Dear Auntie TUAW: Did I overstep my data limits?

Cara Tia TUAW,

I need your help please. I am in Mexico and have an iPhone with a 150 MB data plan and 300 minutes. My carrier says that I have passed my data limit and owe them around $150 usd. According to the Cellular Network Data on my iPhone, I have used 35MB and 83 minutes (Settings > General > Usage). My question is, is this information technically good enough to fight back these charges? I think it must be, but I have to be sure. Can you help me, please?

Love, Joe P

p.s. Why I don't have an unlimited data plan? because it costs around $110 usd a month, that's why. My current data plan costs about $55 a month. Thank you!

Dear Joe P,

Auntie wishes she had better news for you, but the usage meter on the phone is notoriously unreliable. If you've restored or updated your iPhone in the last month (2.0.1 anyone?), you may have accidentally reset those values. Personally, we at TUAW can sneeze through 150 MB just by loading our own home page (or maybe it just seems that way).

Of course, feel free to contact customer service -- but relying on the onboard usage stats isn't going to take you very far.

Sorry for the bad news, caro.

Love,

Auntie TUAW