A supposedly “faulty” iPhone landed a man in severe financial trouble after the device racked up an astonishing $30,000 data bill — and UK network Orange tried to take the money from the bloke’s account.
Chris Bovis realised he had been cut off, so he phoned Orange for an explanation. That was when he discovered the network had tried to bill him $US14,000 for exceeding his data allowance. His bank had rather unsurprisingly refused the transaction, so Orange blocked his number. Orange also told Chris his next bill would be around the $US16,000 level.
The actual source of the problem is a little vague. Chris said the iPhone was even downloading data while switched off, with Apple employees agreeing it was broken in some way and replacing the phone. Orange eventually caved in and agreed to reduce his bill to $450, before completely giving up and writing off the entire amount. [Evening Standard]
Gizmodo UK is gobbling up the news in a different timezone, so check them out if you need another Giz fix. [clear]