Viewing 26 posts - 1 through 26 (of 26 total)
  • no service phone…. advice – with some warning.
  • sammysquid
    Free Member

    So about 18 months ago I decided I wanted a newer iphone and being loathed to part with a lot of money I decided to buy a secondhand phone. I found ad on gumtree, got the imei and rang up and checked no stolen and all was ok. went paid money and got phone and all was happy. For 18 months have been using phone with no problems.

    Two days ago it went dead – no service – so rang network and was advised it had been declared lost. so I went back through my messages and found the original owners number. Now heres where it gets a little tricky… I bought the phone from “ryan” and when I rang I spoke to “brendon” who told me he had taken the phone out on behalf of ryan due to issues with ryan getting a contract and the like and that ryan was meant to pay him but at some point in the last 18 months they had fell out and as such he had decided to exact revenge by cancelling the phone.

    I explain I am merely an innocent bystander and not a party to much, and am told he would like me to go and give ryan some hassle – and furnishes me with a phone number and address. I politely decline and suggest we should come to a resolution over this issue – ideally let me have my phone to use given anything he does to me isn’t going to affect ryan in any way shape or form. He tells me he will think over it and then the next day he states he would be willing to pay me £100 for the 64gb iphone 6s. I politely decline saying it is worth more than that and given he has decided to make my life more hassled I would be reluctant to offer him a good deal. and then he decides to declare me a thief. Now I am happy I bought the phone in good faith and it is merely a change in circumstances that has let me to be in such a pickle.
    I have tried to speak to the network who have no interest in this.
    I therefore have a phone with no service but working in other ways.

    any suggestions? I have a new phone (need for work)

    the second point is I spoke to the network and said I had texts showing there was a sale and they didn’t seem interested. Their advice was when buying a secondhand phone to make sure you are dealing with the original owner and ask them to ring and remove the phone from their account – even if contract over or the like and state that they have no interest in the phone anymore.

    Jamie
    Free Member

    I know this doesn’t help, but it’s for this reason alone I only buy secondhand iPhones that have originally been bought sim free. As any phone that is on contract, unwanted upgrade type thing, has you beholden to the original contract owner and they could cancel/report lost at any time. The network won’t help you, and the original owner, if report lost themselves, obviously won’t help.

    nickjb
    Free Member

    It does sound like you bought the phone from someone who didn’t actually own it, and therefore no legal right to sell it. Could be problematic

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    codybrennan
    Free Member

    Or maybe you were talking to the original seller, who had claimed it lost so he could claim insurance on it?

    sammysquid
    Free Member

    so what seems odd is it was over 18 months after I bought it.
    I think it might be there has been a falling out and he is looking for some way to cause problems – the original contract would be over by now assuming it was 24 months.

    It is a pickle, what annoys me is that when I rang the guy he was more intent on me giving the person I got it from grief initially and then when I refused to get involved was annoyed, he said he had declared it lost – not stolen.

    always keen on other peoples thoughts.

    GlennQuagmire
    Free Member

    It does sound like you bought the phone from someone who didn’t actually own it

    Even if they did “own” it via an upgrade, they still technically couldn’t sell as the phone still belongs to the mobile phone operator (for a period of time). A “free” upgrade is paid for by agreeing to a contract for 18 months, for example. If the contract is broken they will want the phone back.

    murf
    Free Member

    Agree to sell it to the guy for £100, get his address, go round with the phone, burn his house down. Blame it on faulty phone.

    Karma/Eye for an eye etc etc

    Or, sell the phone back for £100 and the go to the original seller to get him to refund the difference.

    Or, punt it on eBay for spares?

    Flaperon
    Full Member

    Is it actually the case that the phone belongs to the phone company when under contract? Never used to be, and would think they’d want to avoid it at all costs – after all, if the phone experienced a technical problem and you couldn’t use it you’d have solid grounds for cancelling the contract early.

    The terms and conditions used to say that the phone was effectively a gift.

    plyphon
    Free Member

    Sell it overseas? The IMEI block only works in the UK. That’s what all those selling stolen phones do, anyway.

    jimdubleyou
    Full Member

    Never used to be, and would think they’d want to avoid it at all costs – after all, if the phone experienced a technical problem and you couldn’t use it you’d have solid grounds for cancelling the contract early.

    Nah, it’s a buck passing minefield.

    Guy at work had Samsung refuse to honour a guarantee because he didn’t own the phone and the network refusing to do anything other than “examine” the phone then decide on replace or repair.

    I’ve been buying phones outright for over 5 years now. Buying on contract is a mugs game.

    plyphon
    Free Member

    Another solution is to change the IMEI number of your handset. I don’t know how to do this, but it’ll circumvent the block

    plyphon
    Free Member

    It’s worth noting tampering with IMEI numbers is illegal and up to a 5k fine if you;re caught

    plyphon
    Free Member

    Maybe try the ombudsman also? I’d save any texts/etc you have as evidence.

    kelron
    Free Member

    You could try calling the network as the owner and say you’ve found your lost phone – might get lucky if they aren’t checking for proof as well as they should.

    Or look into changing the IMEI as above.

    Legally though you’re probably out of luck, short of trying to take the seller to small claims court.

    jekkyl
    Full Member
    GlennQuagmire
    Free Member

    Is it actually the case that the phone belongs to the phone company when under contract? Never used to be, and would think they’d want to avoid it at all costs – after all, if the phone experienced a technical problem and you couldn’t use it you’d have solid grounds for cancelling the contract early.

    The terms and conditions used to say that the phone was effectively a gift.

    I’m with EE and was told I had to keep the phone for at 6 months before I could sell.

    bigyinn
    Free Member

    I’d view it as having had 18 months use of a phone and move on.
    You’re not going to get any sort of satisfaction given the “owner” and the network don’t want to help you.
    Totally crap and a PITA, but unless you can really be bothered I’d move on.

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    Flog it on here on the classified making sure you ask for PP Gift

    globalti
    Free Member

    Send it to Africa; somebody there will get a lot of very valuable use from it.

    STATO
    Free Member

    I politely decline saying it is worth more than that and given he has decided to make my life more hassled

    Trying to haggle with a guy who has already cut his losses and then insulting him in the process, well done OP, Hilarious 😆

    bazzer
    Free Member

    Isn’t the obvious answer to call the old bill? Basically someone has sold you something they didn’t own and now you want your money back.

    bazzer
    Free Member

    Isn’t the obvious answer to call the old bill? Basically someone has sold you something they didn’t own and now you want your money back.

    sammysquid
    Free Member

    hi
    thanks for all the replies.
    I have already got a new phone and I’m very much c’est le vie.
    the only thing is that I have this phone and I’m not really sure what to do.
    I don’t fancy returning it to the muppet who cancelled it.
    Do you think Ebay would be possible?

    kelron
    Free Member

    It sounds like you probably bought a stolen phone and the seller’s full of shit, but I don’t know why it’s only been reported so long after.

    You’d have to be up front about it being IMEI barred if you sold it on ebay, and I’d be uncomfortable selling a potentially stolen phone.

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    i think it is most unwise to sell a phone you know is blocked and whose ownership/provenance is uncertain

    nickdavies
    Full Member

    You’ve essentially bought a stolen phone, old bill won’t do anything as they’ll just return the phone to its owner and leave you out of pocket.

    You’ve got no better option here, so I’d take the offer of £100, then lock the phone and return it to him. Makes it a brick essentially. Possibly after setting alarms with the horn siren at 3,4 & 5 am… 😆

Viewing 26 posts - 1 through 26 (of 26 total)

The topic ‘no service phone…. advice – with some warning.’ is closed to new replies.