Aussie MP slapped with $10k phone bill
An Australian politician was slapped with a $10,500 phone bill after his 12-year-old son downloaded soccer and AFL games on his iPhone. Russell Wortley, a member of South Australia's Upper House, doesn't see his mobile bill, usually $200 a month - the tab is picked up by tax payers. He was told the news on Friday by …
This topic is closed for new posts.
Why
the hell should this man be able to "negotiate" with Telstra? - the data was downloaded, the charges were in accordance with his plan, so why should any concessions be made? - none would be forth comeing if I did the same.
The fact that he's an MP is irrelevant to the billing, although it does make the item more newsworthy - he should be made to personally pay the full amount on time, it might encourage the man to think about his spending of the taxpayer's dollar more carefully in future.
Assholes go by the book
Yes, Telstra are entirely within their rights to just say "give us what you owe", but doing this when a story gets to the media, they end up looking like right gits. Which is pretty bad for PR.
This is why you often hear of companies making "good-will gestures". Effectively paying off the complaining punter to appease the media and PR people, without setting any precedent.
i can tell you why
Our dept is on the same contract. 3G data access was meant to be disabled by default, but some clever clogs at telstra decided to flick the switch and enable it for everyone. So all our Iphone users started getting hit with $500+ monthly phone bills, probably from inadvertently roaming outside wifi range. Nice little earner for telstra.
Something doesn't sound right
$10,500, if charged at the suggested $2 per MB, that's about 5GB of data. That's the sort of usage from LOT of browsing on a 3G modem on a laptop, not the data associated with downloading a couple of mobile phone games, or even the sorts of data downloaded within a mobile game.
And the next question....
...why is he allowing his 12yr old son to use, (what must be inorder to screw the taxpayer) a business phone? How many other things has the kid done that haven't be picked up and just paid for by the taxpayer?
See MP's, no matter where, are useless sponges.
My thoughts exactly...
I used to work with Execs who would hand over all their new company supplied phones, laptops etc to their children to use and abuse. They were too dim/greedy to use/buy the gear!
Doesn't sound likely
The iPhone requires any app over 10MB to be downloaded over wi-fi or sync'ed via a computer. You'd have to download more than 500 apps to get a cell data bill of $10,000 -- the kid must have been surfing.
Re: Doesn't sound likely
It sounds like they're talking about an application that can stream video of sports games. The app itself would probably be quite small: it's the downloads required to use the app that would have contributed to the bill.
Sir
$2/Meg
Fuck me backwards, that's a bit steep!
Can someone tell me why the regulators allow a sub two hour 'phone' call to cost more than a car!
Could be worse.
$2/MB isn't that bad. In Canada I have seen $0.05/KB for data if you don't have a plan. That makes $50/MB.
More likely a few games and a whole lot of porn.
So, this guy is implicitly admitting that he failed to adequately supervise his son and is not competent to understand his mobile phone tariff but he is in a job in which he is responsible for participating in decisions that affect millions of people. He is also a JP.
"Ouch."
Don't you mean: "Strewth!"?
Better in context I think.
Take away his iPhone. Now.
And his parliament seat, too. He is clearly incompetent to hand either of them.
Anybody who buys an iPhone without a decent data plan should be put under strict supervision.
OTOH, that answers a lot of question about that planned Aussie "firewall"...
Typical
With data up and down all totaled towards your data usage and plans setup to catch out those that go over their limit, often hidden in the fine details of what otherwise looks like a good plan, its unconscionable.
There also has been debate locally that Telsra is not a bank and thus cannot extend such a line of credit.
In Australia if your hit with something like this you go to the Telecom Communications Ombudsman. Telstra and others know this, but they prey on those that are simply too embarrassed, or don't know, and pay up.
bzzt try again
The TIO is not for this kind of thing. The TIO is to settle disputes between you and a Telecommunications Provider (Phone or Internet).
If you don't read the fine print in a contract and are obliged under that contract to pay for data usage, it's your problem, not the carriers.
Whilst Telstra may be a rip off, they're 100% allowed to demand payment and not write it off or have the TIO tell them to do so.
The TIO is the most toothless tiger i've seen. They don't care about anything but revenue. Opening a case with the TIO immediately passes costs to the providers. Passing costs = increase in telcos costs.
If you can't read the fine print, you shouldn't be using the service. Jumping up and down like a petulant child does not do anyone any favours.
Now he can see what his constituents have to put up with
maybe he can get the rates made fairer for all users.
Just, you know, a radical idea for a politician
This topic is closed for new posts.
