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I sold a Blacklisted Phone ?!

MichaelCR01
Posts: 15 Forumite
in Mobiles
Hey, Long one for you's, Hopefully someone can help me out....
Last October i purchased a Iphone 3g 8gb for a bargain price (£200) on Ebay (yes yes bit silly, Was to good to be true), The seller had it avertised as working with no problems, Just needed money fast, When i recived the phone i used it mainly as a MP3 player and internet acess, Then i decided to use it as my main phone (along side my trusty Sony ericsson k850i) However the phone wouldent make or receive calls, A friend of mine said it was probly a problem with the antenna on the phone, I decided to contact the person i bought it off to say there was a fault with the phone and could i have my money back, However i recived no reply (Even after mentioning getting the police involed), I decided to put the phone up for sale as faulty on gumtree (dident realiy fuss to much, For me it was a lesson learnt on not to buy electrical goods on ebay at to good to be true prices) so aslong as i could make some of my money back from it i wouldent be to fussed, I sold it on gumtree for £120 with box and accessories, Headphones and instructions.
The buyer picked it up from my adress (cash in hand sale), Just so he could view the phone first and test it out, and to be sure he was happy with what he was buying, Anyhow, a week after the purchase, He wrote back to me to say he'd taken it to a o2 phone shop to see if he could troubleshoot the problem, He emailed me to say that it had been iemi blacklisted (Something to do with the phone being blocked from uk networks because it has been reported as stolen or lost or non payment of phone contract), Anyhow, This has somewhat annoyed me to think that i paid £200 for somthing that would never of worked properly, and now i've passed it on to someone (which i belive is illegal), I've emailed him to say i will refund him the £120 he paid ( i guess i should've sorted it out with the original seller, Or even got it examened before selling it), Ive had abit of trouble getting the money togeather though, And we've been talking for a while about the phone, He understands the situation, And can see that it wasnt my fault, But i should've been more cautious about it, However he's considering getting the police involed, Which im abit worried about, What will happen if the police are involed ? i suspect i'll be questioned over the whole thing, I will refund him 100% of what he paid, As i accept error on my side, What will happen if the police where to get involed, I've happily given the buyer my phone number, Adress details, so he can contact me, as i feel im in the wrong, But havent done anything that puts me in a position where i should be threatened with police action.
Thanks again.
Last October i purchased a Iphone 3g 8gb for a bargain price (£200) on Ebay (yes yes bit silly, Was to good to be true), The seller had it avertised as working with no problems, Just needed money fast, When i recived the phone i used it mainly as a MP3 player and internet acess, Then i decided to use it as my main phone (along side my trusty Sony ericsson k850i) However the phone wouldent make or receive calls, A friend of mine said it was probly a problem with the antenna on the phone, I decided to contact the person i bought it off to say there was a fault with the phone and could i have my money back, However i recived no reply (Even after mentioning getting the police involed), I decided to put the phone up for sale as faulty on gumtree (dident realiy fuss to much, For me it was a lesson learnt on not to buy electrical goods on ebay at to good to be true prices) so aslong as i could make some of my money back from it i wouldent be to fussed, I sold it on gumtree for £120 with box and accessories, Headphones and instructions.
The buyer picked it up from my adress (cash in hand sale), Just so he could view the phone first and test it out, and to be sure he was happy with what he was buying, Anyhow, a week after the purchase, He wrote back to me to say he'd taken it to a o2 phone shop to see if he could troubleshoot the problem, He emailed me to say that it had been iemi blacklisted (Something to do with the phone being blocked from uk networks because it has been reported as stolen or lost or non payment of phone contract), Anyhow, This has somewhat annoyed me to think that i paid £200 for somthing that would never of worked properly, and now i've passed it on to someone (which i belive is illegal), I've emailed him to say i will refund him the £120 he paid ( i guess i should've sorted it out with the original seller, Or even got it examened before selling it), Ive had abit of trouble getting the money togeather though, And we've been talking for a while about the phone, He understands the situation, And can see that it wasnt my fault, But i should've been more cautious about it, However he's considering getting the police involed, Which im abit worried about, What will happen if the police are involed ? i suspect i'll be questioned over the whole thing, I will refund him 100% of what he paid, As i accept error on my side, What will happen if the police where to get involed, I've happily given the buyer my phone number, Adress details, so he can contact me, as i feel im in the wrong, But havent done anything that puts me in a position where i should be threatened with police action.
