Imagine paying nearly 4 thousand yuan, or about 600 US dollars, just to keep your friends updated through Weibo, China's version of Twitter. Microblogs have become popular for their convenience and low costs, but when traveling abroad, be sure to check your roaming fees if you want to update through your cell phone.
Ms. Jin kept her friends updated through her microblog during her stay in Moscow. She used mobile data to log on, but not long after she returned, she was surprised to discover that her phone bill from Moscow amounted to 3900 yuan, of which 3000 was roaming charges. In other words, that's how much it cost her for a few simple micro blog entries. Ms. Jin was confused about the bill and accused China Unicom of not reminding her and other consumers about the outrageous roaming costs.
Ms. Jin, China Unicom subscriber said "No one has ever reminded me of that. The data roaming charges along with the international roaming service is much, much more expensive than one can imagine."
Experts are on the same side. They also believe mobile operators have an obligation to inform customers about roaming fees in advance.
Zeng, Jianqiu, Professor of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunication said "I think consumers deserve the right to be informed. Operators' have failed to fulfill their duty."
Confronted with Ms.Jin's and other's criticism, China Unicom admits they have not fulfilled their obligations to consumers. They have apologized to Ms. Jin and say they will rectify the problem.