Can O2 block iphone via imei for unpaid bills??

j3251

A colleague in work is selling iphone 5S as she is in financial difficulty..

I would like to buy it from her but worried O2 may block the actual hand set for unpaid bills?

Last thing I want to do is to purchase handset,then over a period of time possibly have handset blocked due to colleagues missed payments as its under contract with O2

Can O2 block the actual hand set for unpaid bills?Colleague would keep O2 SIM card..

macman

The handset will be locked to 02. What network are you intending to use it on?
02 are not going to unlock it for her if the account is in arrears.

Jon_01

All the networks are starting to blacklist high value handsets if payments stop near the beginning of the contract.
If you friend works with O2 then the odds are they won't blacklist. But if they just stop paying and don't communicate with o2 the odds are they will blacklist it.

j3251

Hi

Handset was unlocked by O2 when she got the phone..

Really put off with buying handset as I'm unsure what action O2 shall take?

Jon_01

As the 5S has only just been released, if your friend doesn't even pay the first installment then O2 may regard it as fraud. In which case the handset will get blacklisted at once.
It all depends on what your friend intends to do?

The post I was replying to has been removed !

grumbler

Jon_01 wrote: »

All the networks are starting to blacklist high value handsets if payments stop near the beginning of the contract.

It's the first time I hear about this. Any proofs?
Networks can't benefit in any way from doing this.

Jon_01

grumbler wrote: »

It's the first time I hear about this. Any proofs?
Networks can't benefit in any way from doing this.

I don't have a link I can point you towards, but one of the guys I used to work with lead the team that implemented the program at one of the networks late last year. I understand its running on most (if not all) the networks now.

j3251

I think I will leave it out..

Would be gutted to find phone blocked due to unpaid bill..

Shall save a little more and purchase it out right from apple as I have a sim only etc

Techhead_2

grumbler wrote: »

It's the first time I hear about this. Any proofs?
Networks can't benefit in any way from doing this.

I'm surprised you haven't heard of this. If there is a suspicion of fraud (eg no payments at all or an initial payment and then no further contact) then the handset will be blocked.

DevCoder

It protects the network against people buying phones then reselling them for a quick buck knowing that this screws both the buyer and the network as they are down the profit due to subsidising the handset at the reduced rate.

Enforce an IMEI block on these scam buy/sales and this reduces the amount the networks lose out on.

sdduk

To be honest i thought the networks only blocked phones if they were reported lost or stolen not missing payments.