Thanks again.
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Comments
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At a guess the worst the police will do (only my opinion) is ask you to provide details of the person you bought it from including any emails etc (so dont delete any) and possibly ask you to refund the money.
You should also report the seller to ebay.IT Consultant in the utilities industry specialising in the retail electricity market.
4 Credit Card and 1 Loan PPI claims settled for £26k, 1 rejected (Opus).0 -
Actually you could be in a great deal of trouble. I think the term is 'handling stolen goods'. Also you have clearly stated that you knew there was a problem and implied involving the fuzz. This really is down to you.'Just because its on the internet don't believe it 100%'. Abraham Lincoln.
I have opinions, you have opinions. All of our opinions are valid whether they are based on fact or feeling. Respect other peoples opinions, stop forcing your opinions on other people and the world will be a happier place.0 -
I dont think there is anything the Police can do really. What are they going to do to you? Nothing. You had no idea and did not believe they were potentially stolen goods (and it actually hasnt been confirmed that it was stolen anyway).0
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Wrong. I would personally contact my local police and ask their advice and back it up with evidence.
The only problem is that there needs to be a track of the IMEI number to the Ebay seller. If there isnt the OP is in trouble.'Just because its on the internet don't believe it 100%'. Abraham Lincoln.
I have opinions, you have opinions. All of our opinions are valid whether they are based on fact or feeling. Respect other peoples opinions, stop forcing your opinions on other people and the world will be a happier place.0 -
from the Theft ActA person handles stolen goods if (otherwise than in the course of stealing), knowing or believing them to be stolen goods he dishonestly receives the goods, or dishonestly undertakes or assists in their retention, removal, disposal or realisation by or for the benefit of another person, or if he arranges to do so.0
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In light of the situation, the OP was a victim of crime and was deceived by the guy who sold him the phone initially on ebay. He should report the seller to the ebay & paypal if used, to try and reclaim the costs and to generate a trail back to the seller. This will help to support his claim of being duped into buying stolen phone if that was the reason for the IMEI block.
There are some people out who will sell phones on and then reclaim the cost from their phone insurance, which essentially gets them double money and a dead phone to the buyer (Insurance fraud). The seller is banking on the buyer not to report it to the police, but in doing so you could be helping to take down the fraudster. Who knows what else he's selling that might be stolen or what other criminal activities he's involved in.
Its always a risk when buying high value items from eBay or places like Gumtree as you can never be sure of its original source.
Sorry for your predicament.0 -
Is the person who sold the phone to you still registered on ebay?
If so, get their details from ebay.0 -
parallax_20 wrote: »In light of the situation, the OP was a victim of crime and was deceived by the guy who sold him the phone initially on ebay. He should report the seller to the ebay & paypal if used, to try and reclaim the costs and to generate a trail back to the seller. This will help to support his claim of being duped into buying stolen phone if that was the reason for the IMEI block.
There are some people out who will sell phones on and then reclaim the cost from their phone insurance, which essentially gets them double money and a dead phone to the buyer (Insurance fraud). The seller is banking on the buyer not to report it to the police, but in doing so you could be helping to take down the fraudster. Who knows what else he's selling that might be stolen or what other criminal activities he's involved in.
Its always a risk when buying high value items from eBay or places like Gumtree as you can never be sure of its original source.
Sorry for your predicament.
Couldn't have put it better myself!0 -
If a seller provides you with the IMEI in advance is there anyway u can check beforehand if the phone is legit by using the IMEI?0
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yes http://www.checkmend.com/uk/ at a small cost £1.99pthere or their,one day i might us the right one ,until then tuff0
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