4000 minutes in a month on a cell phone bill!!

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: KillyKillall

Originally posted by: Vaerilis
Did she really do it?

I know someone who could accumulate a monthly phone bill of 500-1000$ (until the company cancelled his line), but he was an alcoholic bastard who was hanging on the phone for hours harassing people.
How on earth could a little girl get 4000 minutes? That's like 3 days!

Also, they used to have those boxes that could scan phones so someone else could use the number/account or something to run up minutes on someone elses dime. Are those still out there? Is that possible?

Instead of freaking out like many are saying here, I would sit her down and have a responsibility talk with her and make sure to be a FATHER, not a authoritarian rule setting bastard. You can set rules without being the bad guy.

Cloning is pretty much a non issue with GSM (or any other modern cell service).

People still try to use that as an excuse (I never made those calls!), but if the IMEI of their phone shows on the call record & it was billed to their account (their SIM card) then that phone & SIM made those calls. Whether they were in posession of the phone, etc. is entirely another story, but you're responsible for calls made on that SIM.

To the OP:

Whatever you do, call the provider. Most will be willing to work with you if this is the first time it's happened. They have policies to deal with situations like this (customer misunderstood rate plancustomer was placed on wrong rate plan, etc.). Don't just pay it, call them first.

Viper GTS

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Abort her.

j/k

 

[Ausm]

If there were cellphones when I was a kid and I pulled that sh!t...my old man would have castrated me

 

[LordThing]

It's really not that unheardof for a teenager, let alone a girl to spend a significant time on the phone. Heck, that only averages out on a normal month to around 133 minutes a day or about 2 hours or so. I would talk to her, make her understand that it is money and she will be paying it off. Smashing the phone was a bit much, but you might have to adjust her to using only off peak times when many of the plans are free. Or invest in cricket who only uses local calls and unlimited minutes. You can also do the prepaid thing above to make her aware of her usage.

 

[Lithium381]

how old is she? since nobody's asked yet, pics?


of the phone that was smashed of course i'd make her pay for it, didn't you set down rules before giving her the phone in the first place?

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: KillyKillall

Originally posted by: Vaerilis
Did she really do it?

I know someone who could accumulate a monthly phone bill of 500-1000$ (until the company cancelled his line), but he was an alcoholic bastard who was hanging on the phone for hours harassing people.
How on earth could a little girl get 4000 minutes? That's like 3 days!

Also, they used to have those boxes that could scan phones so someone else could use the number/account or something to run up minutes on someone elses dime. Are those still out there? Is that possible?

Instead of freaking out like many are saying here, I would sit her down and have a responsibility talk with her and make sure to be a FATHER, not a authoritarian rule setting bastard. You can set rules without being the bad guy.

Disagree. Kids think the world revolves around them, especially spoiled ones - and this one is likely very spoiled. Anyone trying to modify their behavior is going to be The Bad Guy. Parents have to be The Bad Guy, not The Friend, and most modern-day ones don't realize this (or care).

 

[nakedfrog]

Hm... I'd probably strap her into a chair and make her listen to Bananaphone for 8-12 hours.

 

[J0hnny]

What's banana phone?

 

[ironcrotch]

Originally posted by: Lithium381
how old is she? since nobody's asked yet, pics?

psssst. nudge nudge, its his daughter. shhhh.

 

[Thegonagle]

Whoa.

Yeah, I'd make her pay for it. If she has a job, she can pay you with her money. Otherwise, chores and yard work for her.

And perish the thought of giving up the land-line. That just became her phone.

If you want her to have a cell phone anyway, get her a pre-paid, and tell her she's paying her own way from that point forward. She'll learn to watch her cell phone usage in a hurry.

 

[Hossenfeffer]

Here's another vote for Viper's suggestion of calling the provider.

I don't fault you for smashing the phone (it's the effect it gives, I suppose), but yeah, you're out the money for the phone. Not sure if you could have stopped yourself, but...

 

[azazyel]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
maybe she's operating a phone sex line

That's what I was thinking, or a telemarking side project.

 

[J0hnny]

What's even worse was that when the phone was thrown against the closet door, when she went to pick it up, the door fell on her. The door had broken hinges. Aiyah!

So many things went wrong there....

 

[bandana163]

How old is she?

 

[brtspears2]

4000 minutes? We talking about huge bill, or just 4000 minutes used mostly on off-peak where minutes are free?

 

[Saulbadguy]

pics?

 

[brtspears2]

4000 minutes? We talking about huge bill, or just 4000 minutes used mostly on off-peak where minutes are free?

In comparison, I'm almost at 10,000 minutes after 10 months.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: KillyKillall

Originally posted by: Vaerilis
Did she really do it?

I know someone who could accumulate a monthly phone bill of 500-1000$ (until the company cancelled his line), but he was an alcoholic bastard who was hanging on the phone for hours harassing people.
How on earth could a little girl get 4000 minutes? That's like 3 days!

Also, they used to have those boxes that could scan phones so someone else could use the number/account or something to run up minutes on someone elses dime. Are those still out there? Is that possible?

Instead of freaking out like many are saying here, I would sit her down and have a responsibility talk with her and make sure to be a FATHER, not a authoritarian rule setting bastard. You can set rules without being the bad guy.

do have any kids? If not, please don't give parental advice.

Sometimes you have to be an authoritarian rule setting bastard. I am not my child's friend, I'm their father.

 

[ITJunkie]

Originally posted by: Hossenfeffer
Go with a pre-paid plan that maybe you chip in a bit for initially but that she has to maintain.

:thumbsup: Exactly... that's what we did with out daughter and her cell phone.

It's worked well and it's teaching her responsibility. We started it for her but she has to buy the cards. We do help her out occasionally but it's mostly on her dime.

 

[J0hnny]

It's mostly on-peak. She got a little bored on her summer vacation I suppose.

 

[Viper GTS]

How much was the bill?

Viper GTS

 

[Gravity]

Make her buy her own minutes.

You might have been justified but you also might have considered training her a bit before dumping the responsibility of a cell phone in her lap, dad!

 

[aphex]

i use roughly 1200-1500 minutes per month right now and i feel like im on the phone all the time, but my lord 4,000 is insane....

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: J0hnny
What's banana phone?

Too lazy for google, are we? I'll humor you this once: Bananaphone

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: J0hnny
... She's now a freshman in college and just got a job at Banana ...

If she's hot, she can come over and work on my banana any time :evil: