iPhone 6 Problem !

JimJams123

Funny enough one here, I bought an iphone 6 sealed in the box with the original receipt from a guy I met through done deal on Thursday night for €500. I always buy my phones, my families and my friends phones either through done deal or eBay so I usually know what's a good deal and how to not get ripped off.

Anyway I did the usual asked a few questions about why he was selling etc and got the imei number off the seller. I checked online that it matched the phones description and it did iphone 6 space grey etc. I was able to verify that the phone wasn't blacklisted and that it was locked to 3 Ireland. I also checked the cover on the apple website which told me the phone has yet to be activated so everything looked good thus far.

So I met the seller checked the phone it was sealed in original packaging and the imei numbers and all the details matched and the receipt was in the bag as well. Once everything checked out I paid the seller €500 and we went our separate ways.

Once I was back in my own car I noticed the price on the receipt was scribbled out. After holding it up to the light you could see the price read €240, straight away I was obviously suspicious. I didn't open the iphone. I also noticed the receipt said the phone was sold at 16:20 and I had been texting the seller by 17:05.

Once home I called three support and apple trying to see if the phone was all ok before I opened it. I got the same response from both sides even though I had the iphone in my hands after buying it, without the buyers actual details they couldn't talk to me.

Yesterday morning I took the iphone back to the original shop to see if it was ok, again the same response they couldn't talk about another customers contract etc. what I did find out is that this shop does not sell iPhones 6's on prepay yet and what they do sell is a bill pay contract for €240. . . **** in a bucket

Of course the seller isn't responding and I can't get any help from three ireland.

Now I could use the phone away as my own as I have a 3 Ireland SIM card for my phone but he obviously won't pay his bill and his SIM card will be suspended, but my fear is that after a month maybe two months the phone will be deactivated for not paying the bill.

Any help would be much appreciated I'm drowning here and I don't want to end up selling the phone onto be someone else's problem.

Thanks

James

Armonline

I think you should be ok. the seller may have taken out a contract with 3 at an upgrade price and then sold the phone, however the contract is still with him and he may be using another phone on it. You may have problems getting 3 to unlock it though.

FourFourRED

Three could block the IMEI number if the cust doesn't pay his bills. Just hope its an unwanted upgrade.

flyguy

OP looks like we're careful although on top of the things you did I always say do not buy in a public place or meet somewhere. Always buy at the sellers house so at least you can go back if there's a problem.
I don't think there's much you can do and of course it could be an unwanted upgrade, but since the seller is uncontactable now it doesn't seem like it. I would try to at least get it network unlocked, I doubt 3 will do that for you so Google places that do. I've got an official unlock for an iPhone 5 recently and it only cost me €10, that was O2 though and I haven't seen 3 offered.
You can then change network and it may be more difficult for 3 to block it if you're not on their network (but it might have no effect at all). From what I read the block is only in Ireland so if it does get barred you could try to sell it abroad. Some may disagree with doing this but it seems you made some effort to avoid getting a barred phone and you still might end up with one now. Good luck!

whiterebel

flyguy wrote: »

OP looks like we're careful although on top of the things you did I always say do not buy in a public place or meet somewhere. Always buy at the sellers house so at least you can go back if there's a problem.
I don't think there's much you can do and of course it could be an unwanted upgrade, but since the seller is uncontactable now it doesn't seem like it. I would try to at least get it network unlocked, I doubt 3 will do that for you so Google places that do. I've got an official unlock for an iPhone 5 recently and it only cost me €10, that was O2 though and I haven't seen 3 offered.
You can then change network and it may be more difficult for 3 to block it if you're not on their network (but it might have no effect at all). From what I read the block is only in Ireland so if it does get barred you could try to sell it abroad. Some may disagree with doing this but it seems you made some effort to avoid getting a barred phone and you still might end up with one now. Good luck!

Three won't unlock it, and apparently the websites that unlock can't do Three phones either.

JimJams123

flyguy wrote: »

OP looks like we're careful although on top of the things you did I always say do not buy in a public place or meet somewhere. Always buy at the sellers house so at least you can go back if there's a problem.
I don't think there's much you can do and of course it could be an unwanted upgrade, but since the seller is uncontactable now it doesn't seem like it. I would try to at least get it network unlocked, I doubt 3 will do that for you so Google places that do. I've got an official unlock for an iPhone 5 recently and it only cost me €10, that was O2 though and I haven't seen 3 offered.
You can then change network and it may be more difficult for 3 to block it if you're not on their network (but it might have no effect at all). From what I read the block is only in Ireland so if it does get barred you could try to sell it abroad. Some may disagree with doing this but it seems you made some effort to avoid getting a barred phone and you still might end up with one now. Good luck!

