Teenager Tries To Bankrupt Family By Sending $4,756.25 In Text Messages
Here's an idea, don't use your phone to send 300 texts a day at school. Not only will your parents not get a bill for $4,756.25, you won't go from As and Bs to Fs and you also won't get your phone smashed with a hammer.
From the Denver Post:
"I felt really bad, and I have learned my lesson," Dena said, with her head down.
Since she lost her phone, Dena's grades have gone up, and the texting is down to zero.
As for the phone bill, the family says Verizon has been willing to knock it down to a reasonable level.
The Christoffersens are asking school administrators at Johnson Junior High School to crack down on cellphone use during school.
Dad hammers Wyo. teen's phone after mega-bill [Denver Post]
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Comments:
Probably should have added the $10 SMS plan.
Good for Verizon to be willing to work with them on this. I think this could end up being a good life lesson to the daughter...after the bill is paid.
This sort of thing show up often enough in the news that you'd like parents would be wise enough to just get an unlimited text plan from the start.
no one got cell service in my high school
These stories were mildly amusing two years ago. Now, it takes a special kind of stupid to not either 1) turn of texting capabilities, or 2) get an unlimited plan.
I like the way the dad handled it.
His request to have the school crack down on cell phone use was the right response. There are too many parents who would have tried to place much of the blame on the school system.
@nakedscience: I think the question was less of "is it physically possible?" than "what the hell can you need to send and receive 300 messages a day for/about?".
Kids don't need phones until they're old enough to drive.
@johnva: There isn't any reason to do it. I wonder what her text rate was before - I can't imagine that this wa her first month with a phone.
I'm just glad to see a report of parents being parents - they took action to correct their child, sought to try and work things out with Verizon, and are trying to work with the school to enforce established policies - rather than simply demanding that Verizon reduce their bill and blaming the school. And, based on her grades, we now have some anecdotal data that cell phone use during school hours (well, texting) leads to lower performance.
@noone1569: I assume you're essentially using it as an all-day instant messaging service? Please tell me it's for work.
On a related topic, I could text non-stop 24/7 and still not have a bill that huge- out here all 3 local providers only charge 1/20 what Verizon does. Seriously, why has no one provided an alternative to the extortionate rates that US providers charge?
@nbs2: Yeah, I was wondering that too. It would seem like it would require a huge jump in the number of texts to get that big of a jump in the bill.
What's more obscene is that text messaging charges are essentially pure profit for the wireless companies. They cost them close to zero to transmit.
If you just have to appease that little snowflake brat you have, give them a pre-paid phone. When the balance is up, it's dead. Or, you know tell them if they want a cell so bad to get off their ass and go work for it and pay their own damned bills.
@Murph1908: At my son's high school, phones are not allowed in the classroom, but they still catch kids texting -- usually a teacher wonders why it's taking so long to "get a pencil" out of their backpack (they text so much they can do it blind).
His school's policy is, I think, a good one: if you're caught your parents have to come to school to retrieve your phone.
i send/receive approximately 2000-2500 a month. unlimited txt plans ftw.
@noone1569: Unless that was work related, as in that is how your boss/dispatch sends out work to you, there is absolutely no reason why an adult (or anyone) would need to send/receive that many texts.
@johnva: When I hang out with my 12-year old cousin all she ever does is text her friends. While she "only" sends about 100 texts/day I can understand how it could get as high as the OP. Especially if the school tolerates texting in class. If I were to ever get a cell phone for a teenager I would put on unlimited text-messaging no matter what.
My kid would be rocking a Firefly after this incident. Call me, call an ambulance. That's it.
@valarmorghulis: they worked with me as well. Allowed me to backdate even to the previous month an unlimited plan. And I would be able to downgrade again if I chose to.
It's also why you sign up for "Unlimited Text"
At least when your 13 year old daughter flunks out of school you're not living in your car too!!!
Wasn't there an article talking about how texting costs the providors absolutely nothing?
Why haven't we heard for a call to reform or something if they are charging for something that doesn't cost them anything at all?
@ncpeters: See, 100 texts a day I can MAYBE understand for a really socially active teenager/preteen. But that's still just 1/3 the rate this girl was doing it at, and you still observed that she was doing it constantly.
As for schools, there are schools that tolerate texting in class???? WTF? When I was in high school, they would confiscate your phone for a week if they even saw it, ever.
This girl I used to date once sent 24,000 texts in a month. She normally averages about 15,000.
Why are you guys giving Verizon credit for "working with them" on the bill? Note the following, FTA:
"The girl's parents, Gregg and Jaylene Christoffersen, thought texting had been disabled, so one can imagine their surprise when they got the monthly phone bill and it asked for $4,756.25."
