Scammed and send abusive messages by seller trying to extort more money on Shpock

jon81uk

DiddyDavies said:

jon81uk said:

Private sales are not covered under UK law so unless you bought from a business that won't protect you.

That comment is incorrect.
Private sales are covered under UK law (The consumer rights act), it's just that there are not as many parts of it that apply to sales from a private individual.
There is still a legal requirement for any goods sold to match their description so if the advert stated that the phone was unlocked and this wasn't correct, it is a breach of the legislation.

Yes sorry you are right, there is the bare minimum requirement to be as described, but it isn't really equivilant to buying from a business. Its more about taking them to court so doesn't help much.

Penguin_

I did this by accident with an iPhone I sold on eBay. I sold it as unlocked but it turned out it wasn't. The buyer, who was someone who buys iPhones with broken screens etc (which mine was), messaged to say it wasn't unlocked & sent a pic to prove it. I apologised & offered to pay some money back to which they said for me to contact the network it was on, in this case Vodafone, & request them to unlock. I did this & they provided me with the code needed the next day. 

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

My new iPhone 11, bought not at the tac stall round the back of the Dog and Duck, is not locked! They have not been locked for a while!

I'll get the popcorn ready for this thread!

Jumblebumble

awanders said:

Hi, would be really grateful for your help.

Yesterday my girlfriend bought an iPhone on Shpock and it is locked - so completely unusable, despite being described as unlocked.

She used their buyer protection, but it was dropped off in person, so we had to release the funds to get the phone. Buyer protection only works when you get an item delivered apparently, we didn't know the phone was locked until we tried to use our SIM at home.

So clearly we were scammed.

We have been trying to resolve the issue with the seller, but he is claiming the phone is working perfectly fine and is unlocked. We appealed to Shpock, but all we got was an automated message saying that we have to resolve the issue with the seller (despite it being less than an hour since we got the phone).

We tried to resolve it with the seller again, but he is sending my girlfriend - and me - super aggressive messages, saying that he hasn't been paid yet and that if we don't release funds he will go to the police. We have already paid for the phone of course.

Shpock's customer support and policy documentation is non-existent for these situations. It's clearly a place where scammers can get away with anything, and where no support is given to buyers that get ripped off and abused for it.

The seller is now hammering me with messages trying to extort more money. Shpock are being completely unresponsive.

Realistically, what can I do?

The seller has not complied with theTandC of the buyer protection as they are obliged to provide a shipping receipt which they cannot do
You should ask Ayden to hold the payment or chargeback  till he does so.
Tell the police the same thing if they come calling and tell the buyer you will be telling the police if they come that he has defrauded you.
I think you may be  a bit stuffed as you are dealing with a company in Austria who are very cheap and thus are unlikely to have the customer service you expect, and have no interest in sorting out the matter

awanders

Penguin_ said:

I did this by accident with an iPhone I sold on eBay. I sold it as unlocked but it turned out it wasn't. The buyer, who was someone who buys iPhones with broken screens etc (which mine was), messaged to say it wasn't unlocked & sent a pic to prove it. I apologised & offered to pay some money back to which they said for me to contact the network it was on, in this case Vodafone, & request them to unlock. I did this & they provided me with the code needed the next day. 

I wish this happened! I did some digging and this phone has been blacklisted.

awanders

awanders said:

Hi, would be really grateful for your help.

Yesterday my girlfriend bought an iPhone on Shpock and it is locked - so completely unusable, despite being described as unlocked.

She used their buyer protection, but it was dropped off in person, so we had to release the funds to get the phone. Buyer protection only works when you get an item delivered apparently, we didn't know the phone was locked until we tried to use our SIM at home.

So clearly we were scammed.

We have been trying to resolve the issue with the seller, but he is claiming the phone is working perfectly fine and is unlocked. We appealed to Shpock, but all we got was an automated message saying that we have to resolve the issue with the seller (despite it being less than an hour since we got the phone).

We tried to resolve it with the seller again, but he is sending my girlfriend - and me - super aggressive messages, saying that he hasn't been paid yet and that if we don't release funds he will go to the police. We have already paid for the phone of course.

Shpock's customer support and policy documentation is non-existent for these situations. It's clearly a place where scammers can get away with anything, and where no support is given to buyers that get ripped off and abused for it.

The seller is now hammering me with messages trying to extort more money. Shpock are being completely unresponsive.

Realistically, what can I do?

Update: the phone has been blacklisted, so was probably stolen. Will speak to the police but finding it impossible to get hold of Shpock - other than getting an automated message back.

awanders

Wanderingpomm said:

iPhones usually lock to the first network they are put on. You should be able to get it unlocked 

Unfortunately, it has been blacklisted so can't be unlocked.

jon81uk

awanders said:

awanders said:

Hi, would be really grateful for your help.

