Paid to unlock a iphone

kmw5494

Hi I bought a Iphone 4 a few days ago second hand and was told by the person it was locked to Vodafone network( I asked which network as I can't read small text due to my eyesight). So I went to the Vodafone shop asked could they unlock the phone, they said as I was not the original owner they couldn't but a phone shop around the corner could help.
So I went in asked could they unlock it he said yes it would cost £45 that he only needed the imei number from my phone and I could keep hold of the phone. He said it would take 2-4 working days and he would call me with the unlocking code as soon as he had it. By the time I have come out of the store the man in Vodafone came out an said "sorry love, my mistake it is already unlocked". So I went back to the other phone shop and said can I have a refund as the phone is unlocked so I am paying you for a service that you are not going to provide(as it is already unlocked). He said no you give me money I have processed order and already paid money to them. I explain what he had wrote on my receipt that it was 2-4 working days so why not give me a refund. He showed me on his computer that it was pending and not actually processed and he can cancel it with whatever company he was dealing with after 4 days.
He was refusing a refund so I called the police they tried to reason with him and he wouldn't have it. So the police said to take it to trading standards.
I then told the man I was taking it to trading standards and he said "don't threaten me I will tell police me have cctv, you white people follow English rules and regulations". I explain it is not threatening explaining that I had been advised by the police. as he had been paid for a service that had not been provided, he even admitted it to police that he hadn't unlocked the phone.
I spoke to a friend who works in a unlocking shop for mobile and he said when he processed my imei it would have shown up it was unlocked but the man never mentioned it to me. He just said are you sure its locked to Vodafone. I just told him that's what I have been told.(looking back him saying that he must of known it was unlocked). He has no refund or exchange policy up in the store explaining about refund or exchanges. He tried to say he doesn't need one and he has only just opened so that his excuse.
My query is I have paid for a service I won't receive as the phone is already unlocked. I felt he knew that by asking me knowing I can't read small text, so took advantage.
There was no policy up in the store regarding refunds and exchanges which I thought they had to by law.
Then to say you white people follow English rules and regulations is out of order. If I had said that to him I would definitely be classed as racist, so I think it kind of works to ways.

Is there any advice you can give me regarding what to take to trading standards and if any,what legislation/act he has broke?


Sorry for the long post also excuse the bad punctuation.

mije1983

Unless a retailer decides to offer one (which in this case he obviously doesn't), there is no requirement for them to refund/exchange anything bought in store if the customer changes their mind.

Obviously if he knew the phone was already unlocked, but took your money anyway, then you may have a case. The difficulty is proving that.

I'm a bit confused by who told you it was locked to Vodafone though? You first said the original seller, who you asked as you couldn't read small print, but then how did the guy in the shop know you couldn't read small print?

gik

kmw5494 wrote: »

Hi I bought a Iphone 4 a few days ago second hand and was told by the person it was locked to Vodafone network( I asked which network as I can't read small text due to my eyesight). So I went to the Vodafone shop asked could they unlock the phone, they said as I was not the original owner they couldn't but a phone shop around the corner could help.
So I went in asked could they unlock it he said yes it would cost £45 that he only needed the imei number from my phone and I could keep hold of the phone. He said it would take 2-4 working days and he would call me with the unlocking code as soon as he had it. By the time I have come out of the store the man in Vodafone came out an said "sorry love, my mistake it is already unlocked". So I went back to the other phone shop and said can I have a refund as the phone is unlocked so I am paying you for a service that you are not going to provide(as it is already unlocked). He said no you give me money I have processed order and already paid money to them. I explain what he had wrote on my receipt that it was 2-4 working days so why not give me a refund. He showed me on his computer that it was pending and not actually processed and he can cancel it with whatever company he was dealing with after 4 days.
He was refusing a refund so I called the police they tried to reason with him and he wouldn't have it. So the police said to take it to trading standards.
I then told the man I was taking it to trading standards and he said "don't threaten me I will tell police me have cctv, you white people follow English rules and regulations". I explain it is not threatening explaining that I had been advised by the police. as he had been paid for a service that had not been provided, he even admitted it to police that he hadn't unlocked the phone.
I spoke to a friend who works in a unlocking shop for mobile and he said when he processed my imei it would have shown up it was unlocked but the man never mentioned it to me. He just said are you sure its locked to Vodafone. I just told him that's what I have been told.(looking back him saying that he must of known it was unlocked). He has no refund or exchange policy up in the store explaining about refund or exchanges. He tried to say he doesn't need one and he has only just opened so that his excuse.
My query is I have paid for a service I won't receive as the phone is already unlocked. I felt he knew that by asking me knowing I can't read small text, so took advantage.
There was no policy up in the store regarding refunds and exchanges which I thought they had to by law.
Then to say you white people follow English rules and regulations is out of order. If I had said that to him I would definitely be classed as racist, so I think it kind of works to ways.

Is there any advice you can give me regarding what to take to trading standards and if any,what legislation/act he has broke?


Sorry for the long post also excuse the bad punctuation.

In case it goes.

photome

Why wouldnt you just try your sim card first before handing over £45

mattyprice4004

He doesn't have to give you a refund - it's not his fault it was already unlocked.
Also, it's an iPhone, not a iPhone.

tomtontom

You called the police? What crime did you think had been committed? One can only hope you did not use 999 ...

[Deleted User]

Next time you go and buy something take a responsible adult with you.

halibut2209

Why wouldn't you use your friend to unlock your phone?
You called the police because a shop wouldn't give you a refund??

Wow.

OlliesDad

It sounds like the shop you went to does not actually do the unlocking himself. It sounds like he uses a 3rd party to do it, and as he has paid out to them to get it done, you are not entitled to a refund. For the same reason, he wouldn't have known that you were mistaken about the status of the phone at the time of sale.

InsideInsurance

The whole story sounds wrong, especially as your spoke to a friend who works in a unlocking shop who would instantly know that iPhone unlocking doesnt involve generating a code.

You have to either jailbreak the phone, which you do then and there and just require the phone itself or the Apple registry of iPhones is updated to remove the lock and you then simply update the phone via iTunes (or over the internet on later versions).

As others have said, you have no statutory cancellation rights on anything bought in person at a shop/ stand/ stall etc other than financial services and one or two other heavily regulated industries (which mobile phone unlocking isnt). For a service like this it would be subject to the stores terms and conditions that you intrinsically agree to by paying.

If you cancel the service they technically cannot automatically keep all your money but they are entitled to retain funds to cover their costs to date and any reasonable fee for administration etc. So cancel a £50,000 service within an hour or two and you'll probably get a fair proportion back but for a £45 service you wouldnt be expecting to get anything.

tonycottee

Oh come off it!
Post written by a 1st time poster? Check
Written at an ungodly hour? Check
An overreaction in there? Check - Police called
Major controversy? Check - Racist abuse!
A story that makes no sense - Check
Not much point using a phone if you cant actually read the text in the 1st place. And as somebody mentioned, why wouldn't you use your friend to unlock it in the 1st place?