A cautionary tale for travelling businessmen today after an unsuspecting British couple were left reeling after a four-episode download of hit Warner Bros. sitcom Friends saw them lumbered with a mammoth bill of £11,000 GBP (almost $22,000 USD).
UK couple suffer 11,000 GBP in mobile phone charges after Friends download. Credit: Bradipo/Flickr.
Taking advantage of the “unlimited” broadband package on her husband’s mobile phone, the wife in the unnamed couple established a download order for the four episodes of Friends, which under normal circumstances would have accrued no cost whatsoever as long as received while in the UK.
However, the download was still ongoing when the unknowing husband -- a London executive -- left the country on a short business trip to Germany, where it continued to download outside of the package’s UK boundaries.
Following his return to the UK, the businessman and his wife were then stunned after being hit with a huge download bill from network operator Vodafone, reports the Times Online.
With independent communications regulator Ofcom announcing that it will be “looking to take action” in the matter as the European commission looks to slash associated fees, Vodafone has insisted that it informs customers of all charges.
The mobile phone operator also said that it calls to alert users who have exceeded their download quota in Britain, although it conceded that it takes somewhat longer to alert overseas customers despite higher charges in relation to excessive download use.
This latest instance of ballooning mobile phone charges follows the story of Ray Elmitt, a 63-year-old company director from Surrey who was issued a Vodafone bill of £1,150 GBP (approx. $2,285 USD) for using mobile broadband for an hour while in Spain.
The European Union commissioner for information, society and media has outlined that mobile phone operators have until July 01 to reduce the overseas download fees connected to data downloads and text-based messaging.
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