousnous. A car salesman with critical knowledge of user based antictdotes contradicting his own philosophical admirations never the less!
Excuse the ignorance but if you do not realize when you leave the confines of your own area that you will not incur additional charges, you have got to be living under a rock. Cel phones and all the associated costs aren’t something new………..wake up. Write a nice letter to Virgin/Bell explaining your situation and they may take some pity on you if you are a good customer. Otherwise you’re hooped. Bottom line is that ignorance is no excuse. You used it, you pay……..sorry.
I am going in the guy’s favor. He called the company to tell them he was going to Europe? They should have looked at his plan and advised him. Who can read or understand convoluted fine-print? And there are so many provisos that the average person cannot decipher most any of them.
Most people commenting here missed the bigger picture. What happened here is that virgin failed at providing a good customer service to this customer. He called before he left and they didn’t offer him the data and voice roaming plan. And their fraud service failed as well because u don’t see account adding up like this and allow it go. What if it was fraud…somebody stole his phone, what would have happened?..obviously virgin will have to wipe it off. Rogers wipe mine and call me when I was travelling to make sure I know whats happening with the charges and if I am actually out of the country. That’s excellent customer care/service and they offer me a plan. So, the issue is not reading contracts is about service because plans change all the time and they are not on the contracts.
I was with Bell and lost my phone. The internet happened to be on when I found it a couple of days later outside. Bell charged me $1500, even though I explained to them what had happened. Vice to say Im not with Bell any longer and they continued to call me wondering why I discontinued my service with them.
Ok, so what person in Canada (a large and sprawling country) does not know that roaming charges apply. Also, what idiot thinks he can use his phone overseas for hours at a time (using a data package) and not be charged heavily for it. You don’t need to read the contract to know that information; it is common sense. I think he should pay every penny of the bill and I think this isn’t news.
If you are smart enough to buy tickets to go overseas you should be smart enough to research your phone. He’s a fool and should pay every cent, the phone companies lay out EVERY SINGLE thing in the contract. Go away? Change plans! This isn’t new, it has alwats been beware of travel, what are you, 10??
Ya I’m glad I can get my roaming charges waved when I dial abroad!!
I have a similar problem as the original story(not that big a bill and not used outside of Canada and my contract is with Rogers). My first instinct is to cancel all my contracts (cheaper than continuing), use only pay-as-you go phones. Lastly, most of us rarely need these cell-phone contracts and it is time to we show customer power by cancelling in droves!
What a great ad for iPhones. Jeez, if you go to Europe and want a cell phone buy a phone that you can exchange the SIM card and buy a pay-as-you-go card. 20 euros can go a long way. Heck this guy could have bought another iPhone there and opened up a plan and it would have still been 10 times less than his bill.
While the man was careless, yes, there is no logical reason for a telephone company to charge such outrageous roaming rates other than to gouge their own customers.
Going to school for an Information Technology degree has taught me several things about telecommunications, data, etc.
Guess what? EVERY call is converted into … data! The same data that is used to surf the web, and that communicates between certain applications and their servers.
Why then do the telecom companies charge more for data than voice (depending on the plan, could be the other way around). Why does calling across the country cost sometimes 20x more than calling locally?
A bit is a bit is a bit, a byte is a byte is a byte. Half the time your data is travelling at the speed of light, there are no more copper wires. How can Skype offer $5/month unlimited North America calling, yet the same plan would probably cost you around $100/month with Rogers/Bell/etc.
THEY DO IT BECAUSE THEY CAN. WE NEED MORE COMPETITION AND A COMPETENT CRTC!
This happened to me while on Business in Central Mexico. I had an Wireless Internet card from Telus, they were informed of our needs, knew we had offices in Mexico and we were told it was to be a few dollars a mega-byte. Unfortunately you roam onto a Mexican network and they charge you for all you are worth. My bill was $8800 and no flags and no stopped coverage during that time.
Telus eventually ate half and we paid $4400 (oh ya Thank Bombardier for not giving me internet at your site). The interesting fact was the minute I landed in Mexico City and tried to pay for a meal on my CIBC Visa they blocked the use, and I had to call their Visa fraud service. If a Bank can prevent bandits from taking all my money…how come Telus couldn’t?
when we are living in a vaccum called “Canada” everyone feels he is getting the best deals. When u have true competition as in some countries where the customer base is larger than the population of “Canada” it will be found what true customer service is. They have high grade software which detects a bill exceeding the average and outlines it. If even that is missed, the company will take the pains to explain and in proper circumstances remove the excess charges. When u call Bell/Rogers/Telus and explain them there is no one ready to listen until u order them to disconnect the service. If u have a account with Rogers, try to buy a phone from Telus or their associates. If u dont land up in a quagmire tell me.
