The £31,500 Download Bill

A British IT worker has received a whopping £31,500 bill after downloading his favourite TV show while abroad.

Iayn Dobsyn downloaded the show Prison Break and some music while on holiday in Portugal using a mobile broadband card plugged into his laptop computer.

Mr Dobsyn, 34, of Salford, Greater Manchester, was hit with the bill from Manchester-based Yes Telecom, which is owned by Vodafone.

He told the Lancashire Telegraph: "The figures looked like they had come down from the moon. I just laughed. There had to be some mistake.

"I knew I had used a lot of data while abroad, but not to the tune of £31,000. The figures just didn't make sense."

Mr Dobsyn, whose mobile broadband bill averages £150 a month, enlisted legal help to fight the charges.

Danielle Mestraud of Farleys Solicitors in Manchester said: "Yes Telecom said they had checked the bill and they were happy it was accurate and that they would be seeking payment."

She said that following negotiations the firm agreed to reduce the bill to £229, based on a lower tariff.

She added: "It would be prudent for the provider to contact the customer if their usage was unusually high."

A spokeswoman for Vodafone, Yes Telecom's parent company, said: "Yes Telecom has always been committed to removing the uncertainty of charges when abroad by helping customers to choose the right price plan."