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IMEI Bocked Phone bought from ebay- Advice please |
crazylou75
Joined: Oct 09, 2005
Posts: 2
PM |
I recently bought a K750i mobile on ebay - I was told it was blocked and just needed unblocking. I took it to several mobile phone shops and eventually I was told the IMEI was 'blacklisted' and the phone was good for nothing! Is this true?
I know from reading other discussion points that there are legalities involved in selling these kinds of phone - what are they?
Very frustrated that I paid over £150 for a dud mobile!!
EDIT- From reading everyon'e replies I am stupid with regards to mobile terminology! I didn't know what I was getting in to - I've heard about scams where people report their phones lost and then get a brand new one on the insurance - sell the 'lost' one and then unregister from ebay! I didn't realsie I would be at the receiving end of this kind of SCAM - Serves me right I suppose! Thanks for all your advice. (I won't be so trustworthy next time!)
[ This Message was edited by: crazylou75 on 2005-10-09 10:26 ] |
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S4k1s
Joined: Mar 09, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Sweden
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Why did you buy a stolen phone in the first place?
I'm just happy you can't use your phone :]
You should never steal or buy stolen stuff!
I hope u got your lesson. |
BobaFett
Joined: Jan 06, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Kamino (wish it would be Lund)
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i would contact the police, if the fone is blacklisted cos it was stolen, sy should look for it, normally. according the imei it can be find out, which operator sold it and fin dthe person who the fone owned before the lost.
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smilerthe cheshirecat
Joined: Oct 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Cheshire, UK
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You could also ask for your cash back...
Would be intersting if you posted the link on here.... was it advertised as "blocked'?
This does not always mean it has been stolen....but more than likely it has....
Best report the seller to ebay too.... but they may just ask you to sort it out with the seller too.....
The police would also be interested too.....
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london-uk
Joined: Oct 01, 2003
Posts: 214
From: Londres
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I don't know which country you're from, but in the UK there are fairly strong punishments for:
-Changing, without the authorisation of the manufacturer, the unique identifying characteristic of a mobile phone – the IMEI number; and
-Possessing, supplying or offering to supply the necessary equipment with the intent to use it for re-programming mobile phones
These offences carry maximum penalties of five years' imprisonment or unlimited fines or both.
As mentioned by BobaFett, I would urge you to hand the phone in to the police. Your only problem is (according to UK legislation) that ignorance of the law can never be a defence. Since you state that you were informed that the phone needed IMEI unblocking, your legal position is not too good... This would seem to indicate that you knew a procedure had to be carried out, which is illegal, and it does not matter (in the eyes of the law) whether you knew it was illegal or not.
Morally and legally speaking, you should ofcourse hand the phone in to the police. It is a matter for you to decide what action to take.
[addsig] |
amawanqa
Joined: May 08, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Hornchurch UK & East London SA
PM |
@ crazylou 75,
Did you perhaps not get your terminology mixed up when you saw/heard the phone was 'blocked',thinking that they meant 'locked' when you were told that it 'just needed unblocking?'
If you thought it meant 'locked' ie. network locked,I can understand that you would be miffed by making such a simple but expensive mistake, but when a phone is 'blocked' ie. blacklisted due to theft or whatever, then yes,it's a waste of £150 quid if you obviously want to use it in the UK,matey.
He who laughs last... thinks slowest.
Nokia 5800, Sony Ericsson P1i, Nokia 7600. |
london-uk
Joined: Oct 01, 2003
Posts: 214
From: Londres
PM |
If, as suggested by 'amawanqa' you thought that the phone only needed unlocking (as opposed to unblocking), and you can show this by way of correspondence, or other means, with the seller, then you should be fine with regards to your legal position. If this is the case, then I do apologize. I simply presumed (partly due to the title of your thread: "IMEI Bocked Phone bought from ebay..."), that you were aware, at the time of purchase, that the phone had been IMEI blocked.
Hope you sort it all out.
[addsig] |
victorh017
Joined: Jul 24, 2005
Posts: 379
From: Caracas, Venezuela
PM |
How did you pay for it? Maybe you can complain thru paypal if you used them to send payment.
And exactly what words did they use on the listing? "blocked" or "locked"
Mmm... that was very misleading. 
 CMDJ5 > T230 > T610 > K700i > K750i > K810i > K850i > G900 RED > C905 Gold |
BUFFBOY
Joined: Jul 20, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney
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there are software you can use to unblock your phone can ya ??
BMW M3 |
crazylou75
Joined: Oct 09, 2005
Posts: 2
PM |
Thankyou for all your replies - I found out from the shop it was IMEI blocked when I went to get it 'unlocked' to all networks. Obviously I wasn't in full understanding of all the implications and terminology brfore buying a mobile from an unapproved outlet.
I accept it it was an expensive mistake to make - but as most of you are thinking "it serves me right!"
Thanks again for the advice - Boo!
(Nobody likes to be taken for a mug!) |
Sammy_boy
Joined: Mar 31, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Staffordshire, United Kingdom
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I suspect as well you've confused 'blocked' and 'locked', and you've bought it thinking it just needed unlocking to use on any network, and not that it'd been blacklisted.
If this is what's happened, contact the seller about this, if he's understanding he MAY sympathise with you and accept the return and refund your money. But he may not, and you probably won't have a comeback. The only realistic option is to sell it on again on Ebay as blocked, with any luck you'll get most, if not all of your money back again.
As others have said, don't go playing about changing the imei number. I have the software to be able to change imeis on older SEs and Nokias (not the reason I got that software - as it also unlocks phones!) but have never tried it. Knowing me I'd change the imei to a number that's currently in use and get caught that way when both phones are on!
EDIT: Ask the seller also if it can be unblocked his end - I contacted a seller when I bought an 8310 that was blocked and the owner didn't realise - after a few month it had been unblocked! What a pleasant surprise that was! 
_________________
"All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke
My Ebay Auctions
[ This Message was edited by: Sammy_boy on 2005-10-09 10:00 ] |
S4k1s
Joined: Mar 09, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Sweden
PM |
@crazylou75: So u got the terminology wrong ... then I apologize for my little attack on you 
Go to the police and tell them what happend .. u won't be charged with anything. Also give them the transactions so they can trace the seller. |
themarques
Joined: Jan 26, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: London, Tokyo,
PM |
Put it back on ebay and sell it outside the UK or EU
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Posted: 2005-10-09 00:38
CMDJ5 > T230 > T610 > K700i > K750i > K810i > K850i > G900 RED > C905 Gold
