PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Portland family said Wednesday they wished they had been warned by AT&T before charges on their cell phone bill amounted to $19,370.

The Terry family's 200-page cell phone bill mostly lists text messages, which are covered in their unlimited plan.

In July, their baseball umpire son headed north to Vancouver, Canada, for work and that's when the thousands of dollars in charges began to add up.

He used a laptop with an AirCard to send photos and e-mails back home. The bill showed he used the service 21 times, but because he was out of the country, the activity added up to thousands upon thousands of dollars in charges.

The AirCard allows users to connect to e-mail, the Internet and business applications while traveling, according to AT&T's Web site. On the Terry family's bill, they were charged international fees for the service.

The Terry family said they asked an AT&T employee about the service before their son left the country. They said they were told nothing about international fees.

Dave Terry also said they were never contacted by the company to be alerted of the high fees.

"(We) have a bill that runs normally $250 to $300 for our cell phones," Terry said. "When AT&T saw the numbers getting over $1,000, I would think it's their responsibility to inform us that something was amiss because that card could have been stolen."

An AT&T representative said they're treating the matter seriously and looking into it. According to the company, they hope to have an answer for the family in the next few days.

Family Racks Up $19,370 Cell Phone Bill