Are we being scammed?

Ok so about a month ago we sold an iPhone 4 16GB to a girl. It was locked to the O2 network and we'd bought it second hand but my mum used it for 18 months with absolutely no issue.

Out of the blue the girl who bought it has come back and said she wants her money back because the phone has been blocked and she had contacted the police to confirm this, which they said it had been stolen.

Not wanting to be the recipient of stolen property back into our home or be scammed we also contacted the police and they recommended a paid for checking service which would run the details of a phone and flag any blocks or restrictions.

It came back completely clean and we sent the report to the girl to confirm this.

After asking a little more detail she simply said that she just got no network at all and it had been blocked (she's not the sharpest of tools) and won't really elaborate.

Today she has come back and said that she has been to the Apple store and they have said that the phone can only now be used on Wifi. Again however she didn't elaborate or go into detail, she wouldn't even say which Apple store (and the nearest is 50 miles from where she lives).

On one hand we feel sorry for her but on the other hand we don't feel like it's our responsibility, also the report states that the phone is legitimately out of contract and has been paid up to date (it's that accurate and the police again confirmed that that's what that part of the report means).

So what other reason could it not be working to the point where Apple would say that it can only be used on WiFi? I mentioned that I really would like to know what Apple said, but she has just got to the point now where she just keeps asking for her money back.

She's being very persistent for a refund (she bought it from us for £130), as far as I'm concerned buying second hand is a risk you take, a risk we accepted when we bought it.

The most worrying thing is that we think that they're a Gypsy family, now please understand that I have no issue with travelling families but round here they are the kind of people who when crossed will set fire to your house first and ask questions later, that is not an exaggeration.

So what can I tell her? She's being so scant on the details and refuses to reveal info so I cannot tell if it could be something simple that could be fixed, in which case we wouldn't mind taking it back because we can just get it working and keep it or move it on again.

sammy-boy said:

I'm presuming you have the IMEI number of the phone still that you sold as you've run a check - if you do refund her, as someone's already suggested it could be a different phone - check the IMEI of the phone she's returning to confirm it's the same phone if you go that route.

Was it a face-to-face sale or was it through somewhere like eBay?

Another thought is the phone is activation-locked - was it reset properly? It could be asking for your iCloud password but for whatever reason she's trying to say it's blocked and spinning you a yarn about visiting Apple stores?

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No, we never kept a record of the IMEI number. It's not something you really think of doing at the time.

It was a face to face sale.

abz1981 said:

a simple solution to this problem is, ask the girl to meet you at your local police department and this is where the police can confirm the report they got you to check shows the iPhone is not blocked and is completely clean, providing the 2 imei numbers the one she has on her iPhone and the one you have on record matches. Another thing I suggest you do, if possible get in touch with the original seller and ask them to provide you with proof of purchase document of the iPhone. However meeting in a police department to resolve the issue would be the best option in my opinion. Also if you don't have a copy of the imei number, then you need to contact the carrier who your mum used the iPhone on, in order for them to provide you with a proof of usage document, this will show the imei of the iPhone your mum used on o2.

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Well for starters we're on pay as you go, my mum used Giff Gaff which is O2 compatible but they're a web only company, nobody to call.

As for the previous owner, that information was long lost...we can't even remember where we got it from, 18 months is quite a while and we've checked ebay records and there is no history so it's likely we bought it from a Facebook seller (we do that quite a lot).

The police station is quite a good idea though.