Vodafone UK customer charges up ridiculous cellphone bill

Here we go again with the ridiculous mobile phone charges. This one comes from the UK. The Mirror reports that Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) customer Ian Simpson apparently started using his mobile phone as a wireless modem, after realizing that his Vodafone handset could be tethered to his computer for faster download speeds. Well, Mr. Simpsons started downloading TV shows and music albums over his mobile phone’s data connection. After something like 20-30 TV shows and four albums, Vodafone pulled the plug on Ian’s mobile data connection.

Now, here’s the kicker. Ian called up Vodafone to question why his £7.50 data plan had been cut off. Vodafone informed Mr. Simpson that he had charged up £27,322 (!) in mostly data-related charges. It seems his data plan wasn’t unlimited, as he had assumed (where have we heard that before?). Vodafone said that they limit this particular data package to 120MB per month, and Mr. Simpson’s data usage legitimately exceeded that limit.

Here’s Vodafone’s take:

“Our advice would be to never use a mobile as a modem. We will try to come to some sympathetic arrangement. And we hope he won’t make the same mistake again.”

Right. We’re sure Vodafone hope he won’t make that mistake again. Not that Mr. Simpson should have known better, or that he’s not playing with a full deck of cards. But, carriers should really reconsider their data-billing practices. Afterall, this isn’t an isolated incident, by any means.

[Via: textually]