AVOID these Unlocking sites

PADMIESTA

Hiya Everyone,
I have just used this website and feel that i must make everyone aware so they do not get ripped off like I just have...:mad:

This site advertises that you will be able to unlock your phone immediately once you have paid the fee of £2.99 through paypal..

once you have paid this amount, what you actually get is an email of instructions telling you where how to unlock it, No code... Nothing!!!

It is an absolute rip off... I have contacted the site and I have also informed Paypal as I believe that it is false advertising and leads the consumer up the garden path..:eek:

I'm No idiot and I'm not easily conned, but this had me, the way that it is worded on the site.

BE WARNED....

Hope you found this useful and I will update on what the customer services have to say if they ever contact me back..

Cheers :beer:
Paddy

PADMIESTA

:mad: Yes, I have just been had as well...

Im furious...:mad:

I have reported the website to paypal so i will see if they do anything about it...

I will let you know...

A VERY UNIMPRESSED Padmiesta:(

PADMIESTA

Well........
What Can I say.....

I don't believe it... I told you I would update you if I got anything back from them...

I have just received a FULL REFUND back into my paypal account...

It shows that it does pay to use paypal...

Still shouldn't have been ripped off in the first place...All this says to me is that they know what they are doing is WRONG!!!

Below is the reply that they have emailed me:-

Regards
A now VERY HAPPY
Padmiesta

Dear Customer,

Many thanks for contacting Unlock Search customer services, your feedback
is important to us.

We're sorry to hear that the "Unlock Report" did not meet your expectations.

I am pleased to confirm that we have processed your refund, in full.

We have credited the refund to you as follows:

---

Item Refunded:

1 x "Unlock Report" - £2.99

Total Refund: £2.99

---

Thank you for shopping at Unlock Search.

---

--
Kind regards,

Nadia Bowman

Unlock Search
http://www.UnlockSearch.com/

This e-mail is confidential and is intended solely for the use of the
individual to whom it is addressed. Any representations (contractual or
otherwise), view or opinions presented are solely those of the author and
do not necessarily represent those of Unlock Search. If you are not the
intended recipient be advised that you have received this mail in error
and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this
e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error
please inform the sender.

On Tue, April 8, 2008 09:20, PADDY CONNELL wrote:
>
> To whom it may concern,
>
> I have just purchased what i thought was going to be an unlock code for my
> mobile phone from your site...
>
> All I can say is that I feel very cheated by your process as it gives
> customers the sense that they will receive an unlock code to allow
> immediate use of their mobile phones, when in fact all they are getting is
> conned and sent a useless report.
>
> I will report my feelings to paypal, and will also hopefully be able to
> advise many others via a blog, not to use your site.
>
> A very dismayed
> Mr P.Connell

PADMIESTA

Well........
What Can I say.....

I don't believe it... I told you I would update you if I got anything back from them...

I have just received a FULL REFUND back into my paypal account...

It shows that it does pay to use paypal...

Still shouldn't have been ripped off in the first place...All this says to me is that they know what they are doing is WRONG!!!

Below is the reply that they have emailed me:-

Regards
A now VERY HAPPY
Padmiesta:D

Dear Customer,

Many thanks for contacting Unlock Search customer services, your feedback
is important to us.

We're sorry to hear that the "Unlock Report" did not meet your expectations.

I am pleased to confirm that we have processed your refund, in full.

We have credited the refund to you as follows:

---

Item Refunded:

1 x "Unlock Report" - £2.99

Total Refund: £2.99

---

Thank you for shopping at Unlock Search.

---

--
Kind regards,

Nadia Bowman

Unlock Search
http://www.UnlockSearch.com/

This e-mail is confidential and is intended solely for the use of the
individual to whom it is addressed. Any representations (contractual or
otherwise), view or opinions presented are solely those of the author and
do not necessarily represent those of Unlock Search. If you are not the
intended recipient be advised that you have received this mail in error
and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this
e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error
please inform the sender.

