Teenager On Your Cellphone Account? Read This

Here is a cautionary tale about what can happen when there are teenagers on your family cellphone plan. They may not fully understand the limits of mobile communication.

“I received a text yesterday morning stating my T-Mobile service had been suspended,” Rebbecca, of San Marcos, Calif., told ConsumerAffairs.com. “What? Did I forget to pay them this month? So I quickly logged into my online account to see what's going on, and almost choked on my coffee.”

Rebbecca said the current balance due read: $7,334.75.

“Trying to prevent myself from hyperventilating, I called up T-Mobile thinking clearly, this had to be some kind of billing error,” Rebbecca said. “My normal monthly bill is $190 and this appeared to be someone else's bill.”

No mistake

Unfortunately, it was not. After talking with T-Mobile customer service, Rebbecca and her husband learned the charges were for calls placed to the UK on a line the couple established for Rebbecca's 16-year old brother-in-law.

“My husband went to his brother's school and apparently his brother wasn't 'aware' that it wasn't included in our calling plan,” Rebbecca said. “I won't go into the sheer stupidity of that, but I do think the public should know that whether they know it or not, they likely have an international calling plan on their account.”

Rebbecca had placed restrictions on her brother-in-law's account, so that he couldn't add services or download apps, but she never considered international calls.

T-Mobile was sympathetic, but it was a legitimate bill and it has to be paid. To get her service back on, Rebbecca has to come up with a payment of $1800. After that, she can make payments on the balance.

A heads-up would have been nice

Rebbecca is angry, however, that T-Mobile never alerted her during the month of unusually large charges piling up on her account.

“I have never been so disappointed in a company that texts me when I add a $1.99 caller tune to my account but won't advise me when a minor's restricted phone line incurs $7,334.75 in a month,” she said.

Meanwhile, consumers with minors on their cell phone accounts should have a discussion with their children about what calls are and are not allowed. If your cell phone provider allows you to block international calls, that might be something to look into.