Buying phones off eBay

Mr._AZ

Hi all!

I had a bad experience a few years back with buying a phone from eBay, when after 3 months the phone became blocked. I checked and it was reported stolen, and it turns out it was a contract phone that had been left for 3 months (to get outside the eBay 3month dispute rule) before being reported stolen so that a replacement would be sent to the seller. By that point I hadn't a leg to stand on and was out £200, and I really don't want that to happen again. Does anyone know, is there any way to check if a phone is on contract when buying second hand or is it a case of chancing it and hoping for the best?

Many thanks in advance

Rusty!

A phone isn't 'on a contract' it is supplied separately to an airtime contract.

That said, Checkmend does have a section in it's report about it:

Contract status: A green result indicates that CheckMEND does not have any record indicating that this handset is still
under contract with a network or a record that indicates the handset has been sold as a Pay As You Go phone. An
amber result indicates that we believe it has been under contract and may still be at the time of checking. If buying the
phone we would encourage you to ask the seller to confirm that it is out of contract.

What you experienced though, is nothing to do with the phone being 'under contract'. You were the victim of an insurance scam.

Small claims court/MCOL would be an appropriate course of action should this take place in the future.

Tony5101

I don't think that there is any way of verifying whether a phone is currently part of an existing contract or not...but to be honest, I'm not sure how that would help anyway. Many people sell upgrades on Ebay that are obviously part of an ongoing contract etc.
I've bought a couple of phones via Ebay without an issue, but the one thing I ALWAYS do, is check on the sellers previous transaction history, and will only ever buy from sellers with a high/+ve transaction count.
I don't think that there is much else you can do, apart from trust your instincts.

robbies_gal

ive sold a couple of on ebay-of course theres no real way of knowing if 3 months down the lines theyre going to report it stolen itsa risk you take

i recommend what tony said omnly buy from good feedback who have maybe sold phones before or is just a reliable seller

Rusty!

Sensible advice that, I've both bought and sold phones on eBay without issue so far.

robbies_gal

dont know if its the same with payg phones i assume they can also be reported stolen and barred aswell?

Rusty!

Any phone can be.

robbies_gal

yeah so its a risk you take but like i said good feedback and a good history you should be ok

in_the_Cotswolds

Rusty! wrote: »

I've both bought and sold phones on eBay without issue so far.

Same here. I even sold one to someone in Vietnam. Had no problems.

esuhl

I've sold (and bought) a couple of phones on eBay - no problems so far.

If I'd lost the use of a £200 phone, I would definitely consider legal action against the seller and would also report the insurance fraud to the police.

You can find out more and begin the process of suing them in the courts here: https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/