There is a Mobile Phone Blacklist!

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matelodave wrote: »

I'm wondering why you feel Vodafone should feel your wrath.
You didn't buy the phone from them, they didn't block it, they gave you another sim to try and suggested that you had a faulty phone.
It wasn't up to them to sort out a problem with a phone that you didn't buy from them. Possibly all they could have done is tell you who to contact about finding out who did the unblocking assuming that they were aware that it had been blocked. Did you give them your IMEI and serial numbers? and ask them to check
What other help do you think they could have given you?

Generally if you get a cracking deal there's a catch somewhere and you should have been a bit wary of buying from an unnamed company even if it was via Amazon - why aren't you venting your anger at them.

Not particularly helpful this post? Where did you get your knowledge of mobile phone technology and how the systems work in the UK?

d123

AlanMoneySavingMan wrote: »

Well the phone was brand new when we got it so there is no previous owner - but I see your point.

The phone might have looked new to you, but it is now apparent you actually bought a second hand phone originally sold by T-Mobile. The person who T-Mobile supplied the phone to is the previous (or original) owner.

PS

Include a copy of the receipt, not the original, odds are T-Mobile will lose it if you do.

Nick_C

Every phone you buy has been owned by someone else - usually a retailer.

I bought a brand new, security sealed, phone from a major retailer on Amazon Marketplace. I had the same problem.

ste_wilko

d123 wrote: »

The phone might have looked new to you, but it is now apparent you actually bought a second hand phone originally sold by T-Mobile. The person who T-Mobile supplied the phone to is the previous (or original) owner.

PS

Include a copy of the receipt, not the original, odds are T-Mobile will lose it if you do.

Not necessarily true. The person who sold the phone could have bought it SIM free or from T-Mobile but never opened it. They only need to be a customer of T-Mobile and can register any device to their operator as lost or stolen. They do not need to have been supplied the handset by the operator

d123

ste_wilko wrote: »

Not necessarily true. The person who sold the phone could have bought it SIM free or from T-Mobile but never opened it. They only need to be a customer of T-Mobile and can register any device to their operator as lost or stolen. They do not need to have been supplied the handset by the operator

It would still be second hand! If I (as a private person) buy something and then sell it on, whether I use it or not, the item is still legally second hand and the second buyer is exactly that, the second owner (with the loss of consumer rights and warranty obligations from the actual retailer).

Also, the T-Mobile system was set up that you couldn't blacklist an IMEI that had not been live on the system (and I can't see why they would have changed that since I left), so it would be a bit difficult to have been correctly blacklisted if it was sealed in a box.

@ste_wilko, you seem to enjoy being an expert on all networks and all makes and models of phones, have you ever worked for a network or only for Wilko's to gain the extensive knowledge you think you have?

talktalktobt

I've been there - although some years ago. With me, it turned out the phones were stolen (in original packaging) when being sent to a retailer. The phone made its way to a legitimate retailer and was sold to me.

If you bought through Amazon you have some protection - I would contact them to arrange a refund and to notify them.

ste_wilko

d123 wrote: »

@ste_wilko, you seem to enjoy being an expert on all networks and all makes and models of phones, have you ever worked for a network or only for Wilko's to gain the extensive knowledge you think you have?

And you feel this because? I don't profess to be an expert on anything at all. You don't know anything about me or where I have or haven't worked, so kindly keep your assumptions about me to yourself. OK?

Nick_C

d123 wrote: »

It would still be second hand! If I (as a private person) buy something and then sell it on, whether I use it or not, the item is still legally second hand and the second buyer is exactly that, the second owner (with the loss of consumer rights and warranty obligations from the actual retailer).

Also, the T-Mobile system was set up that you couldn't blacklist an IMEI that had not been live on the system (and I can't see why they would have changed that since I left), so it would be a bit difficult to have been correctly blacklisted if it was sealed in a box.

Well maybe things have changed since your worked for T-Mobile, because I had exactly the same problem.

See my post https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4919838

I bought a brand new phone in its original packaging and with a factory seal on the box. It was supplied by Gadget Heaven, an apparently reputable retailer on Amazon Marketplace. Six weeks later, it was blocked by T-Mobile.

d123

Nick_C wrote: »

Well maybe things have changed since your worked for T-Mobile, because I had exactly the same problem.

See my post https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4919838

I bought a brand new phone in its original packaging and with a factory seal on the box. It was supplied by Gadget Heaven, an apparently reputable retailer on Amazon Marketplace. Six weeks later, it was blocked by T-Mobile.

Reputable retailer and Marketplace sometimes don't go together, you probably received T-Mobile stock stolen at some point of the supply chain. T-Mobile Retail has an active Fraud/Theft section who chase up stock losses (and can add lost/stolen stock to the blacklist as the IMEIs are already on the system).

It's not the same as a customer simply ringing up to get a non T-Mobile handset added to the blacklist like our friend from Wilko's thinks.

Nick_C

If the phone I bought had been T Mobile stock, then surely it would have been locked to their network, had T Mobile software on it, and possibly been badged? When I used to get my phones from Orange on a contract, they had all these identifiers.