A simple hobby led to a financial disaster of $55,000!

Andrew Altey, a business owner in Manchester, England, recently found himself facing a staggering $55,000 cell phone bill; A figure that was created simply because his daughter was watching TikTok during their family trip. The good news is that after much back and forth, this hefty fee was finally waived in full.

According to a report published by the Daily Mail, this staggering amount was not due to purchases from the TikTok Shop. Instead, the entire figure was made up solely of internet data consumption. Alti’s daughter, who is an avid TikTok user, was simply scrolling and watching videos on the popular platform while on a family vacation in Morocco. This story clearly shows how quickly data usage can add up, especially when one travels outside of their carrier’s usual service area. While this fared better than some of the other disastrous vacations we’ve heard about, it was still a very unpleasant experience overall.

Alti, who manages a curtain business, faced this shocking reality when he returned home with his family. He was hit with two separate, exorbitant bills that totaled about $55,000. It is not difficult to imagine his horror and disbelief. He naturally suspected that there must have been a big mistake.

“I was on my way to the desert,” Alti explained, describing his efforts to address the matter. Tried calling O2 several times but couldn’t get through. “I could only assume there was a technical glitch or the account was hacked.” Finally, it was found that her daughter was immersed in TikTok intermittently and for a total of about 8 hours during the trip. This means that every hour of browsing and watching videos cost him an incredible £5,000.

The reason for these astronomical costs was due to a special and at the same time worrying clause in Alti’s mobile phone contract; The clause that allowed him to use unlimited data roaming while he was outside of Europe. So, unfortunately, these expenses were technically allowed under the terms of his agreement.

However, this data usage drama had a happy ending for Altee. After investigating the case, the mobile phone operator finally decided to waive the entire amount of the bill.

Alti expressed his displeasure with the way this situation was managed without consideration. “The operator made no effort to notify us and simply allowed the charges to accumulate,” he stated. “I don’t understand how they expect a small business to pay that kind of bill.”