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Holiday internet usage leads to four-figure bill
Tuesday 20th May 2008, by Daniel King
A 46-year-old solicitor is refusing to pay a bill of £4,900 after downloading episodes of The Apprentice and others while abroad, using her Vodafone 3G card.
The £25 "unlimited download" offer did not apply abroad so her supplier charged £4.25 per megabyte, which at 600MB for The Apprentice cost her £2,550 for that show alone, reports the Telegraph.
In an ironic twist the solicitor chose to use the card over £15 a day Wi-Fi access in the hotel believing she would save money and is now refusing to pay claiming she was not informed of the change to tariffs abroad.
Roaming call charges were reduced in August last year, but with increasing internet capabilities on mobile phones, the pressure on mobile companies to reduce download charges in a similar move is mounting.
European Union commissioner Vivian Reding has given mobile companies until July 1 to reduce rates and stated: "Sending a text message or downloading data in another country should not be substantially more expensive than at home."