I was thinking about taking out insurance as I do have the original receipt on the iphone and saying it was stolen or even breaking it.
Can anyone share some light on this, don't really know how the insurance or different insurance companies work?

Thanks for all the responses so far I appreciate them.

There won't be any responses to this -please do not post stuff like this again or you will receive an infraction. That's all the light that you need shed on this.

flyguy

Boards.ie doesn't allow anyone to advise you on how to break the law. Don't expect many replies...

culabula

flyguy wrote: »

OP looks like we're careful although on top of the things you did I always say do not buy in a public place or meet somewhere. Always buy at the sellers house so at least you can go back if there's a problem.
I don't think there's much you can do and of course it could be an unwanted upgrade, but since the seller is uncontactable now it doesn't seem like it. I would try to at least get it network unlocked, I doubt 3 will do that for you so Google places that do. I've got an official unlock for an iPhone 5 recently and it only cost me €10, that was O2 though and I haven't seen 3 offered.
You can then change network and it may be more difficult for 3 to block it if you're not on their network (but it might have no effect at all). From what I read the block is only in Ireland so if it does get barred you could try to sell it abroad. Some may disagree with doing this but it seems you made some effort to avoid getting a barred phone and you still might end up with one now. Good luck!

Sure O2 would have locked it for nothing on request.

JimJams123

Woah I was not expecting that !
This is obviously my first time on boards.ie
But serious again does anyone have any other advice for me or any Info on insuring your phone and how the process works.

Also is it true that if your phone gets blacklisted it's only blacklisted in the country that the carrier is registered to ?

Thanks guys and no illegal advice please just looking for some help after I was hustled ðŸ‘

whiterebel

JimJams123 wrote: »

Woah I was not expecting that !
This is obviously my first time on boards.ie
But serious again does anyone have any other advice for me or any Info on insuring your phone and how the process works.

Also is it true that if your phone gets blacklisted it's only blacklisted in the country that the carrier is registered to ?

Thanks guys and no illegal advice please just looking for some help after I was hustled ðŸ‘

So, blacklisted in Ireland and locked to Three Ireland. Not such a great bargain for some sap somewhere else in the world.

culabula

JimJams123 wrote: »

Woah I was not expecting that !
This is obviously my first time on boards.ie
But serious again does anyone have any other advice for me or any Info on insuring your phone and how the process works.

Also is it true that if your phone gets blacklisted it's only blacklisted in the country that the carrier is registered to ?

Thanks guys and no illegal advice please just looking for some help after I was hustled ðŸ‘

I'm a bit confused as to how you start off in this way " always buy my phones, my families and my friends phones either through done deal or eBay so I usually know what's a good deal and how to not get ripped off. ”

Then you seem totally surprised and mystified that you have almost certainly bought an unwanted upgrade.

culabula

whiterebel wrote: »

So, blacklisted in Ireland and locked to Three Ireland. Not such a great bargain for some sap somewhere else in the world.

It doesn't follow that it will be blacklisted in Ireland. The guy may have simply been happy enough to sell his upgrade at a profit and continue using his existing handset.

Besides, I am aware of several people who have left the country and have pulled this one off -without consequences for the hapless buyer. As ever, caveat emptor.

JimJams123

culabula wrote: »

I'm a bit confused as to how you start off in this way " always buy my phones, my families and my friends phones either through done deal or eBay so I usually know what's a good deal and how to not get ripped off. ”

Then you seem totally surprised and mystified that you have almost certainly bought an unwanted upgrade.

Yes, I help my friends and families buy there phones through eBay and donedeal. I do so because it's a nice thing to do when you know how to help someone not get ripped off like I did sadly.

"Surprised, mystified" ? Don't think I mentioned anywhere above that's it was an unwanted upgrade but thank you for reading my comment carefully and also thank you for the deconstructive criticism can't say it's going to help me to much though culabula.

Also I should mention that it's definitely not an unwanted upgrade, it was defiantly a bill pay plan taken out fresh on Thursday.

Once again I appreciate any helpful advice anyone can give me to help out my situation.

Thanks
JimJams123

FourFourRED

JimJams123 wrote: »

Also I should mention that it's definitely not an unwanted upgrade, it was defiantly a bill pay plan taken out fresh on Thursday.

How do you know for definite?

Hachiko

the price should have been a clue, I am not into i-phones, but 500eu for a new model is already looking seriously iffy. The fact the seller did not even mention this was on a contract does not look good, it can be blocked at a moments notice and you will be left with a paper weight.

JimJams123

FourFourFM wrote: »

How do you know for definite?

I have the receipt for the phone which says €229, this matches the price plan of one of the bill pay plans with 3 in the store and when I went back into them they told me they couldn't discuss the product without the contract signer present even though I had the receipt seal iphone etc but thankfully they were also nice enough to point me in the right direction and confirm what I hoped wouldn't have been true. Pretty sure they just felt sorry for me and wanted to help in some way.

JimJams123

Hachiko wrote: »

the price should have been a clue, I am not into i-phones, but 500eu for a new model is already looking seriously iffy. The fact the seller did not even mention this was on a contract does not look good, it can be blocked at a moments notice and you will be left with a paper weight.

I agree just the fact that I got an iphone 5 before sealed in the box 2 months after it had been realised for the €500 and the same with the 5s for a friend and no problems I just didn't think much of the price some people just need a quick sale and I did haggle him down from €600. Lesson learned I suppose. I hurt expected apple and 3 to be a bit more helpful in this situation since I have the receipt and everything else still sealed untouched.

fondue

JimJams123 wrote: »

I have the receipt for the phone which says €229, this matches the price plan of one of the bill pay plans with 3 in the store and when I went back into them they told me they couldn't discuss the product without the contract signer present even though I had the receipt seal iphone etc but thankfully they were also nice enough to point me in the right direction and confirm what I hoped wouldn't have been true. Pretty sure they just felt sorry for me and wanted to help in some way.

It also matches the price for an iphone 6 upgrade if you had an existing contract with three though. I've sold a couple of phones that I bought as upgrades and continued with the contract and my existing phone. It sounds like the other phones you have bought in the past could have been unwanted upgrades at the prices you were buying them for. You hardly think that somebody is buying them outright from apple or prepay and selling them onto you unopened at such a big loss?

JimJams123

fondue wrote: »

It also matches the price for an iphone 6 upgrade if you had an existing contract with three though. I've sold a couple of phones that I bought as upgrades and continued with the contract and my existing phone. It sounds like the other phones you have bought in the past could have been unwanted upgrades at the prices you were buying them for. You hardly think that somebody is buying them outright from apple or prepay and selling them onto you unopened at such a big loss?

See the thing is he also told me it was an unwanted present when I spoke to him on the phone. If it was honestly an unwanted upgrade he would have said so.
I think he has a scam going to be honest that's he's not paying his credit card bills or using a stolen credit card to get these phones, of course I don't think "You hardly think that somebody is buying them outright from apple or prepay and selling them onto you unopened at such a big loss?"

dodzy

[QUOTE=Armonline;93139814]I think you shoud be ok. the seller may have taken out a contract with 3 at an upgrade price and then sold the phone, however the contract is still with him and he may be using another phone on it. You may have problems getting 3 to unlock it though.[/QUOTE]

-Scratched out price on receipt
-Lied about the circumstances
-Sold 30 mins after purchasing
-Price was way too cheap
-Seller now not contactable

I don't. Scammed. Highly likely it'll be barred IMO.

s8n

Would it not be easier just to buy one on contract through 3 considering your already with them ??

culabula

JimJams123 wrote: »

Yes, I help my friends and families buy there phones through eBay and donedeal. I do so because it's a nice thing to do when you know how to help someone not get ripped off like I did sadly.

"Surprised, mystified" ? Don't think I mentioned anywhere above that's it was an unwanted upgrade but thank you for reading my comment carefully and also thank you for the deconstructive criticism can't say it's going to help me to much though culabula.

Also I should mention that it's definitely not an unwanted upgrade, it was defiantly a bill pay plan taken out fresh on Thursday.

Once again I appreciate any helpful advice anyone can give me to help out my situation.

Thanks
JimJams123

You clearly stated that Three could not discuss a third party' s account with you.

Therefore it is quite possible that what you have bought is an unwanted upgrade (on bill pay). You do not know whether it was a new account or not.

Your earlier comment that you know how to help people not get ripped off like you did is somewhat of a contradiction in terms.

When you bought this, were you aware that it was locked to Three?

culabula

JimJams123 wrote: »

See the thing is he also told me it was an unwanted present when I spoke to him on the phone. If it was honestly an unwanted upgrade he would have said so.
I think he has a scam going to be honest that's he's not paying his credit card bills or using a stolen credit card to get these phones, of course I don't think "You hardly think that somebody is buying them outright from apple or prepay and selling them onto you unopened at such a big loss?"

No-one with a poor credit record or using a stolen credit card is going to find it easy to negotiate a new contract and walk out of a shop with a new iPhone -not to mention paying for it with said stolen credit card and knowing the pin for the latter.

fondue

JimJams123 wrote: »

See the thing is he also told me it was an unwanted present when I spoke to him on the phone. If it was honestly an unwanted upgrade he would have said so.
I think he has a scam going to be honest that's he's not paying his credit card bills or using a stolen credit card to get these phones, of course I don't think "You hardly think that somebody is buying them outright from apple or prepay and selling them onto you unopened at such a big loss?"

