Bell sends international student $1.6 million bill and disconnects Ontario phone number

Imagine getting a phone bill saying you owe $1.6 million. This would scare the crap out of me. On top of that, your phone number is deactivated without any other notice, with a cancellation date set in 2026.

This happened to an international student, who reported the experience on Reddit. This definitely sounds like a bug or mistake, as there's pretty much no way someone could owe a carrier so much money, especially on a prepaid line like what this student used. However, that number can be horrifying, and you can't even call Bell to fix it since your phone is disconnected.

The Reddit user said they've talked to Bell and resolved the issue, but when they were seeking compensation, "they are not willing to compensate me more than 50 bucks…. I asked for more but then customer service said it's not in their hands and afterwards they escalated my case to the higher team."

Imagine being an international student and your phone app says you owe $1.6 MILLION
byu/CrazyNarwhal4052 inbell

Personally, I'm not sure how much more compensation he can expect, but I guess he's trying.

We've received a statement from Bell, regarding the billing error and to learn its cause:

"This was a billing error that has since been resolved. The customer was never charged this amount. We're investigating the root cause of the error and continue to work directly with the customer to ensure they're completely satisfied."