$600.00 Verizon bill for using SKYPE in China

Ok guys I'm ******...just got a $600.00 bill from verizon for using my Skype phone number in China. In the past, when I was out of the country, I gave everyone my Skype phone number, and if I was not on my computer,it would bounce to my cell phone. No use of verizon service or equipment(I own the phone) no charge from verizon. THIS trip verizon is charging me over $580.00 because I answered my Skype calls that used my Skype phone number which bounced to my cell...what the heck??!! I called customer service and they agreed to reduce the bill by $68.00??, but refused to rescind the charge. What should I do? How can they charge me when I did not use any of their equipment? Oh, I also specifically clicked my phone on "do not accept calls/data/text"   when I got to China, so nobody would accidentally call my cell #. Any ideas? (aside from dropping verizon service after 15 years on a 5 phone plan) which I am doing??'

    Holy cow! That's not small pcket change, ellen22. I can definitely understand your shock getting the high bill. Were you using the Skype application on your phone to place & receive calls while you were in China? If you were, this application does require a data connection and may be the reason you ended up with such a high bill. Without the 100 MB Global Data Plan for $25, each MB used in China at a pay-as-you-go rate is $20.48. That can really add up if you aren't connected to WiFi!
If you were not using your Skype application, then you may have Skype set up to forward calls to your mobile number when you're not available at home. The caller would call your Skype number and Skype would call your mobile number when you're not around the computer, essentially creating a call to your mobile number. With the per minute rate in China being $1.99, those charges can really add up too in you're answering those forwarded calls.
We certainly don't want to lose you after all the fantastic years together. Please fill us in on more details how you were actually using your phone and Skype while traveling in China.
Thank you
JenniferH_VZW
Please follow us on Twitter @vzwsupport

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