Fez — What began as a sunny family vacation in Marrakech ended in disbelief for the Alty family after they received two phone bills totaling £45,000, equivalent to nearly MAD 520,000, upon returning to the United Kingdom.

During the trip, Andrew Alty first received a notification from his mobile operator, O2, informing him of an outstanding charge of £22,000, roughly MAD 272,000. Speaking to The Telegraph, Alty recalled being en route to the desert when he saw the alert.

“I was on my way to the desert. I made multiple attempts to call O2, but there wasn’t much I could do. I could only assume there had been a glitch, or the account had been hacked,” he said.

The situation worsened once the family returned home. A second bill arrived, this time for £20,000, adding to the already staggering total. The hacking theory was quickly dismissed. 

The culprit? His daughter, who had been using TikTok for 8 hours.  The charges were legitimate roaming fees accumulated during their stay in Morocco.

After returning to the UK, he received a second bill for £20,000, bringing the total to £42,000.

“There’s no way they should be able to charge that,” he added. “They made no effort to inform us and just allowed the charges to accrue. I don’t understand how they expect any small business to pay that sort of bill.”

Alty had not activated an international roaming package before traveling. As a result, every call, text message, and minute of mobile data use was billed at out-of-plan rates. The bulk of the data usage was reportedly linked to his teenage daughter, who spent extended periods scrolling through TikTok while on holiday.

The incident shows the potentially high cost of international roaming outside the European Union, where charges can quickly accumulate without a dedicated travel plan. Video-based platforms such as TikTok consume significant amounts of mobile data, especially when used for prolonged periods.

After nearly two months of complaints and negotiations, and amid growing media attention in the UK, O2 agreed to cancel the charges. The resolution brought relief to the family, but the case serves as a cautionary tale for travelers relying on mobile data abroad without confirming roaming arrangements. What’s more, maybe it’s a lesson for travelers to focus on the in-person experience without being glued to the phone.