My $837.20 iPhone bill and how to avoid it
As I was preparing for another trip to London in late May, I decided to take along my iPhone this time instead of using a UK SIM card in my old Sony Ericsson phone. I called AT&T the day before my trip and activated the AT&T World Traveler dialing plan for $5.99 for cheaper voice calls and the 20MB Data Global Plan for iPhone for $24.99 so I could receive email and use the web. I made it clear to the AT&T sales rep that I was going to London for the next seven days and intended to only use the service for the minimum one month billing period. The sales rep told me to call when I returned to the United States and cancel the two plans so that I would not be continually charged $30.98 per month. Total phone time: one hour.
Three days into my trip, I called the international customer service number to check on how much of my data plan I had used. Not surprisingly, I was over the 20MB plan at 27MB in just a few days, so I asked to upgrade to the 50MB Data Global Plan for iPhone for $59.99 to avoid massive overage fees for the trip. Before I was off the call, the agent told me that they had ‘prorated’ my service based on the billing cycle and that I was only allocated 7MB for the billing cycle instead of the full 20MB I purchased. What?! I was on the hook for hundreds of dollars in data fees and the best option was to wait until I returned to the United States with the bill for that billing cycle in-hand. Total phone time: two hours.
I received the bill today - $837.20. The vast majority of that cost was for international data usage - surprise, surprise. I called AT&T and walked through the story again - I called the day before my trip, explained I would be traveling for seven days to the UK, and would cancel service upon my return. I have no idea why AT&T would prorate a service when I made it clear what the intended service period would be. In the end, AT&T waived all of my international data fees, but it was clear that this was one of those rare exceptions. Total phone time: one hour.
Four hours total on the phone with AT&T - setting up the service, checking, investigating, and finally arguing my case with AT&T ended up saving me hundreds of dollars.
So, here is my advice to you, international iPhone traveler:
* Disable international data roaming altogether (it’s a preference in the iPhone, Settings > General > Network > Data Roaming). It should be disabled, by default. Avoid the temptation. As a point of reference, a 20MB email attachment over EDGE or GPRS internationally costs $100 once you go past your 20MB or 50MB allotment. I am told that cost is substantially higher over 3G.
* Rely upon Wifi, instead of EDGE or 3G service. You’re going to save money even if you have to buy Wifi access on occasion to download your email. It’s a convenience to get email continuously, sure, but as I said already, avoid the temptation.
* If you absolutely must get the Data Global Plan for iPhone, make sure to get clarity from the sales rep about how proration is going to impact you. I was only given 7MB for my billing cycle even though I purchased 20MB! Call the free international AT&T customer service number (916.843.4685) regularly to get an international data usage amount and prepare to upgrade from 20MB to 50MB if needed. Understand that email attachments, which are out of your control, could easily eat up your allotment.
* AT&T does publish a useful iPhone Travel Tips guide, which I highly recommend before you proceed.
Good luck!
