Blacklisted iPhone 6 Plus Advice...

PearlWhiteGT · Dec 29, 2014

Few weeks back I purchased a new AT&T iPhone 6 Plus off of Craigslist as a Christmas gift. I checked the IMEI online & it showed up clean. As soon as I purchased the phone I took it into the local store & had them double check it & everything checked out good. Well the Friday before Christmas I was watching the news & saw a pic of the guy I purchased it from. He got caught at work with 2 iPhones & was arrested. He was stealing them from his place of employment which was FedEx or UPS. It appears that customers had complained about not getting there phones delivered & it started a investagation.

So I contacted AT&T customer service & explained to them what had happened. Told them I was planning on giving the phone as a gift to someone & now I'm not sure what to do. She told me since the guy was caught & arrested at his place of employment that the shipping facality will reimburse AT&T for the replacement phones that they have/had to resend to the customers that didn't receive their phones. She said that AT&T understands that this happens & the phone will still be ok to use. I asked her so you are telling me I'm ok to still give it as a gift & she said yes. Asked her if they would Blacklist it at a later time because if so I don't want to give it as a gift & she said no they wouldn't.

So I gave the phone as a gift & when they tried to activate it, it was Blacklisted. Called AT&T about it and explained everything again & even told them I spoke with someone already about this & told them everything she told me but they said they couldn't help me and they were sorry.

I know it was my fault for buying off of Craigslist. But I just feel that they should be able to help somehow since they guy was arrested from the shipping facality. They should have inventory of the missing phones with the IMEI numbers. I know he sold phones to other people as well. Thought about emailing corporate office to see if it would be any help. I know going after the guy will get me no where. You guys have any advice or should I just use it as a lesson learned and move on?

Thanks...

mattopotamus · Dec 29, 2014

Did you get the person's name at AT&T and the time/day of the phone call? All of those conversations are recorded.

Brian Y · Dec 29, 2014

PearlWhiteGT said:
Few weeks back I purchased a new AT&T iPhone 6 Plus off of Craigslist as a Christmas gift. I checked the IMEI online & it showed up clean. As soon as I purchased the phone I took it into the local store & had them double check it & everything checked out good. Well the Friday before Christmas I was watching the news & saw a pic of the guy I purchased it from. He got caught at work with 2 iPhones & was arrested. He was stealing them from his place of employment which was FedEx or UPS. It appears that customers had complained about not getting there phones delivered & it started a investagation.

So I contacted AT&T customer service & explained to them what had happened. Told them I was planning on giving the phone as a gift to someone & now I'm not sure what to do. She told me since the guy was caught & arrested at his place of employment that the shipping facality will reimburse AT&T for the replacement phones that they have/had to resend to the customers that didn't receive their phones. She said that AT&T understands that this happens & the phone will still be ok to use. I asked her so you are telling me I'm ok to still give it as a gift & she said yes. Asked her if they would Blacklist it at a later time because if so I don't want to give it as a gift & she said no they wouldn't.

So I gave the phone as a gift & when they tried to activate it, it was Blacklisted. Called AT&T about it and explained everything again & even told them I spoke with someone already about this & told them everything she told me but they said they couldn't help me and they were sorry.

I know it was my fault for buying off of Craigslist. But I just feel that they should be able to help somehow since they guy was arrested from the shipping facality. They should have inventory of the missing phones with the IMEI numbers. I know he sold phones to other people as well. Thought about emailing corporate office to see if it would be any help. I know going after the guy will get me no where. You guys have any advice or should I just use it as a lesson learned and move on?

Thanks...

Sorry dude, but you bought a phone that was stolen from AT&T. You have no legal right to the phone, and they don't have to do anything for you. It's a bad side effect of buying from craigslist I'm afraid.

