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One problem with wireless carrier contracts are the fine print, which often makes it hard for the customer to understand.  When this occurs, the customer is very confused about the contract and often do something they end up regretting.  A man named Alberto called into CNN’s Clark Howard explaining that he purchased Wall-E for his nephew to watch while in Mexico.  Of course, this constitutes as roaming and Alberto was slapped with a $62,000 bill, just for the movie. 

Before he phoned in to CNN, he asked the carrier to reduce the bill, because $62,000 is a bit ridiculous.  Instead of decreasing the bill to something that could be paid off, it was reduced to $17,000, what it cost the carrier in bandwidth.  As you can imagine, Alberto must have been pretty furious because all he tried to do was entertain his nephew, and all of a sudden he’s dug himself a big hole.  Going back to what I said before, contracts say roaming charges will add up to a lot, but in a big contract, it is easily overlooked.  This is a classic example of wireless carriers preying on unsuspecting customers. 

Next time you plan to travel abroad with the intention of accessing Internet via phone or data card, remember you can opt in purchasing an international roaming plan, so you don’t have to pay any insane fees.  Whether or not Alberto will be able to escape his $17,000 bill is not yet known.  But I’m sure he has learned fast from his mistake, and will definitely not travel without planning ahead again.  Check out the conversation between Alberto and Clark Howard below. 

Via [Ars Technica]