Yesterday my girlfriend bought an iPhone on Shpock and it is locked - so completely unusable, despite being described as unlocked.

She used their buyer protection, but it was dropped off in person, so we had to release the funds to get the phone. Buyer protection only works when you get an item delivered apparently, we didn't know the phone was locked until we tried to use our SIM at home.

So clearly we were scammed.

We have been trying to resolve the issue with the seller, but he is claiming the phone is working perfectly fine and is unlocked. We appealed to Shpock, but all we got was an automated message saying that we have to resolve the issue with the seller (despite it being less than an hour since we got the phone).

We tried to resolve it with the seller again, but he is sending my girlfriend - and me - super aggressive messages, saying that he hasn't been paid yet and that if we don't release funds he will go to the police. We have already paid for the phone of course.

Shpock's customer support and policy documentation is non-existent for these situations. It's clearly a place where scammers can get away with anything, and where no support is given to buyers that get ripped off and abused for it.

The seller is now hammering me with messages trying to extort more money. Shpock are being completely unresponsive.

Realistically, what can I do?

Update: the phone has been blacklisted, so was probably stolen. Will speak to the police but finding it impossible to get hold of Shpock - other than getting an automated message back.

Hindsight is wonderful, but it seems like you should have tested and checked this before telling Shpock to release the payment.

Otherwise now I assume the police or small claims court might be options.

Jumblebumble

jon81uk said:

awanders said:

awanders said:

Hi, would be really grateful for your help.

Yesterday my girlfriend bought an iPhone on Shpock and it is locked - so completely unusable, despite being described as unlocked.

She used their buyer protection, but it was dropped off in person, so we had to release the funds to get the phone. Buyer protection only works when you get an item delivered apparently, we didn't know the phone was locked until we tried to use our SIM at home.

So clearly we were scammed.

We have been trying to resolve the issue with the seller, but he is claiming the phone is working perfectly fine and is unlocked. We appealed to Shpock, but all we got was an automated message saying that we have to resolve the issue with the seller (despite it being less than an hour since we got the phone).

We tried to resolve it with the seller again, but he is sending my girlfriend - and me - super aggressive messages, saying that he hasn't been paid yet and that if we don't release funds he will go to the police. We have already paid for the phone of course.

Shpock's customer support and policy documentation is non-existent for these situations. It's clearly a place where scammers can get away with anything, and where no support is given to buyers that get ripped off and abused for it.

The seller is now hammering me with messages trying to extort more money. Shpock are being completely unresponsive.

Realistically, what can I do?

Update: the phone has been blacklisted, so was probably stolen. Will speak to the police but finding it impossible to get hold of Shpock - other than getting an automated message back.

Hindsight is wonderful, but it seems like you should have tested and checked this before telling Shpock to release the payment.

Otherwise now I assume the police or small claims court might be options.

Which unfortunately does not help if the idiot selling it blacklists after the OP has possession of the phone
Police will do nothing so  I agree SCC is the only option

Supersonos

jon81uk said:

awanders said:

awanders said:

Hi, would be really grateful for your help.

Yesterday my girlfriend bought an iPhone on Shpock and it is locked - so completely unusable, despite being described as unlocked.

She used their buyer protection, but it was dropped off in person, so we had to release the funds to get the phone. Buyer protection only works when you get an item delivered apparently, we didn't know the phone was locked until we tried to use our SIM at home.

So clearly we were scammed.

We have been trying to resolve the issue with the seller, but he is claiming the phone is working perfectly fine and is unlocked. We appealed to Shpock, but all we got was an automated message saying that we have to resolve the issue with the seller (despite it being less than an hour since we got the phone).

We tried to resolve it with the seller again, but he is sending my girlfriend - and me - super aggressive messages, saying that he hasn't been paid yet and that if we don't release funds he will go to the police. We have already paid for the phone of course.

Shpock's customer support and policy documentation is non-existent for these situations. It's clearly a place where scammers can get away with anything, and where no support is given to buyers that get ripped off and abused for it.

The seller is now hammering me with messages trying to extort more money. Shpock are being completely unresponsive.

Realistically, what can I do?

Update: the phone has been blacklisted, so was probably stolen. Will speak to the police but finding it impossible to get hold of Shpock - other than getting an automated message back.

small claims court might be options.

To whom?  I doubt the OP has any of the seller's actual information.

I'd chalk this one up to experience.  Happened to me once with a camera (via eBay and PayPal) so have just made sure not to use either service again.