The Danger

We’ve all done it. You’re not paying attention and you go through the minutes on your phone. Next month, you open your bill and find that your phone call cost you $20.  You’re not alone.  In fact, it could be a lot worse.

We’ve heard stories of people receiving bills exceeding $68,000. It’s startlingly easy to do, especially when traveling abroad. Most companies have curbed their domestic overage charges to a reasonable level, but data fees could run you over $20 per megabyte.  Watch a youtube video, and it’s easy to rack up over $100 in fees in under 3 minutes.

Even more dangerous, most smartphones are set to automatically update software, retrieve email, or even check the weather. Forgetting to adjust these settings when traveling abroad can easily lead to a bill in the thousands of dollars.

In fact, 1 in 6, (about 30,000,000) cell phone users in the US have experienced sudden and unexpected increases in their wireless bill.

The Solution

In October, wireless carriers led by the FCC agreed to do a better job of warning users about roaming and overage charges.

The agreement breaks down fees into 4 categories (voice, data, SMS/Text, and international roaming). By October 17th, wireless carriers will be required to implement warnings for at least 2 of the categories, and will have until April 17, 2013 to implement warnings for the other categories.

The agreement doesn’t specify what counts as a warning, nor does it mandate that the carrier inform the user about the size of the overage fees, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

In the meantime, the best way to avoid overage charges is to always be wary, especially when traveling. If you’re going on vacation, it’s a great excuse to leave the phone back in the hotel room.