What an idiot… how many stories like this have there been over the last 5 years. If he still doesn’t know that using data overseas without first purchasing a short term international data plan, then it’s his own fault. When I went to Europe I bought a plan for minutes, texts and data, came home paid my $200 and I was done. Idiot.
I don’t usually don’t respond to post like Ron’s, but my I thought paying between $300~$500 (business) a month was bad. My boss has a better plan (day time talk, data) than I do and his is only $130.
I know this is a rant, but I HOPE that Ron realizes hes a freaking idoit and mobile companies in Canada are thieves!!
Oh and Ron, you’re a moron!! Oh, and BELL EFF OFF! (ok I feel better now!)
Oh, lol… I should mention that my boss is in the U.S.
What an idiot… people have no common sense anymore… sad sad world we live in
What a tool. What can we say that has not been said. Ditto, Ditto. Why was he Streaming Radio! Come on! Load up that phone with mp3′s. He deserves all he gets, this will set precidents if Virgin caves in.
This Jason guy is a noob! What did you expect retard, where have you been living the last 10 years?!?!?!?
Why exactly is this news, what did this chump expect and why did he feel it was necessary to stream radio from Calgary in Europe, if he wanted to listen to the radio then he should have stayed home. Media – please stop filling the public’s minds with useless stories about dumb people.
This is the reason I left Virgin Mobile. You call up to ask a question and they never fully answer it. Then you get a huge bill, call back and the service rep will say “I don’t know what the last person told you, but they were wrong. Nothing we can do for you.”
If you call up Virgin and ask about Roaming Fees, they’ll tell you they don’t charge any and will end the conversation there. I called to let Virging know I was travelling from my hometown for a few days to 3 provinces over and wanted to know about roaming charges (would I be charged for an incoming call as long distance or any roaming charges). I repeated a few times that I would be leaving my province for another and wanted others to be able to reach me in case of emergency back home. I was told by the rep that they don’t charge roaming in Canada or the US. They then asked if I had any further questions and wished me a good vacation. I was surprised a few weeks later when my bill came in and I was charged for incoming calls while away so I called Virgin. I again explained my situation and noted that I had called and asked about roaming charges and was told there would be none. The rep ‘politely’ explained to me that they don’t charge roaming fees but they do charge out of service area fees. When I stated that the other rep hadn’t explained that to me (ps I’m still confused about the difference between roaming and out of service area charges) I was basically told to pay my bill and I would know the next time. I’m so happy to be rid of Virgin as my provider!
Are you sure you want to pick on this guy? I sold communications gear to telcos for many years and am intimately familiar with their networks. There is no reason why someone paying $200 a month for voice/data usage at home should have to pay $8000 while travelling to Europe. Doubling his monthly bill to $400 would have allowed both his home carrier and the European carrier to share a massive profit. $8000 is obscene, and given how all the telcos allow it to happen, indicative of price fixing.
How dumb is this guy? Most people know if you take your phone out of country it costs you an insane amount to roam. Its been like this for 15 years.
wow… doesn’t anyone take responsibility for their own actions these days? like every contract in life, theres fine print. extra data/roaming fees should be noted…it’s not the carriers fault you don’t read the fine print.
is it your fault if someone buys a car from you and never checks the oil??…. same stupidity level…
What an idiot, you travel to Europe and expect that you won’t pay roaming? I’m not saying the actual roaming costs are a rip off, but streaming a radio station for 5 hours while in France? This guy should pay up or have his credit ruined for his own stupidity.
The problems are rooted in the extortion costs Canadians pay for the services they are offered compared to the EU, Far East, and other European nations. Canada is not even in the ball park when in comes to money spent for services rendered. We can blame this man for stupidity and ignorance, but there needs to be a whole revamp of how Canada does business in the realm of cellphone and smartphone packages. That is why some of us just use a cell as an emergency or backup phone on pay as you go. I think if there are “morons” to be named, it is the general public that keeps paying by the nose for all these services when we could have so much better, and so much more, for less money. I ask you, “who is calling who stupid”? Those who cave in and pay, or those who are ignorant of the costs, and spend without paying attention to how much or why?
That’s $23,193,040 MILLION DOLLARS if you let your home (5Mbps) DSL/cable run FULL out for 7 days.
He downloaded just over 130Mb of data in 7 days for $8,000 dollars. Do the math in google. (130 megabits) / (5 Mbps) = 26 seconds.
That’s 26 seconds of downloading at home internet speeds for $8,000 dollars.
In MP3 download terms it’s like downloading 32.5 songs for $8,000
It’s Insane, just insane please verify for yourselves and you will be as shocked as I am.
-Ian