Tracing A Mobile Phone

youaintseenmeright

Hi guys, sorry about the cloak and dagger but im a regular user using a false name as what I am asking is possibly a little bit shady.......

I took out a new mobile phone contract with Orange about 4 months ago, I've been with them about 4 years. Anyway there was a mix-up with my new handset, it didnt arrive when it was supposed to, I phoned to trace it and the advisor seems to have taken me through a second purchase, as my phone arrived a few days later, followed by another a few weeks later. I have only been charged for one handset, and one payment each month. I put the second phone away whilst I decided what to do about it, and TBH forgot all about it.

Last month the company my partner and I worked for went bust and we were both unexpectedly made redundant, and we were owed months of wages that we probably wont get. We are possibly going to lose our house. As part of my cutting back excercises, I phoned Orange, to try and negotiate a cheaper tariff as a long term customer. They were not interested.

So now Im thinking I could sell the other phone to make some cash, but Im not sure whether it will be traced.

Any suggestions? It is still brand new and unopened.

scotsbob

Every phone has a unique IMEI number. Enter *#06#* to see it. The phone company will have a record of who it was issued to and can prevent it from operating if they wish. You run the risk of selling it and then finding it is blocked and/or the company chase you for payment. In case you were thinking about it, changing the SIM card doesn't change the unique IMEI number.

youaintseenmeright

So is this phone worthless?

paddyrg

It's certainly not yours to sell, is it? Your employment position is no business of Oranges.

And yes, the handset is probably blocked on all European networks.

George_Michael

So now Im thinking I could sell the other phone to make some cash, but Im not sure whether it will be traced.

So apart from losing your job and possibly your house you are willing to risk a criminal conviction as well?
This certainly won't help your future job prospects.

youaintseenmeright

Well im prepared to do anything i can to feed my kids.............

fwor

You probably know by now that:

1. It can be traced via its IMEI, which you can't change.
2. It can be traced to you (because it was almost certainly signed for at your property).
3. It is still the property of Orange (it falls under the definition of "Good sent in error").

You can also be fairly sure that:

4. Orange don't care about it, as trying to recover it would almost certainly cost more than it is worth to them.

In those circumstances, I personally would leave it in a drawer, or possibly try an Orange SIM in it and if it works, lend it to a friend or family member to use. If I were really desperate for cash, I'd sell it at a car boot sale with no guarantee of its status. You won't get much for it, but very little chance of any comeback that way.