Problem selling EE phone

Pandilex

I had a 12 month contract with EE which included a handset.

The phone developed a fault with the charging port but it was still mostly usable, just a real pain sometimes when the cable would be slightly loose and it wouldn't charge, or it would move 1mm on my desk and stop charging.

After 11 months I phoned EE to change onto a SIM only plan (because I knew the !!!!!!s would neglect to tell me and continue charging £50/month or whatever it was). I mentioned about the problems with my phone and they said it's still under warranty, so I could get a replacement if there was a fault.

I sorted out my new SIM only contract, which the guy said was effective immediately, and they also did a phone swap warranty replacement.

I actually decided to buy a new handset at the same time, so I had the old one (now replaced under warranty) and I figured I would just sell it on ebay.

So I popped it on ebay and now the person buying it has said it has been blacklisted (?) for being reported lost or stolen. I haven't reported it lost or stolen, so I have no idea what's going on. Surely it is my phone to do with as I please?

I am going to phone EE tomorrow and the seller is very open and polite. But I am just wondering if I might have missed something that lets EE still have some kind of contractual ownership of the phone even though the contract ended. When I went to sell it I asked if they could unlock it and they said I had to own the phone for 6 months before they could do that - which is a bit cheap, because I had had the phone for 12 months, just because it crapped out they've decided to reset the clock.

Any advice is welcome. Worse case I have to refund the seller

grumbler

Can it be that the phone is just locked to EE and the buyer uses some other network SIM?

Pandilex

The buyer said they had a BT sim, and according to the EE website I read somewhere that BT sims will work in EE locked phones cos it's the same network

pmduk

So, let me get this straight the original handset that EE has since replaced is still in your possession and you want to sell it? If so, it's not yours to sell. EE will have bricked it on the basis you claimed it was unusable.

You'll need to apologise and refund your eBay buyer.

I apologise if I've misunderstood your post.

Cornucopia

pmduk wrote: »

I apologise if I've misunderstood your post.

I think you may have.

I think the OP had the phone replaced by EE under warranty, and then decided to sell it, since it was then out of contract.

The only thing that's questionable is why they decided to try to sell it after EE had told them that it was still locked to their network (which is what I think paragraph 7 says).

In my experience, EE definitely require 6 months ownership before unlocking phones. They say that the process takes up to 10 days, and requires a handset-specific unlocking code.

I sold an ex-EE phone on eBay a few months ago, and it all went quite well.

flashg67

OP,clarify if the phone you sold was the old slightly faulty one or it's warranty replacement? If the latter, does seem strange it would be blacklisted

Pandilex

Sorry, to clarify, EE swapped my old broken phone for a new phone as a warranty replacement. I then wanted to sell the new one, believing it was 100% mine as the 12 month contract had ended, and I was paying something like 50 quid a month plus an upfront fee so I had paid more than the cost of the phone over the course of the contract.

When I sold it I said that it was locked to EE so you would need an EE sim card.

molerat

Pandilex wrote: »

The buyer said they had a BT sim, and according to the EE website I read somewhere that BT sims will work in EE locked phones cos it's the same network

EE forum posts suggest there is about a 50/50 chance of a BT sim working depending on phone.

d123

Pandilex wrote: »

The buyer said they had a BT sim, and according to the EE website I read somewhere that BT sims will work in EE locked phones cos it's the same network

I suggest you ask the buyer to try an actual EE SIM card and see if that is working. It’s quite possible the phone might be locked in a way only EE sims will work and not the BT one, this can happen.

What phone is it?

20aday

Which phone did you sell on eBay, OP?

I'm not sure what the process is for other phones e.g. Android but I know with iPhone it brings up a screen saying to insert the right network SIM, if it's locked, or words to that effect.

d123

20aday wrote: »

Which phone did you sell on eBay, OP?

I'm not sure what the process is for other phones e.g. Android but I know with iPhone it brings up a screen saying to insert the right network SIM, if it's locked, or words to that effect.

Newer versions of iOS don’t seem to bring that message up anymore.