HELP! Ex sold my contract phone & sent back the sim!

ladyrider260

A few months ago I took out a contract for my (now) ex as he is bankrupt and couldn't get one. The relationship wasn't a good one and I managed to escape it.
We tried getting on for the sake of our child and he promised he would look after the contract and pay it regularly. Things have since gotten nasty on his part, so much so that I have to see my solicitor regularly about him.

I had a letter via recorded delivery and in it was a note saying here was my contract sim and that he no longer required it. I asked for the phone back and he denied it ever existed. I'm now left with an extra £35 a month contract, I am left with £35 a week for food & clothing for myself and my child so this is going to finish us. I cannot cut back on anything else.

I can't knock the contract cost down til september, but I would assume that the phone would legally belong to me as it is in my name. I have the original paperwork for the phone, the print out that shows the phone was sold by him on E-Bay and also proof from the phone company that the direct debit was originally being paid by him.
Would this be classed as theft because he sold it without my permission? Can anyone help at all in regards to this?

Thanks.

OneADay

Not sure what you could do but I know what I would.

Report to police and get the network involved to bar the phone . i.e. IMEI bar.

Mind you odd that if its in your name, the direct debit is in his name - thought you could only pay via direct debit if the phone was in your own name. Better check with network.

Sagz_2

On the brightside - you've got the sim back, he could have run up huge bills that you would have been liable for.

ladyrider260

OneADay wrote: »

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Mind you odd that if its in your name, the direct debit is in his name - thought you could only pay via direct debit if the phone was in your own name. Better check with network.

It can be OAD. It doesn't matter whose name the DD is in, it's basically using my credit rating to get him a phone......and ultimately giving him another tool to do me over once again.

DUTR

ladyrider260 wrote: »

It can be OAD. It doesn't matter whose name the DD is in, it's basically using my credit rating to get him a phone......and ultimately giving him another tool to do me over once again.

You can get your own back via the csa

ladyrider260

DUTR wrote: »

You can get your own back via the csa

Thanks DUTR, the aim isn't to get my own back but to get my property or monetary value of the property back.

DarkConvict

Contact network and police.

State the phone was on loan to him, which it was as it belonged to you.

They have sold the phone (not willing to return it), so it is theft. The network should bar the phone and the police get involved to help sort it out. You will still have a £35 a month contract but hopefully money acquired from your ex will pay of part of the contract.
The phone is legally yours so unless he has paperwork you signed agreeing to give it to him, it is still yours.

gjchester

DarkConvict wrote: »

The phone is legally yours so unless he has paperwork you signed agreeing to give it to him, it is still yours.

Hard to call, could be seen it was given as a gift, especially as there was a relationship at the time (How many times do we see "I want to buy my BF/GF a iPhone as a present" as a topic on MSE). Police may not be interested as they were a couple at the time.

Good luck to the OP , but I suspect it will come down to one persons word against another.

Guys_Dad

This guy sounds a real bum and you are well shot, I suspect.

The hassle of trying to prove whether the phone was a gift or a loan is just not worth it and would cost you far more to prove than the value he got from selling it. Yes, by returning the sim, he is claiming it is your property/liability so, therefore, it follows that the phone is as well, so, in a civil case, you stand a good chance of winning.

But to do so, you would need to claim through MCOL (moneyclaimonline) and you would need to shell out £30 for that. Even if you won, he could refuse to pay and then you would need to shell out more for bailiffs to go round. And then the chances are he would have nothing to repossess.

Just make sure that you get full CSA for your child and, as someone else posted, be glad that he didn't make hay with the sim.

Best wishes for future.

JimArnold

probably not worth pursuing the phone unless it was a high value one - you can get the network to block it but that will only annoy whoever bought it and they will have to try and get money back from ex.

Afraid you will just have to write it off as part of the whole bad experience; you can get a cheap phone to use the SIM - at least get some value from it. I cannot see the network being helpful

Better luck next time !

Justin_Scotland

I'd try and get it back by involving ebay and the phone company. If things are hostile anyway you don't lose anything by trying. Ebay should be able to automatically refund the buyer from your boyfriends paypal account as he sold the item when he wasnt the owner. You might be able to come to some agreement with the buyer (through ebay) that the proceeds of the sale go to you instead of your ex and they get to keep the phone. you have the evidence showing you as the owner of the contract therefore ebay should take your side.

If they dont then you can still try and get the phone company to brick the phone and ebay would chase your boyfriend for a refund of the cash anyway and you would have given (ebay) the opportunity to sort it out correctly in the first place anyway.