But if he had of told you it was an unwanted upgrade you would have been less likely to buy it, you would have still been taking him on his word. I think you're being a bit over the top, if you did get "scammed" you have absolutely no comeback with any company, apple or three, I don't know how you would expect you would, you took a chance. Just start using the phone and hope for the best. You may as well get as much use out of it as you can before it does potentially get blocked.

JimJams123

s8n wrote: »

Would it not be easier just to buy one on contract through 3 considering your already with them ??

I find contracts are a rip off tbh.

culabula

JimJams123 wrote: »

I find contracts are a rip off tbh.

Quite. Unlike dodgy deals in the street.

At this point, since you have a 3Pay SIM, why not cut your losses, use the phone and hope for the best?

JimJams123

Phoned 3 care approx, Spook about consequences of not paying your contract. I wouldnt get off the phone until I got definite answers.
Received a call back to confirm my questions about not paying your bill. I was informed if your bill is not being paid only the services will be cut off (sim card services) and there is no way the phone can be blacklisted (T&C Listed below ). The only way the phone can be blacklisted is if its reported stolen.

T&C'S:
Three Customer Services). We reserve the right to request an interim payment if we reasonably consider that you are likely to exceed your credit limit. If you do not discharge the required interim payment or if your usage is reasonably considered excessive by Three, we may suspend or disconnect your Three services
If you don’t pay your account on time or we reasonably believe that you haven’t complied with certain terms of your agreement, we may suspend or disconnect our Three Services, but you still must pay all outstanding charges (including a Cancellation Fee for disconnection).

I then contacted apple via chat through there website and spoke about my situation.


"Me: Now I know im confusing things but lets just say I take out apple care on my device the iPhone 6 354429062329183
Me:and in 3 months time the phone is reported stolen by the contract carrier
Me:what is my situation then does insurance cover me
Dakota: Insurance does not cover anything like that, it’s just the hardware protection that you would get. Furthermore if the phone is replaced the replacement information does get relayed to the carrier, so if the IMEI was blacklisted then it would be on the new phone as well.

"I’ll do my best, Jamie! Everything that you’re mentioning is on the carrier side of things and not necessarily Apple’s. So you’re going to be best served working with the carrier to make sure nothing like that happens, Jamie. Even if the carrier were to blacklist the phone there’s nothing Apple can do to make them un-blacklist is, and we can’t provide any sort of information to prove it’s not stolen because that’s between you and the original purchaser of the device. Apple isn’t going to lock your phone and even if the original purchaser contacted us we wouldn’t have any way to support them getting the phone back, so it’s really the carrier side of things that you need to worry about, which we’re totally separated from. Does that make sense?

Me:Yes so just to confirm Dakota, if the contracted buyer of the phone contacted you to say that it has been stolen and wants to blacklist the phone this is not possible for you Apple to do so on your part

Dakota: Correct. If someone contacts Apple and reports a phone as stolen we recommend they contact their local law enforcement and that’s all we can do. That’s why we let you use the Find My iPhone feature on the phone to ensure that you can track your device and lock it, which that customer did not do according to icloud.c*m/activationlock"





JimJams

guil

Jimjam I think you're dreaming these conversations. Three won't talk to anyone but the account holder. Previous posters here before were in the same situation with a receipt and got no where.

culabula

Here's the situation so far:

You wanted to buy a new iPhone 6 at a price cheaper than the full retail price. You did so.

You are with Three. You bought a phone locked to Three. You don't mind this, so no problem there.

You have therefore bought a phone which may or may not be an unwanted upgrade. However, it is now yours and in your possession and will work with your existing SIM.

You have concerns that this phone may be blacklisted owing to the true purchaser not paying his bills in the future. These fears have been dispelled by 3care as they only blacklist stolen phones (something I hinted at in my first exchange).

So, you have the phone you want at the price you want. You have no real concerns at it being blacklisted owing to any possible shenanigans by the original purchaser.

If I were you, I'd open that phone, stick the SIM in, start using it and enjoy.

For now, I can't decide whether you're incredibly naive or incredibly sharp but I have been dubious about this thread from the start. One thing is for sure, I certainly wouldn't ask you to procure any phones for me.

I'm now locking this thread. But JimJams123, be advised that you're sailing close to the wind. No more hostile replies, lose the attitude and enjoy your purchase.

JimJams123

guil wrote: »

Jimjam I think you're dreaming these conversations. Three won't talk to anyone but the account holder. Previous posters here before were in the same situation with a receipt and got no where.

if YOU READ clearly see the second convo is with apple dreamer guil and the first part I got from 3 just questioning them about there bill pay terms and conditions leading to them pointing out exactly where in the t&c's it says I wouldn't be blacklisted for the contracter not paying there bill.

JimJams