AlecZ · Dec 29, 2014

PearlWhiteGT said:
I know it was my fault for buying off of Craigslist. But I just feel that they should be able to help somehow since they guy was arrested from the shipping facality. They should have inventory of the missing phones with the IMEI numbers. I know he sold phones to other people as well. Thought about emailing corporate office to see if it would be any help. I know going after the guy will get me no where. You guys have any advice or should I just use it as a lesson learned and move on?

Thanks...

Wait a second, this situation is messed up. If the guy got arrested, shouldn't he have to pay you back the money for the iPhone?

wasimyaqoob · Dec 29, 2014

This happened to me before in the UK.

I bought a 5S from Gumtree and a few weeks later, the IMEI was blacklisted.

I went into my local Apple Store and they gave me a replacement.

Newtons Apple · Dec 29, 2014

mattopotamus said:
Did you get the person's name at AT&T and the time/day of the phone call? All of those conversations are recorded.

This information would not help. The ATT person made a huge error by telling the OP this but the facts are that the OP purchased a stolen phone and there is little to nothing anyone can do about it.

At best you could try to engage the person who stold the phone and sold it to you but that will likely be a dead end.

Applejuiced · Dec 29, 2014

Sure, AT&T told you to keep and use a stolen phone.
And now you still want to keep an use it.
Contact the police and return it. You cannot keep stolen property or you could get in trouble too. You can take legal action against him for selling you stolen goods without your knowledge and he would have to do some kind of retribution towards the money you gave him. Contact the police dept that made the arrest, Im sure they want to talk to you and get more info on his crimes and force him to repay you somehow.
Dont keep bothering AT&T, its not their fault or their problem that you bought stolen items on craigslist.

PearlWhiteGT · Dec 29, 2014

The chance of me getting my money back from the guy is pretty slim. I don't even have his number anymore. I can find out his name from the news but I know I'll just be wasting my time trying to get my money back from him. Would it be any help if I contacted Apple about this?

leopardhead2021 · Dec 29, 2014

PearlWhiteGT said:
The chance of me getting my money back from the guy is pretty slim. I don't even have his number anymore. I can find out his name from the news but I know I'll just be wasting my time trying to get my money back from him. Would it be any help if I contacted Apple about this?

No it won't.

Newtons Apple · Dec 29, 2014

PearlWhiteGT said:
The chance of me getting my money back from the guy is pretty slim. I don't even have his number anymore. I can find out his name from the news but I know I'll just be wasting my time trying to get my money back from him. Would it be any help if I contacted Apple about this?

I am afraid that Apple will not be able to do anything either. They will not get it removed from the blacklist.

Applejuiced · Dec 29, 2014

You know how many people try to buy and sell stolen apple products every day? Its not Apples problem or fault and they don't get involved in any of it.

PearlWhiteGT · Dec 29, 2014

I'll just cut my losses and learn from it. Thanks for the advice guys.

dyt1983 · Dec 29, 2014

PearlWhiteGT said:
I'll just cut my losses and learn from it. Thanks for the advice guys.

Technically in the US, if you know his name and where he was arrested, you can file a local police report... this should get connected to him, and if he gets convicted, the judge could order restitution. Then depending on the amount, severity, and if you're included, you could recover funds. Or it could be left to you to recover the funds from him. It depends on the court order. And you would probably have to turn in the phone as evidence.

But the chances are pretty slim.

BFaro · Dec 29, 2014

I had the same thing happen to me 2 months ago. I also bought a phone on Craigslist. Sales bill was included. I've bought iPhones several times over the years and never had an issue. Everything seemed legit until I went to activate it. Between my purchasing & getting it activated (couple of weeks), it had been blacklisted as stolen. The phone had been purchased with a stolen credit card.

The sales rep suggested that I put it up for sale as a "blacklisted phone being sold for parts" to recoup some of my cost. I decided to google "blacklisted iPhone", "bad IMEI" & after some reading came across a Youtube video that mentioned swapping services on eBay. Yes, I was extremely skeptical, but decided to go for it.

