Data Download Charge

[Rob-Calgary]

Massive charge ($465) for data download on my cell while in Victoria. Complained to customer service with no luck.

Supposedly downloaded about 13 GB of audio podcasts in just a few minutes.  This doubled the amount of data I have used over the three years I owned the phone.  It is set to warn me if podcasts over 200 MB downloads at any time - no warning or notice received.

I don't see how this is remotely possible - could I have been hacked in some way? Or could their system have done something wacky?

Frustrated, sending letter to Telus as a formal complaint.

Looking into switching providers.

[BillTelusCust]

Telus does not push podcasts to you, it is something your phone pulls off the internet. It is a good idea to tell podcasts to download only on wifi.

It is unfortunate but from your post, it looks like you first of all allowed the downloads from a cellular data connection, and obviously you do not have an "unlimited plan" that slows down your connection rather than running up big bills when there is an issue like this.

You might want to change your settings or switch plans to prevent this in the future, and if you are talking to Telus in an effort to reduce  your bill, I don't recommend blaming them for it.

[NFtoBC]

Might you have been connected to a US cellular tower at the time? If you were accidentally roaming on a nearby US network, Telus may offer some relief.