|
|
Post by AnneM on Aug 25, 2005 12:42:00 GMT -5
UGH !!! AAARGHHH !! .. OMG!! ...  Today we received Sam's cell phone bill for the month of July !! ... (Remembering that we were abroad on holiday in July for the last 2 weeks) ... anyway it was £179.56 (approx $280) ... !! To say I nearly COLLAPSED upon its receipt is an understatement!!  .. On a "normal" month it is around £70 (about $110) His "phone calls made whilst abroad" tallied up to £125.00 (approx $190) ... Anyway, we of course .. "SPOKE" about it !! ...  He was also HORRIFIED how much those calls to 'back home' added up to whilst he was on holiday (and also of course he got charged on the calls he RECEIVED as well!) ... he said he honestly "had no idea" !! WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD SAM!! .. He is working solidly (7 days a week) over the holidays and earning reasonably good money ... However, this Friday I intend to ask for .. well almost ALL this week's wages (to pay that bill!!) ... which in turn makes me feel mean and nasty!!  I am wondering if I should just make him pay "half" of it ... but would that be doing him a dis-favour in the long run?? Oh !! I am just not SURE !! HELPPPPP !!! |
|
|
|
Post by finnmom on Aug 25, 2005 12:46:33 GMT -5
Anne, the same "phonecall´s made whilst abroad" really got me by suprice when I visited you... you remember I called home every day  For futher notice, I read somewhere that the best way to avoid these suprice´s is to buy an "prepaid" from the country you are in, that way you dont have to pay the "whilst abroad" part.... I dont know why.... Poor Sam, it take´s lot´s of working to cover that one  |
|
|
|
Post by catseye on Aug 25, 2005 12:54:09 GMT -5
Need more information!! My answers will depend on your reply! LOL
1. Were YOU aware of how much the abroad charges would cost?
2. Did anyone make Sam aware?
3. Did you know he was making/receiving phone calls?
I think if both YOU and sam were unaware, I would offer to pay half.... IF I knew and told my child that it would be expensive to call back home, and to limit his calls... He ignored me, then heck yeah he would pay all of it...
It can be a good lesson to him for the "real world" later, even if you help with the bill... He will now be aware more of hidden charges that I am sure we all have ran into from time to time...
cat
|
|
|
|
Post by catseye on Aug 25, 2005 12:56:22 GMT -5
Oh one more question... Who usually pays the 110 bill? If he usually pays that much, I would only split the exta 170... Again only if we ALL were unaware...
cat
|
|
|
|
Post by finnmom on Aug 25, 2005 13:15:59 GMT -5
And I agree with Cat, if Sam did know about the extra cost, then it´s his responcibility, but if not, then I would split the extra part...
|
|
|
|
Post by camismom on Aug 25, 2005 13:32:06 GMT -5
I agree with Cat.... if he HONESTLY didn't know then I would make him pay some, but not all.
|
|
|
|
Post by AnneM on Aug 25, 2005 13:37:29 GMT -5
These are SUCH good questions and have brought this into perspective !! .. OK .. gotta be honest!! NO ... Sam nor we were "aware" of how expensive this would be!! ...  and YES I did know he was making some calls home !! ... and "normally" we pay the bill 50-50... I see EXACTLY where you are coming from Cats ... it looks like a 50-50 doesn't it?? ... Oh and Marja !! I REMEMBER soooo well your " Daily evening phone call" normally from the kitchen whilst we were getting dinner ready!! ... OMG !! Tell me more !! ... How much did they add up to?? |
|
|
|
Post by Linda on Aug 25, 2005 13:56:08 GMT -5
I agree with the others Anne...split it...but maybe Sam will offer to pay the whole thing  |
|
|
|
Post by finnmom on Aug 25, 2005 14:15:17 GMT -5
... Oh and Marja !! I REMEMBER soooo well your " Daily evening phone call" normally from the kitchen whilst we were getting dinner ready!! ... OMG !! Tell me more !! ... How much did they add up to?? It was 170€(almost the same in $) And I wasnt even talking long...was I?? My usuall phone bill is around 30-40€ I wish I would have known the prepaid thing before.... |
|
|
|
Post by kstquilter on Aug 25, 2005 14:41:14 GMT -5
i agree that you should split the cost. that way you are both paying for not knowing the rules. it's still alot of money for most kids to pay for phone calls. then discuss the future rules for calls made away from home.
that's also my understanding for the guys in iraq. they really have to buy the cards there and we can't send them ones from here. sure seems like there should be a better way to help those who are unaware.
karen
|
|
|
|
Post by Kaiti on Aug 25, 2005 15:31:06 GMT -5
What a hard way to learn isn't it........ I agree with teh others to pay for half.....this time only though. Karen, the VFW has cards that we know will work over in Iraq......it was a hard way to learn too. We were first told to send the cards, they need them, then we were told, wait, dont' send them, send us the money and we'll send over the cards thast will work. I'll have to look to see if I can find any info for that |
|
|
|
Post by AnneM on Aug 25, 2005 16:30:21 GMT -5
I agree with the others Anne...split it...but maybe Sam will offer to pay the whole thing Don't think I could be THAT lucky !! ... ;D BUT if he offers I am all for it!! ;D ;D ;D |
|
|
|
Post by AnneM on Aug 25, 2005 16:34:35 GMT -5
... Oh and Marja !! I REMEMBER soooo well your " Daily evening phone call" normally from the kitchen whilst we were getting dinner ready!! ... OMG !! Tell me more !! ... How much did they add up to?? It was 170€(almost the same in $) And I wasnt even talking long...was I?? My usuall phone bill is around 30-40€ I wish I would have known the prepaid thing before.... OMG that is horrendous because I agree ... you really weren't speaking for that long at all !! ... (I couldn't actually understand a WORD of it ... ;D but TIME-WISE it really wasn't that long ... a few minutes each evening at most!!) |
|
|
|
Post by kstquilter on Aug 26, 2005 18:02:44 GMT -5
thanks kaiti, i'd love to get info on phone cards i could send over there. not expecting them to use them to call me at all but this particular base has to wait for a money guy to come around every few weeks to get any of their own money.
we saw some international cards at the post office today while shipping boxes over there! the lady at the post office says the cards work everywhere and only for the price of the local calling fee where they are.
we have a VFW nearby, maybe i'll give them a call too and see what they know.
thanks again kaiti.
karen
|
|
