Unknowingly bought a blacklisted iphone 4

Tinkerbell4484

Have tried to contact seller but having no joy,its locked to 3,so they have said to contact gardai and they will make it useable,gardai didnt really want to know.
Anything else i can do or any suggestions?? The sellers phone is turned off

naasrd

Tinkerbell4484 wrote: »

Have tried to contact seller but having no joy,its locked to 3,so they have said to contact gardai and they will make it useable,gardai didnt really want to know.
Anything else i can do or any suggestions?? The sellers phone is turned off

The gardai can't make phones useable, what shows up when you turn it on?

Tinkerbell4484

We know its blacklisted,3 have just told us.
I know the gardai cant make it useable,i was hoping they could contact the seller,im in cavan,hes in galway,i have his name and adress but the phone number isnt working.

TheZohanS

Tinkerbell4484 wrote: »

Have tried to contact seller but having no joy,its locked to 3,so they have said to contact gardai and they will make it useable,gardai didnt really want to know.
Anything else i can do or any suggestions?? The sellers phone is turned off

What exactly did the Gardai say to you?

Bigcheeze

No point contacting the seller as he has sold you a stolen phone.

Tinkerbell4484

Bigcheeze wrote: »

No point contacting the seller as he has sold you a stolen phone.

yeah he knew it was blacklisted im trying to get my money back




gardai said we should of checked it before we did the deal (but we had no 3 sim to do it)
and its going to take too long to do a report

wush06

You took the phone before checking it sorry but not a good move.

Bigcheeze

Tinkerbell4484 wrote: »

yeah he knew it was blacklisted im trying to get my money back




gardai said we should of checked it before we did the deal (but we had no 3 sim to do it)
and its going to take too long to do a report

You will never contact him. You've been conned.

Tinkerbell4484

It looked fine,all the apps were on it, i just had no sim to try...thanks for the advice though.

Tinkerbell4484

What makes you think i cant contact him? ive his name and address, he has plenty of other adds for sale.ive met him,so its not like it was done by post and id never see him again.
Im just basically looking for sound advice that until i can get to galway,what can i do?is their anyone else i can contact?

wush06

Where did you get it from and for how much. If he has other ads there might be just a mix up. Did he know you were going to show up with no sim.

Tinkerbell4484

Swapped it for a limited edition xbox 360 with games, he was looking 375 for iphone i was looking 320,he said hed do a straight swap if i drove to him. I contacted him first on the site,
i dont know if he knew id be coming with no sim

wush06

So what happens when you stick a sim in. Did he say it was locked to 3 just trying to put a picture to it.
Have you a link to the sale

Tinkerbell4484

He said it was locked to 3,
gave 3 the imei and they said yes its locked to 3,and its blacklisted,have asked 3 to either contact the owner or give us details but all they keep saying is the account is still active?
When we put 3sim in it says no service all the time.same with anyother sim.
But 3 have said it is locked to them.have contacted apple ant they have reregistered the phone in my husbands name but 3 wont
do anything to help at all.

Im on my mobile so cant give a link but can give site

wush06

Can he be that silly to give you all his details if he was going to scam you. Keep trying his number. It just seems a bit strange not saying that it did not happen.

The fact you know we're he lives and what he looks like should go along way in you getting this sorted. Unless he's the mafia

Tinkerbell4484

I know what you mean,ive text and rang it loads,found him on facebook and sent him a msg on it. Just really want to get it sorted

Janedoe10

Sounds he was duped as well ? Or the worlds dumbest criminal if u have all his details . I would think the guards are expected to have a policy on people with or bought stolen goods . Did 3 tell u it was locked to another address I hope they didn't fine any more of original owner details ... Imag not only my phone robbed but my address details given to the "new" owner of my phone without my consent .

naasrd

At least you have his address. Let your husband round up a few boys and sort it out old school.

dingding

If the phone is stolen, the Gardai should make you return it to the original owner. Unfortunately you are handling stolen goods.

Can't see why they are not interested, you have a confirmed stolen phone, and you have good details for the person that you purchased off.

The more they clamp down on this sort of thing, the harder it will be to sell a stole phone and this leads to less phones stolen.

Bigcheeze

You say the account is still active. Has it been blacklisted due to an unpaid bill while it's still under contract? Apparently Three do this.

mcauto

Tinkerbell4484 wrote: »

He said it was locked to 3,
gave 3 the imei and they said yes its locked to 3,and its blacklisted,have asked 3 to either contact the owner or give us details but all they keep saying is the account is still active?
When we put 3sim in it says no service all the time.same with anyother sim.
But 3 have said it is locked to them.have contacted apple ant they have reregistered the phone in my husbands name but 3 wont
do anything to help at all.

Im on my mobile so cant give a link but can give site

my iphone 4 was stolen 2 months ago and is locked to "3" network, could u send me the imei number? thanks

MyKeyG

dingding wrote: »

If the phone is stolen, the Gardai should make you return it to the original owner. Unfortunately you are handling stolen goods.

Can't see why they are not interested, you have a confirmed stolen phone, and you have good details for the person that you purchased off.

