There is a Mobile Phone Blacklist!

AlanMoneySavingMan

Okay so to wrap this up.

As predicted here, T mobile never deigned to reply to our detailed letter to them neither did Vodafone. The GSM Association gave me the run around.

After 2-3 calls to their customer services people, Amazon got the reseller to take back the phone for refund. The reseller still did not provide contact details but instead, we were instructed to send it back by registered post via a shipping agency called mysupportsite.co.uk located in Basingstoke. This we did and got confirmed delivery. Two weeks later, no refund. Sent email to mysupportsite.co.uk but they never responded, so if you're ever invited to use mysupportsite.co.uk AVOID THEM.

As we still had no direct contact details for the reseller (who now had the blacklisted phone AND our money) contracted Amazon again to advise them that a theft had been committed via their site. After three weeks heard no more from Amazon. A follow up phone call to them and a broken promise of a fast callback later - emailed direct to managing director Amazon. Within 48 hours a full apology and full refund from Amazon.

Now, we feel bad for Amazon because they were caught in the middle of this - but very thankful to them for redressing our loss, albeit only after going over the heads of their ineffectual front line customer services people.

The REAL beef here is the mobile phone industry and how it is regulated. That fact that you can buy a legit phone costing almost £300 and someone for some reason can make it un-usable for no known reason and EVERYONE (OFCOM included) can just walk away from the issue, is plainly not right.

I am going to follow up on this in several ways. With the GSMA, with my MP and (if I have to) the media.

Thanks to all for the comments and help here - in the best tradition of this site.

Alan T

prowla

Well, there is a mechanism for blocking phones, and it is intended to be used to stop stolen/lost/replaced phones being re-used.

There are people who can manipulate this system by selling a phone (even unopened) to someone, and then reporting it lost/stolen some time after; if they are the original purchaser then it's their word that will be taken. If they've got insurance, then they'll get a new phone as well as having someone's cash.

Doing it on purpose is either theft or fraud.

eddddy

AlanMoneySavingMan wrote: »

...
The REAL beef here is the mobile phone industry and how it is regulated. That fact that you can buy a legit phone costing almost £300 and someone for some reason can make it un-usable for no known reason and EVERYONE (OFCOM included) can just walk away from the issue, is plainly not right.
...

Not really.

It seems you were sold a stolen mobile phone. Your complaint is 100% with the person that sold it to you. It's not T-Mobile's fault or ofcom's fault that somebody sold you a stolen phone.

(Just like it's not Ford's fault if somebody sells you a stolen Ford car.)

Your next steps should have been to claim your money back from the person that sold it to you - through the small claims court, if necessary.

And Amazon are baddies as well, because they hide the identity of market place sellers, making it difficult to make a claim against them.

Nick_C

This certainly needs investigating. I wonder if Watchdog or Rip Off Britain would get involved?

Perhaps the Police should also be getting involved if Amazon are routinely (through their marketplace) facilitating the sale of stolen goods.

Personally, I still find it hard to believe that my unbranded unlocked brand new phone in a sealed box had ever belonged to T Mobile. I think mistakes are being made, and consumers are being left high and dry. And if my phone was genuinely stolen from T Mobile, why did it take them more than 6 weeks to block it?

Silk

Nick_C wrote: »

Personally, I still find it hard to believe that my unbranded unlocked brand new phone in a sealed box had ever belonged to T Mobile. I think mistakes are being made, and consumers are being left high and dry. And if my phone was genuinely stolen from T Mobile, why did it take them more than 6 weeks to block it?

I doubt in your case it was "stolen" as such, more likely to be due to outstanding contract.
Probably bought on contract using T-Mobile, then during the first month sold through the website, contract becomes overdue the second month and blocked the end of that month due to non payment. Hence it was blocked circa 6 weeks from your purchase.

Nick_C

Silk wrote: »

I doubt in your case it was "stolen" as such, more likely to be due to outstanding contract.
Probably bought on contract using T-Mobile, then during the first month sold through the website, contract becomes overdue the second month and blocked the end of that month due to non payment. Hence it was blocked circa 6 weeks from your purchase.

I bought my phone from an on-line retailer, not an individual. I bought it through Amazon from a supplier called Gadget Heaven. They have a 4.5 star feedback rating. I don't see how it could have belonged to T Mobile, or why it was reported stolen six weeks after I bought it. It was new in a sealed box. It was unlocked. There was no T Mobile branding or software on the phone.

Silk

Nick_C wrote: »

I bought my phone from an on-line retailer, not an individual. I bought it through Amazon from a supplier called Gadget Heaven. They have a 4.5 star feedback rating. I don't see how it could have belonged to T Mobile, or why it was reported stolen six weeks after I bought it. It was new in a sealed box. It was unlocked. There was no T Mobile branding or software on the phone.

Who said it was stolen ?
Not all phones are locked there's plenty unlocked available from the likes of CPW etc If the intention is to sell the phones on as new they are hardly going to open the sealed box
Ignore the 4.5 feedback you will notice the 1/5 feedbacks Oct Nov etc
Same company as Top Electricals by the looks of things and going off the timescale you quote my thought is the phones were obtained on contract/credit and not paid for

gycraig_2

Lots or foreigners do this just before they go home for the final time

cgk1

Nick_C wrote: »

I bought my phone from an on-line retailer, not an individual.

Who could be a dude working out of his bedroom - Amazon's market place is full of them.

AlanMoneySavingMan

re: eddddy
15-12-2014, 12:49 AM
>>>It seems you were sold a stolen mobile phone. Your complaint is 100% with the person that sold it to you. It's not T-Mobile's fault or ofcom's fault that somebody sold you a stolen phone

I kind of agree, but it's still a broken system. If T-Mobile or the GSM-A or Vodafone had come back to me and said yes, your phone is definitely stolen then I could have gone to Amazon and said "your reseller sold me a stolen phone". But because it was blacklisted by a mobile operator with whom I have no commercial relationship they would tell me nothing and for a long time I had no way to know WHY it had been blacklisted.

It's almost like someone offered me the Queen's personal limousine and I called Buck house and said "are they really able to sell me this, has it been stolen or is it legit?" and they refused to reply one way or the other.