Rep Power: 497

When a South Florida woman opened her 43-page cellphone bill she dissolved into hysterical laughter.

She owed $201,000 — nearly all of it roaming charges accumulated from her brother’s two-week vacation in Toronto.

Shamir Aarons, 19, is deaf and mute, and his cellphone is his main way of communicating with the world.

“He didn’t know (about the roaming charges),” said Celina Aarons, 29, who has her brother included on her plan with T-Mobile.

In the two weeks, Shamir sent more than 2,000 texts (on roaming it’s 50 cents to text out of Canada and 20 cents to receive messages). Using T-Mobile’s partner networks, which include Rogers and Bell, he downloaded countless videos at $10 per megabyte, resulting in data charges like $1,700 or $2,800.

Celina was alerted to the monumental bill only when her cellphone service was suspended. When she called to find out why, a customer service rep said her bill was $76,000.

“They wanted me to pay half that month,” she said.

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1072222