Mobile phone users hung up on bill shock

A NUMBER of Dubbo residents have experienced the shock of a mobile phone bill being much higher than anticipated - in one case, a user was stung almost $1000.
A recent study from Macquarie University showed 45 per cent of mobile phone users suffered bill shock last year with the median overspend $40 per bill.

It was costing the country more than $557 million a year, the study found.

The main reasons for surprise were voice calls at 54 per cent, followed by data usage at 20 per cent and SMS at 18 per cent.

The Daily Liberal hit the streets asking people whether they had experienced expensive mobile phone bills.

Emily Stewart said she was on a $79 cap with Telstra and experienced the bill shock every month.

Her last bill was $130 and she couldn't understand why her bill was so high.

As part of her monthly plan she received $550 worth of calls, free texts to any network and 2GB of data usage.

"I'm not happy with the service I get especially for what I pay a month," she said.

Harriet French said she used to be on a Telstra $50 cap and received the bill shock most of the time.

Sick of the bill shock, she decided to move to a pre-paid offer where she wouldn't be left surprised with the high expenses.

"It's easier to keep track of what I'm spending which is good," she said.

Taylor O'Malley told the Daily Liberal he rarely received a big mobile phone bill.

He only used his phone for messaging or voice calls and was very careful he didn't exceed his Telstra $79 cap.

When Taylor Busher signed up to the Optus $59 cap she didn't clearly understand what her limits were.

She said she was previously on a Telstra plan but after receiving bills higher than her plan she made the move. "I don't know why my bill doubled, it happens to my friends as well," she said.

Switching to a pre-paid offer was a wise move for Erin Ireland as her Telstra $59 cap was too expensive.

Thanks to the change she said it was easier for her to control how much money she was spending on her phone.

"I only spend $30 a week now and I'm happy with it," she said.

Tegan Wass said even though she was on a Telstra $40 cap she received a whopping $900 bill.

Her excessive amount of texting caused the expensive charges so she switched to a pre-paid offer.

"(Now) I can control what I do and I know what I'm spending," she said