Please help - rip off

reisse03

i bought a phone off a guy in a pub, an N96, always wanted one and he said he had upgraded and didnt need it anymore, i knew him from just being an acquaintence. I checked my T-mobile sim card in it, it was fine even though it was a vodafone and it worked fine.
Now a week later after making calls on it, etc, it is coming up saying 'calls not allowed' and nothing is working. I took it into a shop and they said obviously the guys just decided to not pay his contract anymore or something and they've cut the phone off using the imei number.

Fabulous, it cost me £90!!!!! i know maybe it was daft but i kind of know him, but obviously dont know that much about him. What can i do now? is there any way i can get this unlocked or even sell it to mazuma or something and at least get some of my money back?
please help, im back to my cracked N95 and £90 down

Morty_007

Don't like to read and run but i'm genuinely speechless. Go back to the guy, is the only suggestion I can make but he isn't a shop and has no obligation to improve your situation. I wish I could be more positive. Caveat Emptor springs to mind....sorry.

reisse03

ive given up the ghost on him, i dont know that much about him, to be honest the phones no good to me now, do you think the likes of mazuma would take it even though the imei number seems to be blocked now?

Ivrytwr3

i bought a phone off a guy in a pub

from reading that opening statement, you just knew this was going to end in tears.

d123

reisse03 wrote: »

i bought a phone off a guy in a pub, an N96,
it is coming up saying 'calls not allowed' and nothing is working. I took it into a shop and they said obviously the guys just decided to not pay his contract anymore

unlikely, the reason phones are blocked is normally when they are reported lost or stolen, so odds are, you are currently handling stolen goods.

Do you really think the firms like Mazuma are going to be happy handling stolen goods?

I suggest you go and find your "acquaintance" in the pub and ask for your money back.

robt_2

reisse03 wrote: »

i bought a phone off a guy in a pub, an N96, always wanted one and he said he had upgraded and didnt need it anymore, i knew him from just being an acquaintence. I checked my T-mobile sim card in it, it was fine even though it was a vodafone and it worked fine.
Now a week later after making calls on it, etc, it is coming up saying 'calls not allowed' and nothing is working. I took it into a shop and they said obviously the guys just decided to not pay his contract anymore or something and they've cut the phone off using the imei number.

Fabulous, it cost me £90!!!!! i know maybe it was daft but i kind of know him, but obviously dont know that much about him. What can i do now? is there any way i can get this unlocked or even sell it to mazuma or something and at least get some of my money back?
please help, im back to my cracked N95 and £90 down

Thats not how it works.

Sounds like the phone has been reported stolen and blocked.

iamcornholio

If the OP would like a new iphone for £100 cash, then I'll meet him down the Red Lion on Saturday.

Anyway, blocking and barring are completely different. If barred due to non payment, then contact the network and see if they will un-bar it. If blocked due to being reported stolen then that's it, it can't be un-blocked. A blocked phone will display a "SIM error" type message, with no signal or network displayed

You could try a different sim card to the phones network which it was barred from, as IIRC, sometimes the phones were barred just on one network

Pokerlad

iamcornholio wrote: »

If the OP would like a new iphone for £100 cash, then I'll meet him down the Red Lion on Saturday.

Anyway, blocking and barring are completely different. If barred due to non payment, then contact the network and see if they will un-bar it. If blocked due to being reported stolen then that's it, it can't be un-blocked. A blocked phone will display a "SIM error" type message, with no signal or network displayed

You could try a different sim card to the phones network which it was barred from, as IIRC, sometimes the phones were barred just on one network

If its non payment its usually just the sim thats blocked not the imei. Like others have said its probably been reported lost/stolen. The seller may even have pocketed your money and then claimed a new one on there insurance.

A different network sim will not work as the networks now share imei numbers so they are blocked by every carrier.

Jon_01

As above. If a none payment issue the sim is blocked not the phone.

The phones been reported lost/stolen. There is no way you can get it unblocked, only the registered own can. In our dept we're getting 3 or 4 calls a week from people who've bought off ebay and find the phones been blacklisted...

d123

iamcornholio wrote: »

A blocked phone will display a "SIM error" type message, with no signal or network displayed

You could try a different sim card to the phones network which it was barred from, as IIRC, sometimes the phones were barred just on one network

Neither of these points are correct, once barred the way the phone acts actually depends on make, model and network. Most will actually still show network signal and will just reject any attempt to make calls, incoming calls get a message that calls cannot be connected to the mobile.

Single network blacklists haven't existed for many years, a joint IMEI register was implemented around the same time it became illegal to tamper with IMEI's. Probably around 8 or 9 years ago now.

ultrak3wl

Something sounds very fishy here, how can a phone have a "registered owner?" It's not like it's a car at DVLA.

None of my phones are "registered" to anywhere and the kids swop SIMs in and out like a fiddler's elbow.

I do accept that the networks jointly operate a stolen register but how do phones get on and off that register? Does this mean basically anyone can blacklist any phone just by ringing up and reporting it?