A couple from Oise had a very bad surprise when they returned from their trip to Turkey. Indeed, Bouygues Telecom sent them a rather high bill for their two lines: more than 12,500 euros due to overrun on internet consumption.
This is the kind of surprise that we would do well when returning from a trip. On August 3, 2022, Virginie and Djamel, a couple from Oise at the head of a micro-enterprise looking after children in difficulty, received an alarming phone call from Bouygues Telecom.
“We had a call to warn us of an overage on my husband’s phone. As Djamel is deaf and dumb, I told him it was not possible. He (note: the Bouygues account manager) replied that it concerned internet consumption. I thought he was going to tell me 300 or 500 euros, but he told me that it was for 8000 euros excluding taxes”, says Virginie to our colleagues at Mail Picard.
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€12,500 off-package after a trip to Turkey
In total, thehe bill amounts to 12,516 euros for the two lines, which usually cost them €139.90 per month combined. Panicked, the couple argues to try to understand the origin of such an overrun. “I asked him if he hadn’t turned the cellular data back on, which we had turned off at the airport before leaving. He assures me not. But even so, I do not understand how it is possible to reach such a sum without the package being blocked. Why weren’t we called sooner before we reached thousands of euros?”, she wonders.
On the side of Bouygues Telecom, we ensure that there is no error on the invoice, the sums displayed corresponding well to the overruns recorded. “The line’s consumption reached 6.5 GB in Turkey therefore greatly exceeded the subscribed envelope” by the couple, who benefited from 5 GB abroad.
Otherwise, the operator claims to have repeatedly warned the user each time the communication threshold is crossed, from 50 MB to 5 GB. In total, 10 SMS alerts were sent by Bouygues. For the couple, the reimbursement of such a sum jeopardizes the viability of their micro-enterprise.
The couple are determined to dispute the bill
The couple obviously want to contest the amount demanded by the operator, but in good faith, he has already paid part of it, namely 751 euros. The idea being above all to be able to keep their numbers, which are those of the company. Despite this gesture, their lines were restricted. They demand that Bouygues provide them with “a detailed consumption bill”. The operator assured that their request had been taken care of by its services.
This story recalls the recent misadventure of a father, who had to pay €5,400 off-rate for letting his children watch cartoons in Andorra. Nevertheless and in his case, the case had ended well since his operator had decided to suspend his bill.