On Tue, April 8, 2008 09:20, PADDY CONNELL wrote:
>
> To whom it may concern,
>
> I have just purchased what i thought was going to be an unlock code for my
> mobile phone from your site...
>
> All I can say is that I feel very cheated by your process as it gives
> customers the sense that they will receive an unlock code to allow
> immediate use of their mobile phones, when in fact all they are getting is
> conned and sent a useless report.
>
> I will report my feelings to paypal, and will also hopefully be able to
> advise many others via a blog, not to use your site.
>
> A very dismayed
> Mr P.Connell

allinewton

Here i am, another fool. this company are very misleading.
I to have sent a complaint to them and await their response,
we can all live in hope:rolleyes: that they have a conscience!

moneysavingkitten

Thanks for warning me, you just saved me £2.99!

poppyville

I too just got caught out by this scam! Can't believe I was so stupid. I have emailed the company to complain and then reported them to Paypal, saying that if I dont get a full refund I will be taking them to Trading Standards. Fingers crossed I will get a response. What a CON!!

wbmis

Do NOT try http://www.unlockangel.com/ - ripped me off as the email returned to me advised 'ring your network provider (TMob) to obtain unlock code' - I wouldn't be using them if that was an option! I want to give my old phone to my mum with a TMob PAG SIM but when I put the SIM in it wanted the phone unlock code. It's my existing network provider with my own phone but their standard code wouldn't work so they directed me to the manufacturer (Sony Ericsson W880i) who will charge me £25 to 'flash' the phone. Any ideas?

coinchaser

I went through a search engine and found unlockangel.com, and after putting in details of my son's phone, Sony Ericsso J110 on Virgin, it said for £2.99 I could have an unlocking report. Great I thought, so paid on PayPal.
This is what I got :-(
Dear Customer,
Thank you for using Unlock Angel.

Please find below the report for your phone (Sony Ericsson J110)

---

Phone IMEI Number : 2147483647
Phone Details
Phone Model : J110
Phone Manufacturer : Sony Ericsson
Phone Description : General 2G Network GSM 900 / 1800 - J110i
GSM 850 / 1900 - J110a
Announced 2007, February
Status Available
Size Dimensions 99 x 44 x 17 mm
Weight 79 g
Display Type STN, 65K colors
Size 96 x 64 pixels
- Wallpapers, themes
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (16 channels) Customization Download Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 200 entries Call records 10 dialed, 20 received and missed calls Card slot No Data GPRS No HSCSD No EDGE No 3G No WLAN No Bluetooth No Infrared port No
USB
Features Messaging SMS, EMS
Browser No
Games Yes
Colors Smooth Grey, Soft Cream, Precious Purple Camera No
- T9
- Calculator
- Reminder
- Built-in handsfree
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion
Stand-by Up to 400 h
Talk time Up to 9 h

---

Network Details
Provider Name : Virgin UK
Country : United Kingdom
Address :

---

Unlock Option
Please contact your Network Provider to obtain an unlock code.

---

Thank You
Unlock Angel
www.unlockangel.com

I knew all that before. I have emailed their customer service looking for a full refund. Has anyone else experienced similar? Am soooooo cross with it GRRRRR

Mr_Friendly

unlock-mobilephone.co.uk
They can be found hanging around at the top of google paid search results for terms like "unlock phone".
Why avoid? - They offer a premium rate unlocking service on their home page but don't list the handsets they actually unlock unless you read their terms and conditions. Nice. For those not net savvy enough they will normally call the premium rate number only to find out they don't unlock their phone with this service and they're out by a few quid. They also state at the top of their home page that they have unlocked 1.5 million phones to date. That's funny since their website only went live 24th September of last year (2007). If that's true then they have unlocked over 6666.66 phones per day since launch. Well done guys. Especially given that the list of handsets you unlock via this method are older nokias that are out dated these days (although I appreciate many still exist around the world).

Unlocksearch.co.uk is another one to avoid.
What they do is very clever, they charge you £2.99 or so and provide you with nothing more than an email that tells you how to unlock your phone. It says contact your operator or use a shop pretty much. They don't provide a code but they make it sound like they do. Nice touch. Again it's the un-net savvy that get caught. If you want an unlock report that tells you how to unlock your handset without actually giving you anything, just ask someone here. It's free

UnlockAngel.com - Same site as unlock search pretty much as it does the same job. Another money for nothing routine.

Both of the above appear to be owned by American individuals or companies. The unlock angel site is owned by a "James Angel, of Angel Drive, California 90210. How original. A quick google search reveals there is no angel drive at 90210 (Beverly Hills). There is just one in california though, 95209.

