WOW! He should have chosen a different calling plan.

[Doramius]

At least it makes the US National Debt look not as bad. :/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12247590/?GT1=7938

Think your phone bill is high? Try $218 trillion
Malaysian man hit with gigantic bill, ordered to pay up or face prosecution

Updated: 2:21 a.m. ET April 10, 2006
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A Malaysian man said he nearly fainted when he received a U.S. $218 trillion phone bill and was ordered to pay up within 10 days or face prosecution, a newspaper reported Monday.

Yahaya Wahab said he disconnected his late father's phone line in January after he died and settled the 84-ringgit (U.S. $23) bill, the New Straits Times reported.

But Telekom Malaysia later sent him a 806,400,000,000,000.01-ringgit (U.S. $218 trillion) bill for recent telephone calls along with orders to settle within 10 days or face legal proceedings, the newspaper reported.

It wasn't clear whether the bill was a mistake, or if Yahaya's father's phone line was used illegally after his death.

"If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I'm ready to face it," the paper quoted Yahaya as saying. "In fact, I can't wait to face it," he said.

Yahaya, from northern Kedah state, received a notice from the company's debt-collection agency in early April, the paper said. Yahaya said he nearly fainted when he saw the new bill.

Government-linked Telekom Malaysia Bhd. is the country's largest telecommunications company.

A company official, who declined to be identified as she was not authorized to speak to the media, said Telekom Malaysia was aware of Yahaya's case and would address it. She did not provide further details.

[BJ_M]

must of left the phone on for a year connected to one of those 50$ a minute sex lines .....

well that is only 26 million though ....

[SquirrelDip]

must of left the phone on for a year connected to one of those 50$ a minute sex lines .....

well that is only 26 million though ....

Conference call with the rest of Malaysia...

[Doramius]

I think a courtesy call or a personal visit would have been warranted if it ran over $100-$200 over normal usage according to previous bills. Heck, $4000-$5000 probably would have warranted a physical visit and possibly a shutoff. In the US there is a cutoff if you read through your contract. If you're a residential user, and you have total costs accumulating to over $1500-$2000 per each line, they will shut off service and ask for some sort of advanced payment if you do not try calling them first. For businesses, I don't think they do that, or if they do they try and get an average of 6 months usage and estimate something. I doubt if you have a business that for the last 3 years you've never had a bill go higher than $4000, that they'd let you continue to have service without contacting you first, if you bill suddenly goes over $250,000 in less than a week.

[reboot]

Sounds like a T-Mobile or Cinglar acct...

[reboot]

Sounds like a T-Mobile or Cinglar acct...

[Doramius]

Reboot's having his own problems today. Might want to fix that double post.

[pchan]

I am sure not paying for a tiny fraction of that amount would ring an alarm bell in the credit department. Line would have been cut. The total US deficit is only 3 trillion. Must be a computer glitch somewhere !

[Doramius]

The country is looking for a way to come out of an economic depression and this guy is their scape goat.