Using your mobile data in the United States can be pretty expensive. While we may not like to hear it, the U.S. has some of the most expensive data plans in the world.
For example, while the global average price of a gigabyte of data is $2.59, one typically has to pay about $6 for a gigabyte of data in the United States. This is why many Americans find themselves shopping around for a mobile provider that won’t rip them off. Occasionally, all of this shopping around allows one to find a good deal. However, most of the time, we’re pretty limited in terms of our options for mobile carriers.
Plus, even if one feels like they’ve scored a good deal, if they don’t read the details of their plan correctly, they could be on the hook for a massive bill, as recently discovered by TikTok user Alyssa Valdez (@amvldz1).
How Did A Trip To Alaska Result In A Massive Cellphone Bill?
In her video, which currently has over 1.7 million views, Valdez shows a video from Alaska while writing the following in the overlay text: “Went to Alaska and forgot to Turn off data roaming, only got the the WiFi package… this was my AT&T bill.”
She then shows a screenshot of an AT&T bill, which says that the TikToker owes $2,711.95.
Valdez follows this up by presenting a video of herself on the phone, claiming that she spent “hours” attempting to resolve the situation with AT&T with no luck.
“They disconnected my service Cause I refused to pay,” she adds in the text overlaying the video. The video then shows a friend attempting to call Valdez, hearing that the line has been disconnected, then laughing.
“Moral of the story: Always call your phone company before traveling,” she concludes.
What Happened?
Immediately, commenters were confused. How did a trip to Alaska result in international roaming charges? Is Alaska not considered part of the United States in AT&T’s billing?
In the comments, Valdez responded to those with this confusion. In short, the high data charges were because she took a cruise.
This is a common complaint amongst cruise travelers. Essentially, even if you only set foot on American soil, there’s always a chance that your cellphone will get close enough to an international cell tower while at sea to connect to it and, if one’s data roaming is not disabled, attempt to use data.
As international data roaming, especially data roaming not included in one’s original cell phone plan, is extremely expensive—some carriers charge around $2 per MB used—these costs can add up incredibly quickly.
Thankfully, in Valdez’s case, she says she was able to resolve the issue with AT&T. In a comment, she stated, “They credited it!!”
@amvldz1
How To Avoid These High Fees
In the comments section, users offered tips on how to prevent yourself from receiving a similar bill in the future.
“For everyone wondering: yes she was in the USA but she was AT SEA. If you don’t buy the ship internet package you have to be in AIRPLANE MODE,” explained a commenter. “Service is only good ON LAND.”
“Tell them your phone is hitting the Canadian power lines and you are in america the whole time. I say this and they fix my bill to $0,” suggested another.
“Just call them and ask them to add the international roaming package and backdate it and just play the victim,” declared a third. “Eventually a rep is going to refund you that.”
“Hey! You could have done a cruise package with AT&T for the duration of time. They do it for most cruises/ boats. It’s about 100$ for a week,” offered a further TikToker. “I forgot to do the same thing but noticed and was able to get the package before getting off the ship. I’m sorry this happened but just for future reference.”
BroBible reached out to AT&T via email and Valdez via Instagram and TikTok direct message.
The post ‘THE WAY I GASPEDDDDD’: Woman Visits Alaska. Then She Sees Her AT&T Bill appeared first on BroBible.
Content shared from brobible.com.