Happy ending for this sad story? (Un-blacklisting a phone)

[Guest purpleturtle]

Hiya everyone!

I don't get the time to post very often but it's great to read what people are doing with their phones. I hope someone can help me out with this so here's the story.

Bought my E200 off ebay in April after the screen on my SPV (Canary) broke. Paid for the sim lock to be removed and have been using it on O2 ever since.

However, my E200 stopped working as a phone on Saturday (21 Aug 04). Coincidentally I was just walking past an Orange Shop in central Manchester so I laughed at the irony for a little bit before going in to ask for some help. I was a bit shocked when they advised that my handset was on the blacklist!

The shop staff said they couldn't tell me anything about who put my phone on the blacklist or why it was even on there at all. They said they could only give those details to the registered owner of the phone due to their obligations under the Data Protection Act. Fair enough.

The shop staff also said that they could only remove my phone from the blacklist at the request of the person who put it on the list in the first place. I was a bit miffed after all of this because I felt I was the owner of my phone - I had paid for it after all! - and as I (the owner) was clearly in possession of my phone, it shouldn't be on the blacklist!

As you might have guessed, I can't get in touch with the seller anymore. Their phone number is disconnected and they are not replying to any of my MSN messages. However, I do still have the details of the bank account that I made the payment to as well as my receipt for the transaction. I also think I have got the seller's address on the back of the special delivery bag in which my phone was delivered (though obviously the seller might have moved out).

What I would like to know is if anyone knows if there is anyone (e.g. at Orange, or the Police maybe?) to whom I can present my information so that I am recognised as the owner of my phone so that I can then hopefully remove it from the blacklist? I am hoping that if I can prove that I bought the phone from the current registered owner, then Orange will recognise me as the new registered owner.

Of course, if it turns out that the seller wasn't the registered owner, then I'll be more than happy to give their address and bank details to the Police.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for how to get my phone off the blacklist? Is it even possible to do what I am proposing above? I just want my phone to work again! :cry: (Alternatively, it'd be great to hear from anyone who might be able to fit a new screen to my old SPV?)

Thanks for reading!

B

[Guest martin]

This is one of the problems that can occur when selling a mobile phone :)

After the phone is sold the seller places their SIM into another (but unregistered) phone. Then weeks or months later the seller loses their phone and original SIM. Now comes the good bit :wink: They report the phone and SIM as lost or stolen to their network provider who will block both the SIM and it's related phone in their records. Unfortunately the phone in their records is now your phone :shock:

Was it a mobile number that the seller gave you and also when did your phone first become blocked ? The reason for asking is because if the seller was on a contract account then it's possible that they will have a new SIM sent to them and their original number restored. Might be worth trying them in a few days.

[Guest purpleturtle]

Thanks for the suggestion. What you've proposed didn't occur to me as a possible scenario. (Just been kicking myself for not realising that *of course* the network would have a record of the phone related to each SIM).

However, the phone is still blocked whether it, or the associated SIM was reported lost. Happened on the morning of Saturday Aug 21st 2004 as stated. The number is a mobile (can even post it here but on second thought maybe that's not such a great idea lol).

Sounds like you think that I still need to contact the seller to tell them about their mistake. As stated above, I've already tried to do this through MSN when they've been online, but with no success. Fingers crossed that they answer their phone in a few days though!

BUT, what if they don't? (e.g. because it really is disconnected, not just lost and waiting for reconnection as you suggest). Apologies in advance for repeating myself but is there any way that I can get myself recognised by Orange as the owner of my phone so they'll unblock it for me? Or again, is anyone reading this who can fix my old SPV screen?

(As you might be able to tell, I'm a still a bit shocked at what's happened. I absolutely *love* my smartphone - even though both of them are just paperweights at the moment - and nearly entered the story of what happened to my SPV into the old thread where someone was giving one away in exchange for the best sad story, but I didn't because I got my E200 at the time..... though I wish I had entered now, and saved myself all this stress!)

Thanks,

B

[Guest martin]

If they seller won't answer you through MSN (when they are online) then maybe they have something to hide. Hopefully they have not sold the phone, reported it lost and then claimed on the insurance :evil:

Send a message to them and state that you either want your phone unblocked or your money back and that you will contact Orange for assistance if they do not reply.

You say you have bank receipts. Do you also have the original communication with them when purchasing the phone ?

If the seller still refuses to talk to you then contact Orange CS and explain to them that you have purchased a phone (now blocked) and that you have the IMEI, sellers contact number, copies of emails and bank receipts for the transaction.

See if they can offer any advice. They must have a department that can look into these things.

[Guest Retardo00]

Orange will not remove the blacklist from the phone irrelevant of what proof of ownership you have. The phone is blacklisted, and as the staff in Orange Retail said, only the registered owner can remove the block.

Its a scam I see at work more and more often. seller sells handset on Ebay, couple of weeks/months later, reports it lost or stolen, and gets a replacement, and the cycle continues, leaving the buyer of the handset screwed out of his money.

Seriously your only recourse is to get in touch with this guy, and see what he has done, failing that, involve the police. I would. :cry:

[Guest nedge2k]

I've had this problem in the past. Before i started out with smartphones i went through phones like a hot knife through butter. One of said phones was a 8310 which i bought second hand from a phone shop (it was a trade in). Couple of months past and then suddenly my phone was blocked. Phoned Orange and they informed me it had been reported stolen and that there was nothing i could do about it unless the original owner confirmed that the phone was traded in. Guess what, the owner couldnt be traced and i was stuck with a paperweight.

The only way round this proplem is to change the phone's IMEI, which is illegal and as far as i know not possible for the SPV range (well...i can think of someone who might know but thats another story).

On the upside though you still have proof of purchase etc. so if you persevere with Orange/Police you may get somewhere :)