Man gets $27,000 phone bill after watching Bears game on web

[blu-mike]

On November 2, Wayne Burdick (not pictured) was aboard a cruise ship in Miami waiting to depart on a Caribbean cruise. While still docked at the port, he set up his laptop and wireless card and accessed his Slingbox device which allowed him to watch a Chicago Bears game via an Internet connection. When the game was over, Burdick closed his computer, embarked on the cruise and returned home to find a bill from AT&T charging him over $27,000 for the three hours of Internet usage.

Apparently, AT&T had charged Brudick the international rate for the access. At two cents per kilobyte, the total charge was $27,788.93 for the time spent watching the game, which breaks down to about $6,500 per Rex Grossman interception.

Burdick pled his case to AT&T, saying he was still at the port and not in roaming territory. After speaking with nearly a half-dozen people at the company, he managed to get the bill down to $6,000, even though he provided documentation that he was still technically in Miami at the time he used his wireless card.

Eventually, the whole matter was settled after Burdick contacted Team Fixer at the Chicago Sun-Times and they contacted the phone company. AT&T acknowledged its mistake, saying that Burdick's device was picking up a signal it shouldn't have been.

At least Burdick's efforts were worth it. The Bears beat the Lions that afternoon, 27-23



http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shu...urn=nfl,144070

[McKellars]

Oh man, that's that game where we had the lead at the half. I remember that.

[WriteSimply]

Good that they let him off the hook. Technology sometimes...


fuad

[DAROCKNESSMONSTER]

hahaha.
that story is rich.

[fighthefutureofhd]

but the guy who watched the game obviously wasn't.

[PH3AR]

That guy is lucky they knocked his bill down...i probally have a heart attack if i got a $27,000 bill

[Psychonaut]

I think some of you are missing the point. Someone actually watches the Bears!

[Marquoz]

The cruise liner was 100% at fault, they were running their signal when they shouldn't and from what I understood couldn't have been running. Once they are in port, they are supposed to shut down their signal so it doesn't interfere with land based ones. Most of the cruise ships are set up so it automatically turns off. I guess this one didn't have that working or it was broken. Good thing AT&T was cool enough to drop it down.

[John Dorian]

Wow, they can't even give Lions tickets around here!

[STARSCREAM]

. AT&T would have been complete d*cks if they had tried to collect that money.

[SellmeyourDVD]

Just imagine if his wife opened up the bill before he did, he would of gotten it BIG TIME

[quexos]

Originally Posted by blu-mike

Burdick pled his case to AT&T, saying he was still at the port and not in roaming territory. After speaking with nearly a half-dozen people at the company, he managed to get the bill down to $6,000, even though he provided documentation that he was still technically in Miami at the time he used his wireless card.

What a bunch of thieves over at AT&T. The guy was not in the international area, trying to make him pay 6 grands was such a pathetic rip-off endeavor from the company.

Furthermore, 27 grands to watch a match EVEN in roaming territory ? man I've seen rip-off prices but this one takes the cake. You can almost have a MERCEDES for that price.

[Bigdog]

I would of just laughed at them while hurling the at&t net card into the ocean! Really what the hell is at&t going to do, except call you to collect 4 times a night in which case you hang up on them.

[quexos]

Originally Posted by Bigdog

I would of just laughed at them while hurling the at&t net card into the ocean! Really what the hell is at&t going to do, except call you to collect 4 times a night in which case you hang up on them.

Well I'm no specialist in American laws but over here if you don't pay your bills, eventually they can re-possess your stuff, and with such a huge bill maybe they could even take your house. But to me the real issue is how do they dare bargain down to 6 grands something you don't owe in the first place ?

[tommyboy81]

Originally Posted by SellmeyourDVD

Just imagine if his wife opened up the bill before he did, he would of gotten it BIG TIME

She would have been all over him. "You looking at those women again!?"

[John Dorian]

Originally Posted by Bigdog

I would of just laughed at them while hurling the at&t net card into the ocean! Really what the hell is at&t going to do, except call you to collect 4 times a night in which case you hang up on them.

then they'll call a collection agency and garnish the wages.

they'd get their money.

[djluis2k6]

I don't know, I would have loved to of been the manager from AT&T to say "No sir, the price is written in Times New Roman on your bill, that is what you owe!". I actually had a similar situation with a customer when I worked for AT&T. While I understood his problem, he was adding more than what was necessary to his story, which made me wonder whether or not it was completely true.

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by John Dorian

then they'll call a collection agency and garnish the wages.

they'd get their money.

Actually only in certain states they could and if they wanted to they would first have to bring you to court to do so. In some states wages can only be garnished for child support or dead beat dad status and they would have no option to do so.

[pBLU-RAYs3]

This is proof that there is absolutely nothing to do on cruise ships OR this rich man has taken one too many cruises to the point he's extremely bored out of his mind.

Thanks, I'll be taking areal vacation & avoid cruise ships for life.