Blocked/Barred iPhone 3G problem

[Infamous09]

Hi there

Basically, I bought my phone off eBay around April/May brand new, unopened...i know, maybe not the smartest thing to do but ive never had a problem before.
Since buying it, the phone has been fine, ive had no problems with it what so ever. I bought a 3G O2 sim card for it and it worked fine until a few days ago.
I called O2 because I kept getting No Service. They said its probably a hardware fault and as long as its under warranty, I should take it to apple. So the next day, I restored the iPhone to factory settings hoping it would be ok, again, same problem. I called O2 again and this time they told me it was barred as it was reported lost or stolen.
Now I brought up the eBay situation. I told them I bought the phone of ebay. I think the original seller had sent it to me brand new, which it was. It even came with an O2 leaflet inside the cardboard box. They said there was nothing they could do.

Ive probably been scammed but it seems weird how it can be reported lost or stolen 3 months later, only for O2 to block it and it is something they said they have nothing to do with.

What are my options? I have got all the transaction print outs...even the auction page print out :S

 

[GeneralP]

Any chance it "fell of a truck" before it was sold to you and the system has finally caught up to it?

 

[Infamous09]

Haha I thought so too...
I 'assumed' it was an upgrade he/she was selling because it came in a cardboard box that had an O2 Leaflet inside.
I mean how long does it take to process a lost/stolen issue because when I called the night before, the woman said there seems to be nothing wrong at their end in terms of the sim card or settings =/

 

[crazymexx]

Haha I thought so too...
I 'assumed' it was an upgrade he/she was selling because it came in a cardboard box that had an O2 Leaflet inside.
I mean how long does it take to process a lost/stolen issue because when I called the night before, the woman said there seems to be nothing wrong at their end in terms of the sim card or settings =/

JB it...it should work... put another carrier sim before you JB

 

[benflick]

What are they going to do now? Are they going to take it from you?
Given all the documents you have, you could take the seller to court. Talk with him first and see if he could refund it.

 

[Infamous09]

JB it...it should work... put another carrier sim before you JB

Ive heard JB doesnt do anything as far as unbrarring goes. If the IMEI is blocked, there is little I can do =/

What are they going to do now? Are they going to take it from you?
Given all the documents you have, you could take the seller to court. Talk with him first and see if he could refund it.

Well O2 just told me to sort it out with them. Obviously to them, buying the phone off eBay doesnt make me the rightful owner even though eBay states its final winner is binded by contract to buy the item.
As for the seller, he/she seems to have gone MIA..which adds to my problem. Im going to try hit O2 with the whole "I have the printed documents" if that doesnt work, maybe a trading standards threat will, if not, im doomed haha

The phone is in excellent condition. Has had a cover on it since day one and screen protector. Now I almost feel like throwing it against a wall

 

[goosnarrggh]

Sounds to me like the ebay seller decided to scam you -- buy the iPhone and then resell it to get back most or all of his purchase price, then report it stolen through a private insurance plan and get it replaced. Net result = get the iPhone essentially for free, at the ebay purchaser's expense. Then, the insurance company's internal procedures took a little time to play out, but eventually they reported the original iPhone stolen to the carrier, who then in turn blocked the original IMEI as a matter of course.

From what I've read, removing an IMEI from the blacklist after it's been put on the list is next to impossible.

Unless O2 was told about the sale by the last person they knew for sure was the iPhone's owner, they have no reason to believe you when you say that you're the new owner. They have no way of knowing for sure that you didn't steal it. So in reality, the scammer didn't only con you; he conned O2 and the insurance company too.

Your best course of action would probably be taking the ebay seller to small claims court. Maybe you can use the financial information from the payment you sent (you did use a verifiable payment system, didn't you?) to track down the scammer, or use the payment system's grievance process (you did use a payment system with a grievance process, didn't you?) to at least reverse the charges.