Oregon couple told they owe $2 million on phone plan they had for a month

DAMASCUS, Ore. -- Ken Slusher says he and his girlfriend are dealing with a phone bill situation that is "very stressful, to say the least."

KPTV in Portland reported that Slusher had wired a down payment on a new house Tuesday for him, his girlfriend and their children. But he knows the new home may not happen because of what Verizon Wireless claims he owes.

FOX 12's Jamie Wilson listened in as Slusher called an automated phone line to check his Verizon account balance. A voice recording said, "Your total amount due is $2,156,593.64."

Slusher told the TV station that he and his girlfriend opened a Verizon account last November and bought two phones, but they only kept the service for a month after they noticed major discrepancies on their bills.

The first bill should have been for about $120, but instead it was for $698, Slusher said. The next bill was for $9, he said.

"The number of errors and the comedy of which they happened is astounding to me," he told KPTV.

After stopping the service, they thought it was all cleared up, he said, but then they became getting notices from several collection agencies demanding up to $2,000.

He said they've been going back and forth for months with customer service representatives who agree it's a mistake. However, there has still been no resolution.

And with that gigantic "mistake" hanging over his head, he's in danger of his mortgage company not signing off on his loan.

"If I don't get this straightened out in the next 24 hours, I can almost guarantee I'll lose this house," he said.

KPTV said it made several calls to Verizon Wireless and late Tuesday night, a spokeswoman said that she would look into the situation.