Debby Setzer-Ortelt called Better Call Behnken for help after her mother, Donna Ortelt, ended up with a gigantic cell phone bill—even though she’s never even used a cell phone.
“My mother has never had a cell phone, nor does she want one,” Setzer-Ortelt told KTLA sister station WFLA.
Setzer-Ortelt says this mess started in July when with the delivery of a cell phone with no paperwork. Weeks later, two more iPhones arrived.
Then a mysterious letter came, explaining it was a mistake and asking her to send the phones to an address in Texas. What the women say happened mirrors a known phone scheme, previously reported by Better Call Behnken, to steal phones and stick victims with the bill.
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Spectrum accepted one phone and erased the bill, and Setzer-Ortlet says she dropped off the T-Mobile phones at a company store, but her calls to the company to figure out the bill went nowhere.
“I would try calling them but because I didn’t have the pin, they wouldn’t talk to me. Well, no kidding. I don’t have the pin. I didn’t set this up,” she said. “Manager called me yesterday and said, “You need to start making the minimum monthly payment. Otherwise, we’re coming after her for collections.”
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After calls from Behnken, a company spokesperson sent an email indicating this would be resolved. Better Call Behnken will stay on this until the bill is wiped clean.
Meanwhile, this is a warning to be on guard for this type of scheme and alert elderly loved ones. Just two days ago, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced it is looking for a man they believe ordered an iPhone in someone else’s name and picked up the phone at their house. The sheriff’s office has video of the man.
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