The more they clamp down on this sort of thing, the harder it will be to sell a stole phone and this leads to less phones stolen.

Unfortunately you can't clamp down on gullible buyers.

Tinkerbell4484

Yeah thats what im thinking,that their is an outstanding bill and that it was sold on.that is why they are saying its still active

long_b

Don't think the OP is as gullible as people are saying.
It could happen to anyone really - you buy a phone (say an unwanted upgrade) in good faith.It's working fine for a couple of months, then the seller can't or doesn't pay his bill and all of a sudden the phone gets blacklisted ?

fox007

long_b wrote: »

Don't think the OP is as gullible as people are saying.
It could happen to anyone really - you buy a phone (say an unwanted upgrade) in good faith.It's working fine for a couple of months, then the seller can't or doesn't pay his bill and all of a sudden the phone gets blacklisted ?

Exactly there should be a system in place to stop this. Get something in writing off the seller it Might help.

Eire Go Brach

He is ignoring you. It's time to take this to the next level.

Go down to his address and talk to him.
If that does not work. Print a sign up and stand outside his house or place of work. With his name on it saying "joe bloggs stole my money"

Or go down with a few lads. Ask for your money back. If he says no. Get your money's worth from him physically

culabula

Two references to violence so far in this thread; one more and it will be terminated with extreme prejudice. Share some useful knowledge.

the whole year inn

is it blocked on all the other networks,i bet theres one where it ll work.Each phone company has to block it on there network so there bound to be one.

dodzy

the whole year inn wrote: »

is it blocked on all the other networks,i bet theres one where it ll work.Each phone company has to block it on there network so there bound to be one.

I think that once its blacklisted on one network, its gone from them all ( in ireland anyway ).

TIPS: for anyone buying a smartphone:
1. Get the IMEI from the seller.
2. Contact the provider.
3. Tell them you are purchasing the phone and want to check if its blacklisted. (
ive got this information several times before without issue ).
4. If its not barred, tell them you are now the owner of the handset and give
them your details ( they should record this info ) even though they will not
give you any information in relation to the current account.
5. Tell them your concerns about scams following sales and that you are just
being proactive.
6. Better still, let the registered owner speak to them to verify the sale after
your conversation.

ALWAYS TAKE THE NAME OF THE AGENT YOU ARE DEALING WITH.

You will then be in a stronger position should the seller try to pull a fast one following the sale.

Mr. Loverman

Tinkerbell4484 wrote: »

gardai said we should of checked it before we did the deal (but we had no 3 sim to do it)
and its going to take too long to do a report

Aren't the gardai great?

Reminds me of when three lads hoped on me on O'Connell Street and split open my face. Gardai told me I shouldn't have been on O'Connell Street after midnight! Muppets.

digitaldr

Great advice dodzy. OP you should also contact the site where this guy still has stuff for sale. I would suggest you try a different Garda station/different Garda as in my experience some of them just couldn't be bothered. I lost the keys for my motorbike recently - it was locked to a lamp post opposite a Garda station. The Guard there said they hadn't been handed in but just after talking to her I had another look on the bike and noticed a note tucked into a little nook - it said the keys had been handed in. Went back talked to the same guard who this time bothered to ask her colleagues - one of them had my keys which had been handed in hours earlier. New key for my bike would have cost around €150 - its got an immobiliser.

macbook.dan

Tinkerbell4484 wrote: »

Have tried to contact seller but having no joy,its locked to 3,so they have said to contact gardai and they will make it useable,gardai didnt really want to know.
Anything else i can do or any suggestions?? The sellers phone is turned off

If you put a any sim in and it's still in warranty bring to an Apple Store and they will just swap it out for a new unlocked one, otherwise they will give you the option of paying €200 plus the locked iPhone for a new one, obviously if you don't tell them the real story.

whiterebel

macbook.dan wrote: »

If you put a any sim in and it's still in warranty bring to an Apple Store and they will just swap it out for a new unlocked one, otherwise they will give you the option of paying €200 plus the locked iPhone for a new one, obviously if you don't tell them the real story.

They won't swap it for a new unlocked one. If it was locked to a network, they'll give you back a locked one.

macbook.dan

whiterebel wrote: »

macbook.dan wrote: »

If you put a any sim in and it's still in warranty bring to an Apple Store and they will just swap it out for a new unlocked one, otherwise they will give you the option of paying €200 plus the locked iPhone for a new one, obviously if you don't tell them the real story.

They won't swap it for a new unlocked one. If it was locked to a network, they'll give you back a locked one.

Nope man, got an unlocked back the other day from an Apple Store, mine was locked to 3

guil

macbook.dan wrote: »

Nope man, got an unlocked back the other day from an Apple Store, mine was locked to 3

generally they send ya back one thats locked and i'm sure apple have some way of checking if a phone is blacklisted before replacing it

macbook.dan

guil wrote: »

macbook.dan wrote: »

Nope man, got an unlocked back the other day from an Apple Store, mine was locked to 3

generally they send ya back one thats locked and i'm sure apple have some way of checking if a phone is blacklisted before replacing it

Not if you go to an Apple Store directly they replace it with in five minutes, it's an known flaw that they have no info on blacklisted iPhones or for example if you put a Vodafone sim in an locked o2 iPhone.

