20,000 Euro Phone Bill

“This must be a mistake,” thought Said Basir when he found a phone bill of about 20,000 euro on his doormat last month. His bill is normally around 100 euro. However, after several reminder letters from his provider KPN/Telfort, it seemed the bill was not an error.

This Amsterdam citizen will have to pay thousands of dollars, which he cannot afford. “I do not even earn that amount in a year,” said a crestfallen Said to AT5. Moreover, he knows “100 percent sure” that he did not consume so much mobile data (10GB).

KPN/Telfort thinks the situation is very unpleasant, but Basir received a warning SMS the moment he had consumed more than 25 euro worth of data. “We cannot do anything.” Moreover, according to the provider, Said has no bundle contract and that is why the final amount is even higher. The provider will, however, try to find a solution this week.

According to the Consumer Market Authority, a bill like that of Basir is very undesirable. "Mobile operators should have some rules here and preferably warn their customers when bills reach a certain amount. They should not come up, all of a sudden, with a bill of 20,000 euro.