I spent 16,000 yuan on data traffic for traveling abroad, and the operator responded!
2024-08-16
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Mr. Wang, a Shanghai resident, recently complained to the media that his 68-year-old father traveled to Nepal for eight days at the end of last year, and his mobile phone bill was as high as 16,000 yuan. In the eight months that he was seeking a solution, he incurred late payment fees, and finally owed nearly 26,000 yuan.
How expensive is Nepal's data traffic? Where does the late payment fee come from? Shanghai Telecom staff said on the 16th that Nepal's data traffic fee is 10.24 yuan/MB. This means that using 1G of data traffic costs tens of thousands of yuan.
Shanghai Telecom responds
On August 16, in response to the online rumor that "traveling abroad and sending WeChat Moments data charges of 16,000 yuan", Shanghai Telecom staff said that users need to activate international roaming to use data when traveling abroad, and different countries have different charging standards. Generally, the fees will be incurred according to local regulations and usage.
What are the data charges for Shanghai Telecom users in Nepal? A text message from Shanghai Telecom shows that the data charges for users in Nepal are 10.24 yuan/MB. This means that the charge for using 1G of data is 10,485.76 yuan.
The above staff member said, "Nepal is a region with relatively high prices, and it is generally not recommended to use data roaming directly there."
Taking the United States as an example, China Telecom’s international roaming traffic rate in the local area is 1 yuan/M, with a daily cap of 25 yuan.
What are the rates of other operators in Nepal? Shanghai Unicom staff said that the rate of Shanghai Unicom in Nepal is 5 yuan/5MB, with a cap of 25 yuan on that day. At the same time, the staff suggested that users also need to confirm the traffic rate before going to a certain country.
Shanghai Mobile staff said that the data rate in Nepal is 3 yuan/3MB, with a daily cap of 30 yuan. "The charging standards for mobile cards in different provinces may also be different. Most countries have a cap. However, many users who travel abroad usually apply for local data packages, most of which have unlimited speeds and are more cost-effective than international roaming."
8 days of arrears of 16,000
Mr. Wang said that last December, his 68-year-old father went to Nepal for an eight-day trip. After landing in Nepal, the old man posted a message on WeChat Moments before starting his journey. After that, he received a text message from the telecommunications company, indicating that the call bill had exceeded 500 yuan. When the old man returned home, he found that the final bill was as high as 16,000 yuan.
Because it was so long ago, there is no way to find out how much data the old man used. The customer service staff calculated based on the unit price of data, but did not provide detailed receipts. "In Nepal, it is 10.24 yuan per Mbps. With 16,000 yuan, the data usage was probably only two or three minutes."
▲Source: Screenshot of media reports
So why didn't the telecom company give users further warnings when they incurred high phone charges? Telecom customer service said there was no upper limit on the charges.
After receiving the high bill, Mr. Wang's father spent 5,000 yuan to hire a lawyer and negotiate with the telecommunications company. The telecommunications company agreed to give the old man a 20% discount, which is about 3,000 yuan cheaper, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
Afterwards, Mr. Wang went to the telecom business hall where his father opened the card again. When the staff asked why the old man did not turn off the roaming of his mobile phone, Mr. Wang said: "You can't expect an elderly man who is nearly 70 years old to do these things by himself. He simply can't do it."
In addition to the sky-high roaming charges, during the eight months of negotiation between the two parties, the 16,000 yuan generated nearly 9,000 yuan in late payment fees, which he could not understand.
▲Source: Screenshot of media reports
In response, the staff of the business hall said that the late payment fee is a compound interest model, but they can assist in canceling the operation. The Shanghai Communications Administration also said that it can only help Mr. Wang solve the problem through coordination.
The plan Shanghai Telecom has offered Mr. Wang is to give him a 30% discount on the fee, but Mr. Wang still cannot accept this: "For 1GB, I hope it will be within 1,000 yuan."
Source: China News Service
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Edited by Li Jie
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