Family gets $19,370 cell phone bill

PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- An Oregon family unwittingly racked up a $19,370 cell phone bill in international charges, they say.

The Terry family's 200-page AT&T cell phone bill mostly lists fees for sending e-mail messages and photos, which are otherwise covered in their unlimited plan, KPTV of Portland, Ore., reported Thursday.

But because a laptop using an AirCard was used in Canada to send e-mails back home, fees began to add up.

AT&T says the AirCard allows users to connect to e-mail, the Internet and business applications while traveling, but international use is not included in the Terrys' cell-phone plan.

They said they asked an AT&T employee about the service before their son left the country. They said they were not warned about international fees.

"(We) have a bill that runs normally $250 to $300 for our cell phones," Dave Terry said. "When AT&T saw the numbers getting over $1,000, I would think it's their responsibility to inform us that something was amiss because that card could have been stolen."