The one and maybe only downside of going on trips abroad is the upcoming phone bill, which is usually slapped upon us if we slip into the turbulent hole of roaming charges. Taking costs to a new extreme, a man was left in shock after seven day travels around Europe left him facing a jaw-dropping €91,000 (£77k) bill when he returned to home soil in Ireland, the Irish Mirror reports.
Taking to TikTok, he said: "I exceeded my roaming data limit while travelling in Europe for seven days, and when I came back to Ireland I got this message." The message he received from phone provider Three revealed he had under two weeks to prep the costs.
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The message read: "From Three. Your bill for account number xxxxxx now available at 3.ie/Mt3.
"Your bill due date is 29/08/2022 and your total amount due is EUR91,070.83.”
Whilst the price originally comes across as extortionate and possibly even unbelievable, Three customer Otavio admitted that he wishes the ordeal was "a joke".
Taking matters into his own hands, the TikToker contacted the phone provided over live chat to discuss the gobsmacking bill, which is the equivalent of approximately £77,000.
"I decided to talk to someone from support because this was definitely a mistake," he said.
Whilst the team seemed keen to offer a helping hand, the only resolution that they could offer was credit.
Customer services agent Sirajuddin said: "I checked with the team and approx 62,800 euros credit has been approved."
Whilst the credit amount seemed incredibly generous, this still left Otavio with a €30,000 bill.
He wrote: "Sorry, is this a joke? Seven days of roaming and I have to pay 30K?
"Anyway, I'm a simple cleaner. Won't have this money even if I had another life to pay it."
The customer services agent replied: "Otavio, our team had review and approved the credit I shared above and that's the maximum credit that can be offered."
Despite the agent assuring that the price was the "maximum amount of credit" that could be offered, the customer refused to pay for the hefty charge.
Finalising the conversation, he wrote "I'm saying that even with this 'tax credit' I won't pay for it.
"It's like I'm paying for 30 news iPhones. That's crazy."
In a follow-up video and after Otavio took a further step by making a formal complaint, Three apologised and significantly reduced the bill.
This meant that their customer was left with an affordable cost of just €91.19, reducing the limit of the original €91,000 cost by 1000%.
Even as a gesture of goodwill and for the inconvenience caused, the company even offered Otavio an iPhone 13 128GB as a free upgrade.
A Three Ireland spokesperson highlighted that data roaming charges vary whether it is in the EU or not.
They also confirmed they are "willing to remove, on a once-off and goodwill basis" the man's roaming charges.
The spokesperson told the Irish Mirror : "If a customer uses data roaming outside of the EU, which was the case on this occasion, they are subject to roaming charges. When roaming, customers will receive an SMS advising them of the applicable rates for voice, SMS and data services in the country they’re visiting.
"A text message was sent to the customer to advise that he was outside of the EU with a link to where he could access prices for his destination country. The customer was also sent a further text to state that he had reached his data roaming limit. In order to continue to use the internet while roaming, the customer was given the option to remove this limit, which the customer opted to do. Three is engaging with the customer on this matter. We are willing to remove, on a once-off and goodwill basis, these roaming charges.
"We would like to remind our customers to be aware of their usage when roaming outside of the EU and to be familiar with local roaming rates on arrival at their destination. We would encourage our customers to contact Three’s customer care team at any time if they have questions related to their data usage. "
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