The Quebec City Mayor R©gis Labeaume went on a trip to Rome, Italy and enjoyed himself – using his smartphone and enjoying his iPad…that is until his bill arrived in the mail and he found out that he owed $20,000! According to documents Radio-Canada received through an Access to Information request, he spent $11,800 for using his iPad and $8,060 for his smartphone, and to make matters worse, he also go another $2,106 bill in July while using his iPad in the U.S. Needless to say, Mr. Labeaume was not a happy traveler and even an unhappier mayor and he said, “If you ask me why, I do not know. I’m very angry. I do not understand how cellphone companies allow this to happen.”
What is so sad is that the city has to pay for his mistake. He said that, “They told me I was using the 3G instead of the Wi-Fi. I’m not sure I understand everything”…you think? The unidentified carrier did reduce his bill by $13,000, but the city still had to fork over $6,881. He claims that he did not realize that data roaming charges could multiply so quickly…and neither does most of the public.
Technically, he was classified as being on vacation while in the U.S, however, there was no reimbursement for the $2,106 in the records and the city got charged with that bill as well. He claims that,”I work when I’m in the United States. They send me stuff. I’m never on vacation.”
After the story broke, his party ‰quipe Labeaume agreed to pay for his trip to Rome so that taxpayers would not have to pay that bill, but apparently, they will be paying for the U.S. trip. He claims he was away on business and should not have to pay for the bills out of his own pocket. The city has modified its operations to make sure that this does not happen in the future.
What he should do is try to push for new laws that prevent carriers from charging such exorbitant amounts for roaming charges. Please hook up with us on our Google+ Page and let us know what you think of the mayor’s situation…as always, we would love to hear from you.