A woman in Florida recently bought her brother a phone and put him on her plan. But little did she know that her brother’s two-week trip to Canada would result in a 43-page bill for more than $201,000.

“I was freaking out. I was shaking, crying, I couldn’t even talk that much on the phone. I was like my life is over!” The woman tells WSVN-TV about her reaction to the mammoth bill.

Apparently what had happened was that her brother had not turned the data roaming off on his phone during his trip to Canada. More than 2,000 texts and a number of downloaded videos later and — at $10/megabyte — you end up with a phone bill larger than many mortgages.

While T-Mobile says it sent several texts to the brother alerting him of the rates, the sister believes she should have been given a heads-up at some point before things got into six-digit territory. “Wouldn’t you let me know as the primary holder and they are saying no we respect your privacy. What privacy? That is my account,” she says.

Though it had no obligation to do so, T-Mobile eventually decided to slash the bill to $2,500 and gave the customer six months to pay off that amount.

Help Me Howard: High phone bill [WSVN.com]

Thanks to Jordan for the tip!

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