SMART PHONE USERS...AVOID GETTING SLAMMED BY USAGE CHARGES

Get overage alerts from your carrier

Celina Aarons got the shock of her life when she opened a phone bill for $201,000! No, that's not a typo. Her two deaf-mute brothers share her plan, and they do a lot of text messaging. One brother took a trip to Canada recently, and used his phone as he normally would - even though Celina didn't have an international plan. This caused massive roaming charges to pile up, resulting in the unbelievable bill. See more of this story at TVKim.com.

This is just one horror story. Even though seldom this large, customers frequently receive outrageous cellphone bills because they didn't understand their plan or track their minutes. That's why major cellular carriers have made a deal with the Federal Communication Commission to implement a new industry-standard system of automatic alerts. These alerts will be sent to customers warning them when they are near data, voice or texting limits. It will also alert customers when they are roaming and incurring extra charges. Of course, this new alert program won't arrive until the second half of 2012. So, what can you do in the meantime? Cellular providers already have systems in place for keeping track of usage; it will simply take a little more effort on your part in the interim.  1  2  3  4  Next >