Been ripped off by a mate

pgchimp · 23-01-2010, 15:55

Hi all

Been trying to sort this one out since Christmas with no joy so perhaps a few words here might point me in the right direction,

for Christmas one of my presents from the loved one was a Samsung Jet touch screen which I had been hinting for, on receipt I laid to rest my 6 months old Sony Ericcson C902 open to all networks.

I was showing the new Samsung to a so called mate after Christmas and he proclaimed that he had recently broken his current mobile and it was away for repair so he had no mobile to use.

After numerous hints from him I offered to lend him my C902 which was open to all networks and lying idle while his phone was in for repair.

anyway after a period of time I kept asking for my phone back, but he kept on making excuses, eventually I received the phone back but something in his mannerism told me all was not well.

After a couple of days i decided to put my 02 sim back in and was suprised to see the message "Inactive Sim". So I tried with Orange Voda, T Mobile sims and they all said the same.

Eventually I went storming round to my mates to ask him what he had done, of course he denied everything for days, then eventually he came clean and informed me he had found a contract sim on T mobile with credit on and had been using that in my phone until T mobile banned the Sim and the phone from further use.

I was fuming and rang sony Ericsonn to see what could be done, I can prove ownership of the phone but they say the only person who can take the block off are the network who put the block on.

So if i were to ring T mobile what sort of response will i get, will i be classed as a thief even though i knew nothing of the sim being used, or will they refuse to unblock the phone for me.

Moral of this story, dont trust a mate with your mobile

**Rob** · 23-01-2010, 17:26

Simple answer - tell your mate he owes you the value of the phone.

v0id · 23-01-2010, 17:56

...then phone up T-Mobile saying you bought it off ebay and ask for it to be unblocked, giving them your mates address as the 'seller'. Then depending on what type of CS agent you get, they usually unblock it.

m419 · 28-01-2010, 23:14

If you say you got it from Ebay, T-Mobile will tell you to go to Paypal or Ebay to get your money back.

I would suggest that you contact Ofcom for advice on 020-7981-3040, or try www.ofcom.org.uk

T-Mobile as well as the other mobile network operators reserve the right to suspend accounts as well as block handsets which are believed to be lost,stolen or have been subject to fraud. The police may be involved.

I would suggest you write to T-Mobile and request an unblock, together include your name,address,contact telephone number(Mobile and Landline), Email address if you have one and include the approximate dates you loaned the phone to your friend, together you will need to enclose evidence (photocopies) of phone ownership, and don't forget the IMEI number.

In your letter, you should also state a time limit to have the phone made right, give them 30 days and threaten to take legal action to gain compensation. Since it's your property, they can't leave it like that permanently!

pgchimp · 29-01-2010, 12:45

I have spoken at length to T mobile requesting they unblock this phone and sent them copies of proof of ownership, they are more than happy to unblock the phone......but dont know how to.

The final outcome is that they say they cannot now trace the origin of the phone or the imei number

I stated that they were able to trace the imei number to block the phone so why cant they now find the number to unblock it

Their response was that when they blocked it the phone was linked to an account (ie the hooky T mobile one) so they could just send a blanket block to the account, however as the phone is now flying solo so to speak it is not traceable............................According to them

So they are very sorry but tough luck end of story

Or is it

martyh · 29-01-2010, 13:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgchimp

I have spoken at length to T mobile requesting they unblock this phone and sent them copies of proof of ownership, they are more than happy to unblock the phone......but dont know how to.

The final outcome is that they say they cannot now trace the origin of the phone or the imei number

I stated that they were able to trace the imei number to block the phone so why cant they now find the number to unblock it

Their response was that when they blocked it the phone was linked to an account (ie the hooky T mobile one) so they could just send a blanket block to the account, however as the phone is now flying solo so to speak it is not traceable............................According to them

So they are very sorry but tough luck end of story

Or is it

no i think they are correct ,in the past i have lost contract phones and had to have them blocked and the result is that they are unusable once blocked ,i know this because one phone i lost ,then found (in the pub)i tried to get unblocked by the provider and it's just not possible it won't accept a sim at all and because the system is designed to prevent any future use of the phone there is no system in place to unblock it

**Chris** · 29-01-2010, 13:06

There would be little point in being able to unblock a blocked IMEI - the blocking system is designed to deter theft and it would render that system pretty much useless.

You need to be asking your so-called 'mate' when he's planning to stump up the cash for a replacement handset.

Tony. · 29-01-2010, 13:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyh

no i think they are correct ,in the past i have lost contract phones and had to have them blocked and the result is that they are unusable once blocked ,i know this because one phone i lost ,then found (in the pub)i tried to get unblocked by the provider and it's just not possible it won't accept a sim at all and because the system is designed to prevent any future use of the phone there is no system in place to unblock it

I find this very strange! When I lost a handset I rang T-Mobile and they duly blocked the handset, however at the time the CS gave me a password to reverse the blocking should the phone turn up. It didn't so wasn't tested but there must be a system in place to allow this.

pgchimp · 29-01-2010, 13:15

T mobile CS have offered to unblock this phone, i have spoken with their tech guys but they are saying that as the original account on this phone was with 02 (My contract sim) and not t mobile there is no history formed between the sim and t mobile which makes the phone untraceable.

I know unblocking is possible as a collegue had a phone blocked then unblocked last year but for totally different reasons

**Chris** · 29-01-2010, 13:17

Well, that's a relief for you (and, presumably, your 'mate', if he has any decency). But what's the upshot of this? Are they saying they are willing, but unable?

martyh · 29-01-2010, 13:21

maybe it's dependant on provider mine was orange and was repeatedly told that there was no system in place to unblock a blocked phone ,as chris has pointed out it makes a mockery of a system if it can be undone .
don't be confused with unblocking the phone with a puk code it is different to unblocking a blocked phone that has been reported stolen

pgchimp · 29-01-2010, 13:22

They are saying they are willing but unable, if i knew who account details of the t mobile sim then life would be so much easier, but as the sim came from a dubious source i will never know its origin

so much for mates eh,

martyh · 29-01-2010, 13:41

okay this should settle the argument ,it is illegal to unblock a blocked IMEI (even by the provider) number in this country ,a blocked phone can be unblocked but it will not make/recieve calls

http://www.foneszone.co.uk/unlock/in...ked_barred.php
http://www.unlockme.co.uk/blacklist.html

grandmaster · 29-01-2010, 14:07

If the mate was any sort of a mate then he would stump up the cash.
at the very least the resale value.
Can you see the a couple of the same phones on say ebay and maybe ask him to match whatever the final price is?

I lent my neighbour some money because he was short on cash that was back in august, it was'nt a lot of money but i still, he has paid a small sum back to me but still not the whole amount.

Infact I might go and see him and remind him i think...

dragon · 20-02-2010, 20:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyh

okay this should settle the argument ,it is illegal to unblock a blocked IMEI (even by the provider) number in this country ,a blocked phone can be unblocked but it will not make/recieve calls

http://www.foneszone.co.uk/unlock/in...ked_barred.php
http://www.unlockme.co.uk/blacklist.html

I think that's refering to unblocking the phone by changing it's IMIE which used to be doable on the older handsets, but that was a long time ago hopefully the manufacturers have vastly increased security since then.

Although I don't really see why a network should not be able unblock the device providing you can prove that you legitimately own it.

It would be rather stupid if they couldn't given I bet a lot of people report their phone lost and then subsequently find it.