IMEI Blocked iPhone 5C - Worth anything and can it be resold?

Adam · 20 Apr 2015 at 14:13

I bought my mum an iPhone 5C from some fat slob on gumtree, it was working fine for a few weeks until my mum went abroad and after that she couldn't get a signal. She thought the sim card was at fault so requested a new one, but it still didn't work. She then requested the phone was unlocked and during this process found out it had been reported lost/stolen.

Looks like I let my guard down on this one, I checked it was not iCloud locked but they must have reported it as lost/stolen after I paid them, possibly for insurance fraud.

Anyway, is there a market for IMEI blocked phones? I can find very few listings on ebay which inexplicably states the phone has been imei blocked which leads me to think it can't be sold again. It seems it functions fine as an iPhone without network capabilities (i.e. on wifi) so I imagine it could be useful to someone plus I can get some of the money back.

Myshra · 20 Apr 2015 at 14:41

Welcome to insurance fraud

Do you have any information about the person you bought it from? Internet detectives can go a long way with even the smallest clues. You can use checkmend to find out the status of the block but it's not going to be a whole lot more than you already know I suspect.

tom_e · 20 Apr 2015 at 14:42

Yes there is a market for them but I don't feel it's something that should be discussed on here.

Adam · 20 Apr 2015 at 14:46

Myshra said:
Welcome to insurance fraud Do you have any information about the person you bought it from? Internet detectives can go a long way with even the smallest clues. You can use checkmend to find out the status of the block but it's not going to be a whole lot more than you already know I suspect.

Yeah I have a phone number and an address I picked it up from although I don't have a name. A few things stand out to me as possible warning signs now but hindsight is a wonderful thing. I paid £130 for the phone, it's in great condition so it would be nice to get some money back. Won't be doing that again!

I was wondering if I could report the person but I'm guessing it's not going to lead anywhere and it's a waste of time.

tom_e said:
Yes there is a market for them but I don't feel it's something that should be discussed on here.

I'm not trying to sell it here, I know I can't sell it on the MM I'd just like to know if there are any options. I'm sure this happens quite a lot.

Terminal_Boy · 20 Apr 2015 at 14:50

It's most likely stolen. Proceed to nearest Police station and hand in along with all information you have about the seller.

demonix · 20 Apr 2015 at 16:33

Go back to the fat slob you got the phone from and ask them to reverse the block, and threaten them with the police if they refuse since they are committing fraud.

The phone is now a worthless pile of plastic and components since you can't sell it as you can be arrested for handling stolen goods (and more likely theft of those goods).

horrorwood · 20 Apr 2015 at 19:18

demonix said:
Go back to the fat slob you got the phone from and ask them to reverse the block, and threaten them with the police if they refuse since they are committing fraud.

The phone is now a worthless pile of plastic and components since you can't sell it as you can be arrested for handling stolen goods (and more likely theft of those goods).

This.

You also report it here: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ (although I am not sure what good this does unless a lot of people report the same person/address).