BackMarket - No Device, No Payment, No Communications, Blocked Account

TheOptimusPrice

Good Afternoon,

I'm hoping that anybody here can provide some guidance on how to resolve a dispute with the electronic resale/refurbishing platform BackMarket.

I got a new phone, looked around and decided to use BackMarket to sell my old iPhone 13 Pro Max. Placed their "order" for the sale, was going to use their envelope but decided to use the outer shipping packaging from my new phone and apply their prepaid label.

I took it to my local post office, shipped it away and have got the shipping receipt which I'll be uploading here as well. It shows a package was sent that weighed approximately 1000g and definitely shows the right tracking number.

Fast forward to the following day and I got a notification there was an issue. The recipient claimed non-receipt of goods. They claimed the box was empty when it arrived. I provided the shipping receipt and photos of the phone to Backmarket at their request but had a notification my account was blocked for suspected fraudulent activity.

I have tried to resolve the issue with their support team, I've contacted their legal team, their phone number is under maintenance for weeks on end. Now I am stuck with no phone, the evidence I have sent it via their shipping partner, no phone and I've had to resort to submitting a report to the Met Police as well.

I'm just at a loss on where I can go, what I can do and how to get this sorted.

Thanks for reading!

Aylesbury_Duck

Letter before action threatening small claims court. You used their prepaid label so loss/theft in transit is their problem. They may argue that not using the 'approved' envelope made the phone less secure in transit, but in the absence of being able to contact anyone there, I think a LBA is the last resort.

dumpster_fire2025

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81928523#Comment_81928523

It's not a terrible argument. Instead of putting it in a nondescript padded envelope they've put it in a box that to any delivery person almost certainly contains an iPhone (I've bought several brand new from Apple over the years and it's always the same box.)

That being said, if it was nicked then it's irrelevant if you stuck Apple logos all over it and wrote "THIS HAS AN IPHONE IN IT" in black marker pen. If it was stolen in transit then it should be covered by the carrier, unless they don't insure their packages…