A 22-year-old Canadian oil-field worker recently received a mobile phone bill for nearly $85,000 (£41,000) after repeatedly using his handset as a modem for his computer.

Piotr Staniaszek told CBC News he thought he could use his new handset to download data to his PC as part of his unlimited mobile browser plan from Bell Mobility.

Oblivious to the onerous extra charges incurred by hefty downloads, Staniaszek proceeded to download several high-definition films and other large files.

"The thing is, they've cut my phone off for being like $100 over," he told CBC News.

"Here, I'm $85,000 over and nobody bothered to give me a call and tell me what was going on."

In a 'goodwill gesture' Bell Mobility has agreed to lower the bill to $3,243. The company claims the reduced sum is comparable to the best data plan available for using mobile phones as a modem.

Staniaszek has vowed to fight the charges regardless of Bell Mobility’s gesture.