I've just bought a blocked iPhone 4

[Anonymous]

hi all 

long story short ive just found out by a checkmend report that the "faulty" iphone i bought is actually not faulty but it has been reported lost or stolen and been blocked.

but it has not been reported to the police as lost or stolen so what are my options as if i take it to the police they will have no record of it .would 02 be able to tell who owned it if i contact them  ?

thanks

[MI5]

You are committing an offence by owning this phone (albeit unwittingly). If it came from ebay (most do) raise a dispute, send the phone back and get your money back. The phone now actually belongs to the insurance company who paid out for it's replacement.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the reply .

i got it off gumtree but the report i payed for also came back clear of an insurance claim heres the report

 Checks Performed Explanation

Ever blocked CheckMEND has a record of this item having been reported LOST or STOLEN to a mobile network operator in its lifetime.

Currently blocked CheckMEND has a record that this item is CURRENTLY reported as LOST or STOLEN to at least one mobile network operator.

Lost CheckMEND has no record of this item being reported lost to Police, Immobilise or

ReportMyLoss

Stolen CheckMEND has no record of this item being reported stolen to Police or Immobilise

Insurance claim CheckMEND has no record that this item has been subject to an insurance claim

Possible counterfeit CheckMEND has no records that this identifier has been used in counterfeit products

Previous use CheckMEND has no records indicating this is a used item.

possible clone CheckMEND has no records that this identifier has been used in cloned products

Recycled CheckMEND has no records that this item has been recycled or refurbished

Contract status CheckMEND has no records relating to this items network contract status

Warranty CheckMEND has no records that this item has been subject to a warranty claim

Finance CheckMEND has no records that this item is subject to a current finance agreement

so why would a iphone 4 get reported lost or stolen to 02 but then not report it to the police and not make an insurance claim ? seems a little strange to me 

[Anonymous]

hence why I'm wondering if there is anyway of tracking down the original owner

[perksie]

No there is no way to do that and it would be a breach of their privacy, you must get the seller to deal with the problem.

Do Gumtree have a dispute resolution scheme?

[Anonymous]

Appears the original owner has reported the iPhone list to their insurance company to get an 'upgrade'

It's a shame sites such as Gumtree don't use Paypal. I'm assuming you paid cash.

Use the contact options in this link and good luck.

http://help.gumtree.com/articles/FAQ/I-ve-been-the-victim-of-a-scam-What-should-I-do?retURL=%2Fapex%...

Could be an expensive learning curve. 😞

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately this is the second story I've heard this week about someone buying a blocked iPhone from Gumtree.  I don't know a great deal about the site but it seems to be quite poorly regulated with no seller protection.

[Anonymous]

The old cliche Traceyjs1975,


If it sounds too good to be true.


😞

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

Unless you can get your money back from the seller you now have an iPod 😞
Regardless of the circumstances, I'm afraid there's nothing else you can do....

[adamtemp64]

http://blog.gumtree.com/making-gumtree-safe-for-buyers-and-sellers/ might be worth reporting it to the email address there