Not sure if I can post a direct link to the seller I used here in the forum. If you look up "iphoneswaps" on eBay, you'll actually find several vendors. Look for a seller actually called "iphoneswaps". The seller has a 100% positive feedback.

If you have no legal recourse, you might want to consider this. Or sell it for parts. I did the swap.

For everyone else: If you're going to buy from Craigslist, make sure that if your buying somebody's upgrade or older phone, you can verify that it is attached to a legit account. Do it in person with the seller. Have the seller sign a note (preferably the sales bill) stating that the phone is not stolen and won't be reported stolen. If the seller refuses any of these suggestions, I would advise against buying it.

BeeGood · Dec 29, 2014

Sorry to hear that. Sucks all the way around. You might recoup most of your money if you sell it on eBay as a blacklisted phone. There aren't many OEM parts out there yet so you should get a decent price for it (maybe recoup 60-70% of what you paid).

sanke1 · Dec 29, 2014

Is the IMEI Carrier blocked or Apple Blocked?

If it is Carrier blocked, then the phone will still work overseas on different network. I don't t know if Apple themselves block their own phones from activation unless Find my iPhone has already been turned on.

PearlWhiteGT · Dec 29, 2014

sanke1 said:
Is the IMEI Carrier blocked or Apple Blocked?

If it is Carrier blocked, then the phone will still work overseas on different network. I don't t know if Apple themselves block their own phones from activation unless Find my iPhone has already been turned on.

Carrier blocked. Says it can't be activated.

xraydoc · Dec 29, 2014

dyt1983 said:
Technically in the US, if you know his name and where he was arrested, you can file a local police report... this should get connected to him, and if he gets convicted, the judge could order restitution. Then depending on the amount, severity, and if you're included, you could recover funds. Or it could be left to you to recover the funds from him. It depends on the court order. And you would probably have to turn in the phone as evidence.

But the chances are pretty slim.

This would be the best course of action. You need to file a police report. Only then is there a chance of recovering anything from him (if he has any money left at the end of his criminal trial).

sanke1 · Dec 30, 2014

PearlWhiteGT said:
Carrier blocked. Says it can't be activated.

You can sell it to some middle eastern migrant. They send it over to those countries and it will work there well.

CEmajr · Dec 30, 2014

PearlWhiteGT said:
Carrier blocked. Says it can't be activated.

Sell it on eBay as blacklisted to recover some of your funds and use it to help towards the purchase of a new one from Apple. People overseas still want them even blacklisted since it still works outside the US.

catspah · Dec 30, 2014

you can unlock the imei and use any gsm sim. i used blowfish unlocks for their service. only cost me $75. no matter if blacklisted, under contract, or otherwise.

Applejuiced · Dec 30, 2014

catspah said:
you can unlock the imei and use any gsm sim. i used blowfish unlocks for their service. only cost me $75. no matter if blacklisted, under contract, or otherwise.

It will not work in the US.
The op lives inside the U.S.
Unless you're advising him to move so he can use the phone in another country.

Givmeabrek · Dec 30, 2014

Brian Y said:
Sorry dude, but you bought a phone that was stolen from AT&T. You have no legal right to the phone, and they don't have to do anything for you. It's a bad side effect of buying from craigslist I'm afraid.

This is the key. You have no legal right to stolen property whatsoever!! It doesn't make any difference if you paid for it or not. All you can do is report it to the police. Do anything else and you could be held liable.

There is no way in the world that I would try to sell stolen property.

And yes, since this guy was arrested you can probably be identified......

PearlWhiteGT · Dec 30, 2014

Yeah I see what you guys are saying. I'm not going to lie, I don't know much about phones and stolen phones. I contacted AT&T before purchasing a phone and asked what can I do to ensure it is not a stolen phone. They said bring it in and they can check it so that's what I did. They failed to tell me that it can still be reported as lost or stolen. I should have done more research so have no one to blame but myself.

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