CEX Sold me a Fake iPhone and will likely refuse a refund.

Chief_of_Staffy

QrizB said:

Chief_of_Staffy said:

Sorry, I'm still stuck on the "I spent £1.8k on a phone" bit.

People spend £20k or more on wristwear, when you can get a perfectly adequate watch for 0.1% of that.

Spending £1800 on a phone is a valid choice of you've got that much disposable income.

How much is your Rolex worth in 50 years? Five times what you paid. How much is your phone worth in 5 years? Nothing. Your definition of 'valid choice' appears to differ from mine, and on a money saving site too.

Aylesbury_Duck

QrizB said:

Chief_of_Staffy said:

Sorry, I'm still stuck on the "I spent £1.8k on a phone" bit.

People spend £20k or more on wristwear, when you can get a perfectly adequate watch for 0.1% of that.

Spending £1800 on a phone is a valid choice of you've got that much disposable income.

(I typed that on my Moto G53.)

Very true.  And particularly applicable here.

jasonwatkins

Aylesbury_Duck said:

I expect the store to put up quite a fight.  They're not going to hand over £1800 if they have any doubt about the situation and their records don't show anything suspicious.  I suspect that to get the refund you want, this is going to have to go to court and you'll have to hope that the court considers your version of events to be the more likely one.

I suggest you get some friendly financial planning support/advice from somewhere.  Spending £1800 on a phone was unwise in the first place, even without the ensuing problems with this one.

I don't need financial advice.  As I explained in the opening post, I used Monzo's Flex feature and extended the interest free payments over 12 months which works out at £150 a month which is well within what I can afford.

It was a conscious choice to make the purchase under those circumstances.

Aylesbury_Duck

jasonwatkins said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

I expect the store to put up quite a fight.  They're not going to hand over £1800 if they have any doubt about the situation and their records don't show anything suspicious.  I suspect that to get the refund you want, this is going to have to go to court and you'll have to hope that the court considers your version of events to be the more likely one.

I suggest you get some friendly financial planning support/advice from somewhere.  Spending £1800 on a phone was unwise in the first place, even without the ensuing problems with this one.

I don't need financial advice.  As I explained in the opening post, I used Monzo's Flex feature and extended the interest free payments over 12 months which works out at £150 a month which is well within what I can afford.

It was a conscious choice to make the purchase under those circumstances.

I understand that, and it was a wise choice of payment method because I believe it also gives you Section 75 protection.  The reason for my suggestion is that I recall some of your previous posts on other subjects, and it's the broader context of your financial situation that makes an £1800 second-hand phone appear an unwise choice.  If your financial situation and outlook has transformed recently, then that's great and my suggestion is unwarranted.

Getting back to the consumer rights situation, you may have to escalate to a letter before action, with the threat of small claims coirt hopefully making the retailer reconsider their stance.

visidigi

So a couple of things... 

CeX checked the CCTV - but does that CCTV show the phone as turned on? I mean visually of course a clone is difficult to spot, but if they didn't power it up and they didn't have it turned on during the acceptance then they have no proof what they sold you was actually a iPhone that functions the way an iPhone should.

If the IMEI is on the device and on your receipt, they can't surely say you are returning a different device?

The IMEI being registered as an 17PM is probably because the IMEI has been cloned on to a copy phone.

I do wonder, what in the CCTV the store is relying on, it doesn't sound like it was turned on/tested properly before being accepted - which is odd, as last time I traded into CeX they tested the heck out of the device.

flaneurs_lobster

visidigi said:

So a couple of things... 

CeX checked the CCTV - but does that CCTV show the phone as turned on? I mean visually of course a clone is difficult to spot, but if they didn't power it up and they didn't have it turned on during the acceptance then they have no proof what they sold you was actually a iPhone that functions the way an iPhone should.

If the IMEI is on the device and on your receipt, they can't surely say you are returning a different device?

The IMEI being registered as an 17PM is probably because the IMEI has been cloned on to a copy phone.

I do wonder, what in the CCTV the store is relying on, it doesn't sound like it was turned on/tested properly before being accepted - which is odd, as last time I traded into CeX they tested the heck out of the device.

This is all true, but does assume that the store is being scrupulous in all its procedures and dealings with the OP which of course it has been doing. To suggest otherwise would be libellous and no-one here should ever suggest such a thing.

jasonwatkins

visidigi said:

So a couple of things... 

CeX checked the CCTV - but does that CCTV show the phone as turned on? I mean visually of course a clone is difficult to spot, but if they didn't power it up and they didn't have it turned on during the acceptance then they have no proof what they sold you was actually a iPhone that functions the way an iPhone should.

If the IMEI is on the device and on your receipt, they can't surely say you are returning a different device?

The IMEI being registered as an 17PM is probably because the IMEI has been cloned on to a copy phone.

I do wonder, what in the CCTV the store is relying on, it doesn't sound like it was turned on/tested properly before being accepted - which is odd, as last time I traded into CeX they tested the heck out of the device.

Yes I’m equally as bemused as to what this CCTV is meant to show as I can’t imagine it’s any kind of specific close up of the screen.

To clarify though, the device settings show two separate IMEI numbers, one for “front” and one for “back” and neither of them match the IMEI number on the box or the receipt.

The IMEI number on the receipt does match the one on the box.

i do also wonder if they logged the serial number of the phone during this “testing” procedure.  That does come back as a valid, activated iPhone 17 PM so if they have and it matches the number on the device then it blows up their argument that I switched it.

flaneurs_lobster

jasonwatkins said:

Yes I’m equally as bemused as to what this CCTV is meant to show as I can’t imagine it’s any kind of specific close up of the screen.

They may well have such CCTV footage showing the testing (& IMEI nos) of a perfectly genuine iPhone.

Don't see how this then proves that the phone supplied to the OP is the same phone.

Might even be a genuine iPhone box that the hooky phone was sold in.

What does the Apple checker say about the serial number on the box?

Emmia

Chief_of_Staffy said:

Sorry, I'm still stuck on the "I spent £1.8k on a phone" bit.

I'm stuck on the spending that amount of money on a phone from CEX - I buy brand new handsets but my limit is £800 ISH for a phone I'll keep for at least 5 years.

MattMattMattUK

Emmia said:

Chief_of_Staffy said:

Sorry, I'm still stuck on the "I spent £1.8k on a phone" bit.

I'm stuck on the spending that amount of money on a phone from CEX - I buy brand new handsets but my limit is £800 ISH for a phone I'll keep forgetting at least 5 years.

I am confused about buying if from CEX, second hand, for £1,800, with no manufacturer's wattanty, when it can be bought brand new from reputable retailers for £1,600-1,999 with full manufacturer's warranty.

I also question spending that amount on a phone when pretty much no one needs the 2TB version which is the part that significantly ramps up the price. I even more question someone buying a phone that costs that much on finance. However the OP has decided that they want to waste that much money on an iPhone then that is their perogative, but to buy it second hand from CEX for the same or even more than it can be bought new is frankly insane. If I was spending that much I would have even considered paying £200 more than the CEX price to buy it direct from Apple.