Purchased used phone, blacklisted one month later.

DisposableHero

Hi all,
A friend of mine recently purchased a phone from one of these independent/franchise phone repair shops that every town seems to have. It was sold as brand new. Which it wasn't. Item was not sealed and there was a pay as you go 3 SIM inside the phone. At this point I would have taken it back but my friend was happy to leave it as it was in perfect condition.

5 weeks later the phone is now emergency calls only and a CheckMEND report shows it as blacklisted so chances are a previous owner has either not paid the contract associated with it or reported it lost or stolen after selling it to the shop.

Unfortunately, since purchase the phone has been dropped and has a crack across the front corner bezel. This is where the retailer are digging their heels in saying that it voids the warranty. However, if she pays £65 for the screen to be replaced on a now useless handset they will replace the phone. To my knowledge only the person that requested the block can reverse it. They say they have the info of the person they bought it from and mentioned that they would have to hand the phone to the police following an exchange. They also say their definition of brand new is that it was sealed when they received it and the SIM was left in there after testing.

The damage to the screen is causing the issue and I would completely understand if there was any way they could resell the phone but they can't. It just seems mad to me to repair something that is essentially worthless because of the block.

I'm curious if anyone else has had similar experiences and how/if they were resolved. All she wants is a working handset, even if it were the same one, if the original owner were to reverse the block that would be ideal but that seems unlikely and obviously we can't get that information.

Any outside views are appreciated as I know sometimes it's hard to see other sides. Thanks for reading.

hollydays

So , just to confirm, if you pay to repair the damage you caused they will give you another phone?
I believe blocked phones can be sold in certain countries.

sheramber

the person hwo handed it in may be the person who stole it, not the original owner.

flashg67

Understand the frustration, but look at it another way, if the phone hadn't been blocked, they'd still have dropped and had to pay to replace the screen anyway to continue using it?

hollydays

Or look at it this way, if the phone was stolen you've got the upper hand.

unholyangel

It may void the warranty but it cannot void your statutory rights.

Different if perhaps the damage had caused/contributed to the lack of conformity or might be made worse by effecting a repair but none of that is the case with a blacklisted phone.

How did she pay for it?

unholyangel

Did your friend get a report from checkmend? If so, what did it say on there? Going off their sample report, it should have told her if it was lost, subject to an insurance claim, has outstanding finance etc.

robatwork

How sturdy is your friend?

Chances are this phone shop will not want the police involved.
She could try being quietly assertive in the shop itself and say she will get the police involved as she believes they have been handling stolen goods. This could of course backfire hence my question.

If they will give her a full refund if she replaces the screen then that's the other option for a quieter life - after all she did drop it.

mattyprice4004

She broke the screen, she needs to pay to have it fixed before it's handed back.
It doesn't matter what the point of it is or isn't - that's for the phone shop to know, and not you / your friend.

They're entitled back to the goods back in good condition for a warranty swap, regardless of circumstance.

AndyMc.....

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

She broke the screen, she needs to pay to have it fixed before it's handed back.
It doesn't matter what the point of it is or isn't - that's for the phone shop to know, and not you / your friend.

They're entitled back to the goods back in good condition for a warranty swap, regardless of circumstance.

Are they entitled to a warranty swap on stolen goods?

baldelectrician

The cracked screen is irrelevant
The phone is no longer usable (not fit for purpose as it is blocked)


How did she pay- if it was card then she could get a chargeback