AVOID these Unlocking sites

panther

Thanks, you have just saved me from throwing away 2.99 on this scam. I tend to think that I'm street wise enough not to fall victim to the ever increasing scams out there but I almost fell for this one. The site looked genuine and putting in the IMEI number displayed my make & model of phone so I didn't think anythig amiss, but as the only contact details was via an email addy I thought I'd double check and googled "unlocksearch.com". So everyone remember; if in doubt Google them out.

dmackay41

The above website is a featured link of UNLOCKITFREE which is mentioned in MSE under MOBILE UNLOCKING.

This site provides unlock codes for £3.29p, payable by PayPal. The front page of the site simply asks you to input make, model, network and IMEI code. Once input, it directs you to PayPal to pay for it. Some customers will get the code by return, others are promised within 24 hours.

What the site does not tell you is that if they do not have the code you have paid for, they keep the money, and blame you for not checking their T&Cs which show what phone models they can provide the codes for. They say they will retain your cash as a credit if you want to use the site again in the future for another code!

There is no reference to checking T&Cs on the website homepage and no warning that you may not get anything for your money.

In my case, I was a PayPal customer anyway via eBay, and managed to get my money back by registering a dispute (which was not challenged and my money refunded immediately).

Advice when using this site is to check that they can actually give you what you pay for by checking their terms which are elsewhere on the site.

Mr_Friendly

dmackay41 wrote: »

The above website is a featured link of UNLOCKITFREE which is mentioned in MSE under MOBILE UNLOCKING.

This site provides unlock codes for £3.29p, payable by PayPal. The front page of the site simply asks you to input make, model, network and IMEI code. Once input, it directs you to PayPal to pay for it. Some customers will get the code by return, others are promised within 24 hours.

What the site does not tell you is that if they do not have the code you have paid for, they keep the money, and blame you for not checking their T&Cs which show what phone models they can provide the codes for. They say they will retain your cash as a credit if you want to use the site again in the future for another code!

There is no reference to checking T&Cs on the website homepage and no warning that you may not get anything for your money.

In my case, I was a PayPal customer anyway via eBay, and managed to get my money back by registering a dispute (which was not challenged and my money refunded immediately).

Advice when using this site is to check that they can actually give you what you pay for by checking their terms which are elsewhere on the site.

Hi dmackay.

I made a thread here about some of the scamming sites I found on the web with some advice on "guide prices" of genuine unlocking company charges. The one you got caught by is mentioned.

Hope that helps some users.

hornbill7

Just been caught be this. Complained to company (of shysters) and paypal. Awaiting reaction. Does look genuine, though.

Laika

Been stung by https://www.unlocksamsung.co.uk for a whopping £11.99. On the site they said standard usb cable fine - did not offer any other alternatives. Of course, pay the money for the code and now they are saying that I need FTDI cable and they say this is my fault because it is stated on the website that I need to check what cable I should use (again, no alternatives for what cables I can use).

Went through paypal who were bloody useless as per usual and ruled in favour of seller. (They also did this to me a couple years ago when a seller sent me the wrong product entirely without letting me know because what I wanted was out of stock).

Seller has said will refund less £4.50 admin fee. What a rip off!

dragnil

I was caught but received nothing at all - thanks to reading this forum I decided to complain to them - no response.

Turned to Paypal Resolution Centre and have just been told that it's been refunded. £2.99 isn't a lot but it's what they depend on, too many people will say, "S*d it, it's only £2.99" and put it down to experience. It's important to stand up to these con artists.

UncleRiotous

Well they got me. I've taken it up with PayPal and I'm going to email PayPal separately and suggest that they remove this site's PayPal account. I've also contacted google and suggested that they remove the site as I got it from their sponsored link section.

Looks like I'm going to have to ring 3 and do it properly

Suzi_Clayton

I am putting up a post to warn people about unscrupulous websites which appear to tell you that can unlock your phone. The one I have just accessed advertised :-
'Unlock Motorola now. £2.99! Unlock Motorola today, quick and easy. Learn now how to unlock Motorola.'
The company's address is vertisco.com
Of course I saw the first 2 lines and thought it would give me a number to actually unlock my phone. What I received for my £2.99 was an e-mail telling me exactly what I had read on this site - being all the ways you can unlock your phone - shop/retailer etc. I guess the Trading Standards people would say the last line about 'learn now'... proves what you are buying but I say it's mis-leading. I know it's only £2.99 but I find it irritating when I get ripped off. Make sure you're not the next victim.
Suzi.

Browntoa

I moved this to it's own thread as I thought it was better

midget33

Yes in my 70s and thought I had seen it all, but a very good scam. The clever bit is asking for the Make Model and IMEI No.etc.
I think an earlier post suggesting that Mr. Kapowsky doesn't sleep too much, is somewhat incorrect.
I can well imagine he can afford a rather more comfortable bed than most of us can!!!
However, I have emailed them at customer.service@unlocksearch.com with my complaint stating that I would report them to Paypal, Trading standards and post a blog to advise others etc. and I have received a full refund. (With no other comments by them).
So my advice is do what I did and email them accordingly. I know it is ”small bucks” but not in the multiples they receive.
So make the effort.
Thanks to all the previous posts which encouraged me to complain.
AND GOOD LUCK.