Brand New Phone bought in Store flagged as blacklisted

Infini

So gotta ask here I got a phone from a store in town a few months back (Galaxy S8+) but I discovered yesterday that the phone wouldn't connect at all to the NI phone network. The phone was sealed and brand new when I bought it and has worked NP down here.

Ran a few checks and found that the IMEI has been flagged as blacklisted up there. I had ran a check when I got the phone and it was clean at the time of purchase. Phone works fine down here but the information on how phones get blacklisted is conflicting at best. My concern's that the phone will get blacklisted down here at some point and it will be useless.

I have the original written reciept from the shop and the original box it came with. I know I can go back and demand a refund in full as the product I've been sold is possibly from NI or the UK that's been flagged there but my concern is that they might try and give me hassle. Anyone else have any dealings with this kind of issue?

Snotty

Who did you buy it from, was it an authorised retailer? Seen you ran a check on the IMEI as soon as you bought the phone, I'm guessing you knew it was not brand new and it did have a history, in this case the phone is stolen. It may have been stolen from a shop and so not being out of the packaging doesn't not mean it wasn't stolen.

If it was authorised seller, I'd be taking it straight back and getting a new phone, a promise that they would fix it would not suffice.

Infini

It was a 3rd party store, wasnt sure about them as I'd never dealt with em before. I would have preferred to get it from the normal store's but they sell them locked and I needed it unlocked for traveling to other countries. The phone was sealed in the box when I bought it I had just ran a check at the time to double check. The phone had been advertised on adverts.ie as well and I wasnt gonna take it unless it was from a store.

colm_mcm

I guess it belongs to a network and was "bought" (contract entered into) to sell.

njs030

Infini wrote: »

It was a 3rd party store, wasnt sure about them as I'd never dealt with em before. I would have preferred to get it from the normal store's but they sell them locked and I needed it unlocked for traveling to other countries. The phone was sealed in the box when I bought it I had just ran a check at the time to double check. The phone had been advertised on adverts.ie as well and I wasnt gonna take it unless it was from a store.

You can buy unlocked phones from any store they just cost more, the reason a locked to network phone costs less is because it's network subsidised for a year or so and then they will unlock it.

If you got a really cheap unlocked phone that's blacklisted in the UK it's likely to have been stolen over there and brought here to sell.

ED E

Im guessing it was CEX, or similar. Once its a business it doesnt matter.

Blacked IMEI lists are national for the most part, so the SIM wont work in any of the UK. Once its been blacked its unlikely to "spread". So EU/US etc you're fine, just not the UK.

The exception to that is an Operator might pool blacklists across borders if they so wished, so Vodafone UK could block a handset in the UK and all their partner networks (Most of europe is covered by one of them). Not saying they do this, but they could.


Whats likely happened is:
Dude in NI upgrades to an S8 for cheap/free with a big contract
Doesnt open it, brings it to CEX instead in the ROI
Sells it to them for a wad of cash
Disappears on the contract and leaves the network €700+ in the drain

Ethically its stolen goods. I doubt that stands legally but personally I'd want my device to work in the UK especially when we share a land mass with them. There isnt much the store could have done to prevent this as when they bought it it was probably clean. They have insurance for theft though, you don't. Threaten the SCC if you have to.

Infini

colm_mcm wrote: »

I guess it belongs to a network and was "bought" (contract entered into) to sell.

Yeah it had vodafone branding when I bought it but I've checked with them here and it's clean to them. Up the North though its blocked so it's why I suspect it's originally a UK/NI phone. As it was advertised here on adverts.ie as brand new and sealed and the IMEI was clean at the time I decided to give em a try as it was an unlocked phone that I needed.

The IMEI info is conflicting at best as some say it's only blocked in the country of origin and others EU wide. As I made sure to get a receipt from them at the time of purchase and the phone has subsequently been discovered blacklisted in NI I trying to get info on what I can do in the event that they try playing game's with me and try refusing me a full refund.

Edit: It's one of those small shops not CEX that I got it from as well.

ED E wrote: »

The exception to that is an Operator might pool blacklists across borders if they so wished, so Vodafone UK could block a handset in the UK and all their partner networks (Most of europe is covered by one of them). Not saying they do this, but they could.

This is what's been concerning me. While the phone isn't "stolen" here whats been bothering me since I discovered this is that if the phone was from Vodafone UK that they might have a shared IMEI list that periodically gets updated and while I'm on a different network entirely here what could happen is Vodafone Ireland gets an IMEI blacklist update from their sister company and my phone gets blocked outright since if one operator blacklists a phone then it get's blocked across the board. It's my general concern that this is how I'll get blindsided if I keep the phone.

njs030

Infini wrote: »

Yeah it had vodafone branding when I bought it but I've checked with them here and it's clean to them. Up the North though its blocked so it's why I suspect it's originally a UK/NI phone. As it was advertised here on adverts.ie as brand new and sealed and the IMEI was clean at the time I decided to give em a try as it was an unlocked phone that I needed.

The IMEI info is conflicting at best as some say it's only blocked in the country of origin and others EU wide. As I made sure to get a receipt from them at the time of purchase and the phone has subsequently been discovered blacklisted in NI I trying to get info on what I can do in the event that they try playing game's with me and try refusing me a full refund.

Edit: It's one of those small shops not CEX that I got it from as well.

You don't have a right to a refund they can offer to replace it.

Infini

notjustsweet wrote: »

You don't have a right to a refund they can replace it.

Problem is that I'd be concerned that if I got it replaced that the same thing would happen again which is why I'd rather just get a refund and go somewhere else.

njs030

Infini wrote: »

Problem is that I'd be concerned that if I got it replaced that the same thing would happen again which is why I'd rather just get a refund and go somewhere else.

Consumer law is that the retailer has the choice which of the three r's they choose to offer, obviously in this case they can't repair it so they can offer to replace or refund.
If you're not happy you can refuse and take a case to the scc but you can't insist on a refund by law.

Infini

notjustsweet wrote: »

Consumer law is that the retailer has the choice which of the three r's they choose to offer, obviously in this case they can't repair it so they can offer to replace or refund.
If you're not happy you can refuse and take a case to the scc but you can't insist on a refund by law.

That applies even in the event of fraudulently sold goods even?

ED E

Infini wrote: »

That applies even in the event of fraudulently sold goods even?

The goods were of merchantable quality at the time of sale. This is where technology leap frogs legislation.

njs030

Infini wrote: »

That applies even in the event of fraudulently sold goods even?

Yep, it's classed as "not fit for purpose" so you can return it under that and the rules I set out above - but they might give you the refund if you push for it just be aware they dont have to is all!!