Verizon did this to me and my husband. We had texting blocked on our phones, as in we COULD NOT receive text messages, but when we got new phones, Verizon for some reason ($$$) removed the "no texting" block. So we started receiving texts again and getting charged for them. I had to call and yell at them to replace the block on texting and remove the charges for the texts.
So, Verizon probably screwed up. If a block had been in place, Dena should not have been able to receive text messages (I don't know about sending them). The parents should look into this.
My wife and I have discussed this as we're seeking to adopt an 8-12 year old girl. We've come to the conclusion that a girl that young needs to be able to dial 5 numbers.
911
Home
Mom's Cell
Dad's Cell
Grandma and Grandpa
!!!
At that point it would almost seem like texting is a bigger part of your social life than actual human interaction. I don't get it.
@docrice: Dude, teens.
Also, kids don't need phones until they're old enough to drive? Really? What if they are on public transportation? What if they walk to and from school? What if they have a lot of after-school-activities? Some parents feel more comfortable when their kids hae an easy way to contact them.
The easiest solution is to buy a phone that blocks kids from making insane amounts of texts, and there are phones out there that will only let the phone call out to certain people.
@j-o-h-n: A coworker was recently telling me that if they notice their daughters hand under the dinner table too long that it's likely she's sending a text. He said she can send the things one handed and blindfolded if she wanted to. He also said an appropriate punishment for them is a trip to what he calls "Amishville" ie. no technology for a week.
@Moosehawk: Sorry, I should mention that's send AND receive. Sending 24,000 solely is a little unreasonable.
@johnva: OMG! RLY?!
seriously though, I was at a friend's house and they introduced their middle school daughter to us. From the second we walked in the door we heard her phone go off about 5 times before we met the girl. We got eye contact once during the entire 4 hours we were at their house and the girl couldn't wrest her hand away from her phone long enough to even shake our hands. It was non stop.
It was rude and quite frankly a little disturbing. I was on IM quite a bit when I was in college and after, but nothing to that extreme. I consider my self a gadget guy and computer nerd but my kids are definitely going to have a lot of restrictions on that stuff. especially the awkward conversation we will have about sexting before I let them use a phone that has texting enabled.
@johnva: Those totals always include your imcoming ones as well; you get charged to recieve them as well. So she really sent only about 150 text messages. You guys must be much older and not have teenage kids. My sister uses about 15,000 texts per month which means shes using closer to 500 a day (again 500 is the total of sent + recieved).
@Hil-fish: That's possible. But don't you think they should have noticed that their kid was spending 90% of her time typing stuff into the phone, and wondered about that?
@pb5000: I should clarify, he doesn't punish his daughter for a week in amishville for sending texts at dinner. I just find it amusing that a week without a cell phone for a 17 year old girl is a huge punishment, for me a week disconnected from all cell towers was a great vacation last summer.
@valarmorghulis: they should probably have her work it off anyway...put all that money in a "cell phone fund" for the first month off her parent's plan.
@johnva: Nope, just actively engaged with various females who are very into texting . . . but basically, yes, instant messaging type deal . . .
@Moosehawk: You realize that 15k per month equates to roughly 500 a day or 31.25 an hour (assuming she's texting 16hrs out of every day and sleeping the remaining 8hrs)?
The obvious question here is....how on earth did YOU put up with her phone going off once every 2 mintues for every waking minute you were with her??
@jamar0303: you mean the $10 for unlimited texting...I think if you have a certain number of minutes it comes with unlimited texting.
I think they probably let them retroactively upgrade to the $10 plan. Texting is virtually 0 overhead and I'm guessing they didn't lock it down on their account and the girl just figured it out one day
the Administration will crack down on phones, but they usually don't uphold those crackdowns. at the school my BF works, the Principle usually hides in his office because he's afraid of the students and will be like "well ok, if you need your cell phone you can have it with you for emergancies" so naturally the students call everything emergancies.
but where my sister works the principle will run down the hall in her heels to snag a cell out of a students hand and keep it until their parents come in and get it. it's awesome.
it depends on the admin, i say if they're letting the students use em, then you need new Admins, and most likely fewer too.
@johnva: i can't believe any schools actually allow texting. if they do a lot of people in that town need to be fired.
@krispykrink: or you could get one of those phones that you can set up to only call your house, your cells and the police (and only recieve calls from there) in case of emergency
I can't imagine the purpose of sending that many texts. That is just ridiculous! It seems like it would be impossible unless you were nearly continuously sending and reading them.
I guess this is why I don't "get" Twitter, either.