Tinkerbell4484

Just to keep ye all updated,rang mill st garda station today and they have asked for a report from my local garda so my husband is gone to do it now, have tryed to contact him where he is still selling but he hasnt been online since 16/1,have also contacted the moderater there
have also found him on facebook and mailed him just asking can he contact us
thanks for all the advice

barryd09

macbook.dan wrote: »

Not if you go to an Apple Store directly they replace it with in five minutes, it's an known flaw that they have no info on blacklisted iPhones or for example if you put a Vodafone sim in an locked o2 iPhone.

Are you sure about this? What exactly do you say? That the phone has just locked itself to no service?

wush06

Tinkerbell4484 wrote: »

Just to keep ye all updated,rang mill st garda station today and they have asked for a report from my local garda so my husband is gone to do it now, have tryed to contact him where he is still selling but he hasnt been online since 16/1,have also contacted the moderater there
have also found him on facebook and mailed him just asking can he contact us
thanks for all the advice

Tinkerbell4484 I think that's the right way of going about it. Just make sure you tell the guard that you have his name and address. Hope it all works out for you keep us all updated if you can.

culabula

macbook.dan wrote: »

Not if you go to an Apple Store directly they replace it with in five minutes, it's an known flaw that they have no info on blacklisted iPhones or for example if you put a Vodafone sim in an locked o2 iPhone.

That's a new one on me: their systems reveal all to them once connected to their diagnostic software.

macbook.dan

culabula wrote: »

macbook.dan wrote: »

Not if you go to an Apple Store directly they replace it with in five minutes, it's an known flaw that they have no info on blacklisted iPhones or for example if you put a Vodafone sim in an locked o2 iPhone.

That's a new one on me: their systems reveal all to them once connected to their diagnostic software.

When I went in to the store she just checked the imei was in warranty and ejected the sim card put it back in and then handed me a new 4.

whiterebel

macbook.dan wrote: »

When I went in to the store she just checked the imei was in warranty and ejected the sim card put it back in and then handed me a new 4.

I'd say that's a one off. I can't imagine the carriers being happy with it being that easy to circumvent the lock, especially as Apple themselves replace like with like

macbook.dan

whiterebel wrote: »

macbook.dan wrote: »

When I went in to the store she just checked the imei was in warranty and ejected the sim card put it back in and then handed me a new 4.

I'd say that's a one off. I can't imagine the carriers being happy with it being that easy to circumvent the lock, especially as Apple themselves replace like with like

The only reason I knew was Cult of Mac did a thing on it before because people who had there iPhones stolen were going to Apple and there were being told the iPhones had been replaced

dev100

macbook.dan wrote: »

When I went in to the store she just checked the imei was in warranty and ejected the sim card put it back in and then handed me a new 4.

Wheres the apple store? Didnt think Apple had stores in Ireland?

macbook.dan

dev100 wrote: »

macbook.dan wrote: »

When I went in to the store she just checked the imei was in warranty and ejected the sim card put it back in and then handed me a new 4.

Wheres the apple store? Didnt think Apple had stores in Ireland?

I went to the Norwich store, only one in Ireland is Belfast

culabula

macbook.dan wrote: »

When I went in to the store she just checked the imei was in warranty and ejected the sim card put it back in and then handed me a new 4.

I think it only remains in that state until it is connected once more to iTunes. In the same way that can trigger an update (or apply the correct carrier file) it also locks it once more if that is the situation vis-vis the carrier.

macbook.dan

culabula wrote: »

macbook.dan wrote: »

When I went in to the store she just checked the imei was in warranty and ejected the sim card put it back in and then handed me a new 4.

I think it only remains in that state until it is connected once more to iTunes. In the same way that can trigger an update (or apply the correct carrier file) it also locks it once more if that is the situation vis-vis the carrier.

I not sure I understand but I have been swapping an Irish and English sims since I got it and no hassle as of yet.

culabula

culabula wrote: »

That's a new one on me: their systems reveal all to them once connected to their diagnostic software.

Do Apple have access to the networks' blacklists? I wouldn't think so. They'd know it's SIM locked but not necessarily blacklisted.

dasm2003

Hi I am new to this unsure if i should post here?

But i recently bought an Iphone 4 which I have been told is now blacklisted by 3, but as I am not the registered owner they refuse to give me any help? does anybody know if this would just be blocked in Ireland or worldwide? tks

dasm2003

dasm2003 wrote: »

Hi I am new to this unsure if i should post here?

But i recently bought an Iphone 4 which I have been told is now blacklisted by 3, but as I am not the registered owner they refuse to give me any help? does anybody know if this would just be blocked in Ireland or worldwide? tks

It will be blacklisted on any Irish network but probably not abroad. There have been plans for a number of years to increase the scope of this but it hasn't happened yet. So even if it works now it may not in future.

dasm2003

There are some old threads about sending the phone back to apple and them replacing it, does this work?