UnlockCentral.co.uk is another one that takes your money for not much. They offer unlock services which appear to be for any handset for a princely sum of £1.99. Check their terms and conditions and see which handsets they unlock. I'll hazzard a guess that your phone isn't listed. Do you get a refund, apparently not according to their terms and conditions. Its apparently owned by an RG Interactive but their address is listed as a "UK Individual" which breaches nominet terms of service as they're running the site as a business. A quick email to Nominet will fix that ;-).

mobile-unlock-codes.co.uk should be avoided although on the surface this site seems more plausible since they are charging more for their services than the aforementioned sites. Again read their terms and conditions to determine if they unlock your handset. A quick look reveals that they unlock old nokias (where you can get free software anyway), old Samsung (where you can find free codes on the net anyway), old siemens that are no longer in production and the same with old LG, old Sony (not even sony ericsson), old vitel etc. The only service they seem to offer is Motorola but whether or not you get your code is a different story. This site has been active since Feb 2008 and is registered as a UK individual. Well another email to nominet I reckon ;-).

instantunlockcodes.co.uk appears to be owned by the same URL as the one directly above and again is registered as a UK individual. Nominet are going to be busy today. Again read their terms and conditions to understand why they should be avoided. They must be making money hand over fist to be advertising more and more websites in the same industry.

unlockteam.co.uk is another website that looks to have launched in Feb of 2008. The terms and conditions match websites like those above but this site is owned by a UK Servers Ltd trading as Virtual Names. Again offering a service that would normally cost around the £10 to £15 mark for a mere £4.99. Nice.

wirelessunlocks.co.uk another february start up website that I have seen all over review sites on the web as nothing more than a website designed (albeit poorly) to rip of the unwitting consumer. Thankfully this one lists a name and address in the who is information so you know where to send your small claims if you don't get what you ordered.

quickmobileunlock.co.uk is similar to the first site review at the top of the thread. Premium rate service for what appears to be any handset until you look at the terms and see that it's that old list of phones again that are no longer in mainstream circulation. Another website that is listed as a UK individual. Well hopefully Nominet will be changing these shortly when i send the emails their way.

Summary
These websites listed above are found under the following search term "phone unlock" and I dare say that they can be found under many many more. Now I have personally paid these sites for various phones on purpose to highlight that they don't deliver what you order. Customer support emails fall on deaf ears.

Now to be savvy surfers you need to read the ts and cs of a website you use to ensure that the product you think you're buying is actually what you're buying.
As a general rule of thumb, if something looks too good to be true it probably is.
Standard charges for TRADE within the unlock industry is around the £5 - £8 mark (and right up to £20+ depending on handset and method of unlock). So if a site is selling a service for less than £5 or £6 check what that service is carefully in the terms and conditions.

Have they been naughty boys in the past?
Do a google search for any of the above sites followed by any of the following words: Review, Scam, Con, Rip Off and see if anything comes up (e.g. "websitename.co.uk Review"). If others have been ripped off then you should find something. Remember to use " " at the start and end of the entire phrase to maximise your search.

How much should it cost?
If you're unlocking phones here is a quick guide for how much it will cost on reputable sites.

Nokias (newer - BB5): Between £18 and £35 (depending on network and method)
Nokias (old): Free software is available otherwise £5 - £10
Samsung (new): £15 ish (for IMEI codes) and £13 ish for Software.
Samsung (old): Free codes are available online but they are limited to certain models.
Motorola (all): £6.99 is cheapest genuine I have seen. They can go up to £15. Usually done by code.
Sony Ericsson (newer - DB2020): Between £15 and £35 depending on network and method.
Blackberry (all): £14 - £30 depending on model, network and software or code.
LG: Anything from £25 upwards for newer handsets unlocked by code.

If you log onto a website where the codes are WAAAAAAAY below the guide prices above then read the terms and conditions carefully before making your purchase.

Why are they so expensive? Well inflation is one but the other that wholesale costs to the trade (I have looked into this as much as you can) are expensive. Trade have to buy 100 - 1000 bulk accounts in advance to get the prices as cheap as possible. And even at this level the prices aren't so cheap.

I hope this helps some of you when you're online.