Grandma fights $10,500 cell phone bill

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A North Carolina retiree says she's been battling her phone company since 2006 over a $10,500 bill for calls to an adult chat line she claims she never used.

Opal Savage of Charlotte said the majority of her $10,539.72 Verizon Wireless bill came from six weeks worth of calls to chat line Secret Encounters and she is refusing to pay the bill because she claims she is not responsible for them, The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.

Savage said she believes her number was stolen by someone who used it to make the calls. She said she faults Verizon for failing to notify her when her bill, which is usually about $250, soared into the thousands and topped $10,000.

The grandmother said her two grandsons, ages 13 and 17, could not have made the calls without her knowledge. Both have signed sworn affidavits denying they made the calls during the six-week period in 2006.

Savage said she is taking her case into the legal arena and filed a police report related to the bill last week.