Woman gets blindsided by her $42,000 Verizon bill

By Williams Pelegrin January 30, 2015

woman receives huge phone bill smartphone — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Getting a phone bill in the three figures? Manageable for some, while impossible for others. Getting a phone bill in the four figures? Now we’re venturing into dangerous waters. Getting a phone bill in the five figures? That’s just absurd, and Connecticut resident “Jane,” who chose not to disclose her real name, is more than happy to talk about her $42,427.21 Verizon bill.

Reported by WTNH, Jane allegedly allowed one of her friends to use a phone number under her name, so long as he paid the bills. The friend ended up not paying the bills, resulting in Jane slapped with the five figure phone bill and a letter from a collections agency. Ouch.

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Exactly how did the bill get so high? According to Jane, calls were made and received from California, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Africa. Now, this is when things get weird. Jane told the news outlet her friend called Verizon, saying he was Jane’s husband. He allegedly went so far as to say he had the same last name as Jane, even though that wasn’t true. As a result, he changed where the billing alerts were being sent to, which is why Jane never received any warnings about the rising phone bill.

Thankfully for Jane, there is a happy ending to this pretty weird story. Verizon’s Fraud Department struck a deal with her, with Jane now responsible for $4,200. Even though it’s still quite a bit of change, Jane will have two years to pay it off.

Even so, Jane’s friend is a huge jerk.

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Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

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