Verizon dismisses Mass. man's $18,000 phone bill

BOSTON -- Verizon says a Massachusetts man won't have to pay the balance of an $18,000 cell phone bill his son racked up when he connected his phone to a laptop to get Internet service.

Locally, Verizon has operations in Schaumburg.

Dover resident Bob St. Germain tells The Boston Globe newspaper the telecommunications company has told him it'll no longer try to collect the charges.

Bryan St. Germain ran up the charges over six weeks in 2006. He says he didn't realize a two-year promotional offer allowing free access had expired.

Verizon Wireless says it cut the phone bill in half before sending it to a collection agency but it considers the remaining balance uncollectible.

Bob St. Germain says he's glad Verizon has dismissed the charge but it remains on his credit report.

Verizon says such cases are "exceptionally rare."