Sold a Fake Samsung Galaxy S4

condorvi

Hi,

Last night I went to pick up a Galaxy S4 from a seller quite close to me, upon first inspection I couldn't notice any problem with the phone and agreed to buy it for £200. When I actually sat down to use it I noticed it lacked a lot of original features, an IMEI check revealed that it wasn't genuine and that I had been sold a fake paperweight essentially.

Anybody have any suggestions on what action I should take? Tried calling, texting and had no luck.

Thanks

JJ_Egan

Private seller then its caveat emptor > buyer beware .
Was the phone advertised ???
Was it actually described as a Samsung S4 .

criboo

From where did you arrange the purchase, is there any evidence of communication? Text messages, emails, online messaging etc?

Where did you pick up the phone? If it was at a residential address then you should report it to the police, obviously.

condorvi

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Private seller then its caveat emptor > buyer beware .
Was the phone advertised ???
Was it actually described as a Samsung S4 .

Yeah, advertised on a forum and Gumtree as a Samsung Galaxy S4 unlocked in mint condition. Its a very good clone, didn't notice until using for around 15 mins.

condorvi

criboo wrote: »

From where did you arrange the purchase, is there any evidence of communication? Text messages, emails, online messaging etc?

Where did you pick up the phone? If it was at a residential address then you should report it to the police, obviously.

Got it from a resident close to me. Have texts arranging and questioning him about the phone, he never once suggested that it was fake.

JJ_Egan

False advertising if it said ..Samsung Galaxy S4>>
Some no network shop demo S4s are sold as genuine or their are the clones from China .

condorvi

JJ_Egan wrote: »

False advertising if it said ..Samsung Galaxy S4>>
Some no network shop demo S4s are sold as genuine or their are the clones from China .

Did a test on the phone and its specs definitely confirm that it is fake, a MediaTek CPU or something. Not really sure how to take action against the seller though, reporting to then police will probably result in the phone being taken and I doubt I'll get reimbursed.

Any suggestions? I feel particularly bad because it was a gift from family for completing my first year of uni. With no experience of Samsung phones I wasn't sure what to look for.

pinkshoes

Go back and knock on the seller's door and ask for a refund.

If they refuse, then inform them you are phoning the police.

Do you have someone "bulky" you could take with you?

On the plus side, you know where they live...

powerful_Rogue

Have you contacted the seller? Is there a possibility they didn't know it was a fake?

One thing you should be aware of - The seller could turn around and say that they gave you a genuine Galaxy S4 and you have now swapped if for a fake and trying to pull a fast one.

(I dont think that, but letting you know of a potential situation)

Bantex_2

Sorry, but why not buy from a shop?
Even someone like Cash Convertors would be safer than a Gumtree ad.

dacouch

pinkshoes wrote: »

Go back and knock on the seller's door and ask for a refund.

If they refuse, then inform them you are phoning the police.

Do you have someone "bulky" you could take with you?

On the plus side, you know where they live...

I'm guessing they met the seller somewhere public...