British teen gets socked with $6000 cell bill after Big Apple trip

Casey Snook, a 14 year old from Britain, was having a great time during her family's 5 day jaunt to the Big Apple. Armed with her Apple iPhone, Snook took a number of pictures to post to her Facebook page. Times Square, Grand Central Station, the Empire State Building, landmark after landmark was snapped by the camera on Snook's Apple iPhone. Bu what Snook and her Mom didn't know was that a large bill was being run up, awaiting the Snook's return to jolly old England.

When the Snooks returned, they were met with a $6000 phone bill from Orange. Apparently, Casey didn't block data-roaming on her iPhone which caused her to run up the huge bill when she posted to Facebook. For its part, Orange claims that it sent out a warning text to Casey when the bill reached $500, asking if she wanted to continue. The carrier claims that she clicked on "Yes".

Casey's dad is responsible for the bill and Orange has allowed them to set up a payment plan to make good on the balance. But Casey's mother is still upset, wondering why Orange didn't contact the family sooner, especially since the bill is usually just $75. "I can’t believe that a company would let a bill which is usually [$75] get up to that level," she said.

Let this be a lesson to those traveling overseas this time of the year. You can usually go into the settings of your phone to disable data roaming. If you are planning on traveling outside your country, check with your carrier to find out its roaming policies.


source: NYPost