Small Business Owner Confronts £42,000 Data Roaming Bill from TikTok Use in Morocco
Andrew Alty, a Manchester-based small business owner, was nearly bankrupted after receiving a shocking £42,000 bill for data roaming charges incurred during a family holiday in Morocco. The exorbitant fees stemmed from his daughter's extensive use of the social media app TikTok, with costs accumulating at a rate of £5,000 per hour.
Initial Shock and Escalating Charges
While vacationing in Marrakech, Alty first received a bill for £22,000 from his network provider, O2. Assuming it was an error, he attempted to contact the company but faced difficulties. "I was on my way to the desert," Alty told the Telegraph. "I made multiple attempts to call O2, but there wasn't much I could do. I could only assume there had been a glitch, or the account had been hacked."
Upon returning home, the situation worsened when another bill for £20,000 arrived, bringing the total to £42,000. Alty, who owns a curtains business, had taken out the phone contract through his company via retailer Currys, with O2 providing the service. The contract included a clause that left data roaming charges outside Europe uncapped, a detail he claims was not properly explained.
Dispute and Resolution Efforts
Alty expressed frustration over the lack of communication from O2. "There's no way they should be able to charge that," he said. "They made no effort to inform us, and just allowed the charges to accrue. I don't understand how they expect any small business to pay that sort of bill." He added that dealing with customer service had been unhelpful, leading to "frustration and despair" over two months.
He escalated the issue to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), arguing that the "opt-out of rest-of-world data cap" was not clearly communicated. However, the FOS ruled that Currys, as the account provider, was responsible for contract explanations and spend cap decisions, limiting their ability to assist.
Outcome and Corporate Responses
After intervention by the Telegraph, both Currys and O2 agreed to waive the £42,000 charges. An O2 spokesperson stated, "We're aware of Mr Alty's complaint, which the ombudsman ruled was a sales process dispute with his account provider Currys. We understand that this is now resolved, with Currys agreeing to waive all charges." Currys cited the "scale and circumstances surrounding the case" as reasons for removing the fees.
This incident highlights the risks of uncapped data roaming charges, particularly for small businesses and holidaymakers. It underscores the importance of understanding mobile contract terms to avoid unexpected financial burdens.
