IMEI barring

[Phonegal27]

Do o2 ban imei and blacklist handsets for non payment of bills? I'm about to buy a handset and I'm worried it will get blocked if bills fail to be paid by previous owner !

[Skyhawk1010]

It’s wise to be cautious regarding eBay etc

As it happens I’ve bought phones off eBay without a problem albeit with one very important proviso.

The moment I get the phone, besides checking its ok etc I ALWAYS do a CheckMEND search on it, which will indicate whether or not the phone is stolen,has finance on it etc for the grand total of £1.99 .

CeX are very good and their Grade A phones are usually ‘as new’. Sometimes though they can be really expensive but phone prices are constantly changing so its a good idea to check you aren’t paying too much. 

[MI5]

Checking when you receive the phone doesn't stop the seller reporting it lost or stolen 2 or 3 months later though when ebay and paypal will no longer be interested in it.
Until there is a log book system like there is with cars you will never stamp out the con artists.
I'm not suggesting every ebay sale is like this as I too sell on ebay but it is wise to be aware of what some sellers are like.

[Cleoriff]

Before the advent of smartphones I bought no end of phones from Ebay.

Mainly Razr's and Krzrs. Some were probably chinese replicas but they worked well, I had no problem with any of them. Nowadays and with the insurance scams I wouldn't trust Ebay at all.

I have bought brand new sim free phones from Amazon and only from trusted sellers who have been trading for years.

Apart from an iPhone I bought for my son and the seller stopped trading on Amazon, I have had no problem. Even then I got a refund from Amazon, which was handy as the son got his phone repaired for free by Apple. (It was only 7 months old when it developed a fault)

You just need to do a bit of research before purchase I think...(and never be afraid to ask for advice.)