Blocked phone

[Beth Purvis]

I've got a problem, I bought an iPhone 4s from a friend of a friend, I took the precaution of paying to check the IMEI with Checkmend and the report came back clear and as the phone came with all accessories I had no reason to believe there was any issue.

However on putting my sim into the phone I get absolutely no signal in an area I know has a good signal for that provider.

I have contacted the 02 who have now told me that the IMEI has been blocked, they have not said why nor have they suggested what to do, they will not remove the block and they have not requested I return the phone to them either.

As I was shown the phone fully working and the seller had a pin code on the phone which she duly removed for me before handing it over, my suspicion is that rather than a stolen phone what has happened is that she has sold it to me then reported it lost/stolen in order to claim for a new one thereforee ending up with a phone and my money. Funnily enough she is nowhere to be found and not contactable today - I have to admit I do feel a bit of a fool.

My first instinct was to return the phone to the seller and demand my money back, that is looking unlikely now. My next is to contact the police and report what has happened, although with only a first name to go on I doubt much will come of it and I will still be out of pocket and without a phone - although what I will end up doing the only reason I haven't yet is I live in a small village and being a bank holiday our police station is closed today!

As 02 seem to have no interested in having the phone returned when I take the phone to the police tomorrow I'm guessing they will hold onto it until someone claims it, however if it remains unclaimed after however long it is will I perhaps be allowed to keep it? If that were to happen would I be able to then get 02 to unblock it? or are there other options or should I just write my money off now?

Not very hopeful and feeling like an idiot, but any help or potential light at the end of the tunnel appreciated.

 

[MoneyMaker79]

Ok. You're saying that you bought the iPhone and it was working fine before you received it from what you saw, then after you put your sim card in, how long after did it show blocked? And they won't tell you why it's blocked? That doesn't seem to make any sense. Could it be an issue with your sim card?

Have you tried taking the phone to your phone company and taking it up with them instead of over the phone? I would not want to deal with the police in this situation, but you definitely don't want to be out of the phone and the money you paid. Do you have any idea of who sold you the phone? You said you only had a first name. I'm almost positive if no one claims the phone that they should unblock it for you, but that's up to their own judgment. This is a tough situation to be in.

If in fact the phone is blocked as the seller reported it stolen, that is just not right. The police should get involved somehow as they are trying to run circles around you to steal your money and keep their phone.

 

[Beth Purvis]

I checked the phone this morning on Checkmend and it came back clear, bought the phone 15 minutes later, got home 2 hours later once I'd put phone to my iTunes etc I found I needed to call 02 as it wasn't working. 02 were very clear that the IMEI had been barred and that they could not unbar it unless the person who requested the bar contacted them to request it be reversed. I doubt going in to the store will change that. Its definitely not my sim as it works in my husband's phone, its a new sim bought specifically for this phone as my old one is too big.

I don't really want to deal with the police as it will probably just be a lot of hassle for nothing, but I don't really see that I have a choice, its my only hope of getting anything back although I suspect nothing will happen. Sadly no idea of who sold the phone to me apart from that her name is Helen, although even that may not be true, the friend who supposedly knew her is now slowly revealing how little they actually know her.

Guess I'll just have to keep fingers crossed that no one claims it from the police and that 02 agree to unblock it should I be allowed to keep it.

 

[Watcher]

02 were very clear that the IMEI had been barred and that they could not unbar it unless the person who requested the bar contacted them to request it be reversed.

That's definitely a stolen or lost phone that was reported and barred. This doesn't sound too good as it doesn't bode well for you.

 

[Beth Purvis]

That's definitely a stolen or lost phone that was reported and barred. This doesn't sound too good as it doesn't bode well for you.

It does look that way :-( Off to the police station with the phone this morning.

 

[Beth Purvis]

So went to the police yesterday with the phone, they weren't interested in taking the phone as they have no report of it being lost or stolen and as I bought it rather than found it as far as they are concerned until they get a report then its not lost or stolen. They did take information but couldn't even give me a crime number as they can't say that a crime has taken place without a record of the phone having been reported stolen to them, apparently for O2 to deal with at this point in time. Fat lot of use they were. Another lengthy conversation with O2 who can't help and basically said well you have a nice iPod touch. Flippin marvellous!

 

[RoofMonkey]

Has your friend been able to contact this person at all?

 

[whiteghost]

Hi

If O2 have blocked it due to it being stolen or whatever then surely they must know who owned the phone ?
If you are on contract with O2 as I am they know who I am and the phone I have?
If not on contact they may have a name of who asked it to be blocked as they stated then cannot unblock it unless the
owner "seller" asks them to?

Tell them you were sold the phone and that the seller is committing fraud against you and them as they probably upgraded or claimed on their insurance and ask O2 to contact the police? "may get a bit further with the Bill!" otherwise O2 are helping the seller to commit fraud?


Don't know much about unlocking but if you jailed and unlocked would this bypass O2's
barr ? as you would be able to use on any carrier? Does anyone else know if this would work?

 

[Jerome G]

Yes, jailbreaking and unlocking would be the way to go. The you would be able to use it on a different carrier or sell it.
The ability to jailbreak will depend on the firmware version you have.
Go to imore.com and check out the jailbreak forum. YouTube also has instructional videos

 

[RoofMonkey]

Yes, jailbreaking and unlocking would be the way to go. The you would be able to use it on a different carrier or sell it.
The ability to jailbreak will depend on the firmware version you have.
Go to imore.com and check out the jailbreak forum. YouTube also has instructional videos

There is the jailbreak section of eiC also....