WEBUYANYPHONE.COM -- a warning

MataNui

Its a pretty good business model really (short term anyway). Take loads of phones, dont pay anything. Most customers will moan then accept the loss. Some will go to court. They dont care. If they take 50 phones and get one court case they are still massively quids in. They just dont contest then pay out on the judgment and they are in the clear.


100% profit on 50 phones that they dont pay out for then pay a judgment on one that might cost them 2 or 3 times the original quote. Thats a pretty good profit margin. Then when it does get too hot just close down and do a bunk.

Cornucopia

I had a phone to dispose of a couple of weeks ago. It was unboxed and had been on a contract, but it was genuinely unused - never even taken outdoors. It was in perfect condition.

I had a quick look on phone buying websites, and the consensus seemed to be around £18. At the same time, new ones were £100-120.

So, I put it on eBay, and the reaction was excellent. I started it at £50 and had a single bid within a day or so. By the end of bidding, it went at £70+, paid immediately. Even the Royal Mail did their bit flawlessly, taking the parcel on "First Class Signed For" at £4.45(?). Posted it at 3pm, it arrived at 11am the next day, at the other end of the country, with a confirmation signature on the RM website.

Luggerbugs

I eventually got my money from webuyanyphone.com only after filing a claim for money through the courts.

If you're owed money from this company I urge you to do the same. You can do it all online and it doesn't take long to fill in the claim. It will cost you £25 to make the claim but you'll get it back, plus interest, if you win.

Just Google "Make a court claim for money - GOV.UK" (can't post links)

davidtay

Don't use we by any phone

I had a very similar experience to many people on here. I sent my samsung galaxy s9 plus in with a promised value of 210, a few days later they state it was defective and offered 80. Knowing the phone was in perfect condition I requested it to be returned. Within 24 hours I get a further message saying their testing procedure had made a mistake and they could now offer me its full value and I would be paid the full amount and this had been paid. Based on the fact my last official contact had been to request my phone back and removed my permission for the sale to continue I was less than impressed they said the sale had been processed without confirming I wished to continue I was not happy. I received two emails and a phone call claiming I would receive funds within 7 days and this never happened. I'm still waiting so this has now been reported to the police and trading standards. Dont use and dont trust.

cazzzie987

Updated to 2024 and they are still scamming people the same way!!

sheslookinhot

teddysmum said:

Sounds rather like the companies who buy any car; the price dropping as son as they see the car.

It doesn’t sound like the companies who buy any car. These companies actually pay out on their agreements.

unclejimmy

We buy any phone still cowboys

Absolute cowboys
I went through a price comparison site for mobile phones and picked them. The site only allowed the ratings of 
New
Good
Poor
Broken
So chose good based on what available 
Sent off the phone and they said average due to some marks (it’s 2 years old and so accept this but really really minimal stuff) 
They changed offer from £195 to £100 which is a complete rip off
Out of interest I went back to the original comparison site and picked Poor as it was clearly above this grading and they had in fact said average in their response.
I emailed and pointed this out and they came back with offer of £10 more which was a joke 
and pointed out their honesty policy! And said strange you called it average but the offer is the same as when I pressed poor on the comparison site from what was available 
I asked for return of my phone and they then quoted that I had not graded correctly at outset (even though as I have said the site didn’t allow anything else ) and want £10 to return it to me.
im getting it back which will cost me £10 but will find any other alternative but them 

Avoid at all costs and look at the many 1 star reviews on trustpilot that I now see in hindsight all responded to with the same (dis)honesty policy

JSmithy45AD

unclejimmy said:

We buy any phone still cowboys

Absolute cowboys
I went through a price comparison site for mobile phones and picked them. The site only allowed the ratings of 
New
Good
Poor
Broken
So chose good based on what available 
Sent off the phone and they said average due to some marks (it’s 2 years old and so accept this but really really minimal stuff) 
They changed offer from £195 to £100 which is a complete rip off
Out of interest I went back to the original comparison site and picked Poor as it was clearly above this grading and they had in fact said average in their response.
I emailed and pointed this out and they came back with offer of £10 more which was a joke 
and pointed out their honesty policy! And said strange you called it average but the offer is the same as when I pressed poor on the comparison site from what was available 
I asked for return of my phone and they then quoted that I had not graded correctly at outset (even though as I have said the site didn’t allow anything else ) and want £10 to return it to me.
im getting it back which will cost me £10 but will find any other alternative but them 

Avoid at all costs and look at the many 1 star reviews on trustpilot that I now see in hindsight all responded to with the same (dis)honesty policy

I would donate the phone rather than use rip off merchants like these guys.

user789012

I’m in the process of having a very big fight with we buy any phone. They are definitely scammers. I’m new to this site, but I’d really like to hear from anyone that has previously had a successful outcome with them. at this point, I think I’ll take them to small claims court. I’m simply not willing to just roll over and accept what they are saying. They have basically stolen my phone and said they’ve never received a phone with IMEI number. I’ve only ever owned one iPhone 13 which I sent them so this is a complete lie. They turned to this once I provided proof that I had sent them a good phone so this was their last resort to scan me. At this point, I have no phone and they have stolen my property. 

rm_rainman

Wish I’d read this forum first. They’re still at it (April 2025)! ‘We buy any phone’ masquerading as ‘top cashback - sell your phone’ asked a few high level questions such as does it switch on and is the screen or back smashed. It was in very good nick as I always had a case and screen protector applied and am very careful with my belongings. The front and back glass was flawless. They offered me £30 for my iPhone X plus a top cashback reward. When they received the phone, they said front screen, back and edges were clearly scratched and tried to back this up with a video with a hand holding a phone but no clear damage. They offered me £10 with a message saying to call them urgently re the offer. I rang them, disagreed with their findings as the glass front and back was in really good condition and original. They upped the offer to £15. I still asked that the phone be returned as I didn’t like their deceitfulness and bartering once in possession of the device. BE WARNED!