Consumer law and recycled phone

Nathan

Nathan

Nathan

Soldato
Joined
4 Feb 2003
Posts
5,253
Location
West Midlands
Hi,

My wife bought an iPhone from ur.co.uk 7 months ago. Said phone stopped working on cellular 2 weeks ago. Fast forward the return and she has today received this email:

Hi xxxxxx

We have received the phone you have returned to us, unfortunately it has been reported lost or stolen to the network. As you have used it successfully for 7 - 8 months we can no longer assist

Blah blah blah contact checkmend.

The phone was not cheap. We were assured by the 12 month warranty this kind of scam would be covered and having read their warranty criteria it does not mention phones that later become reported to be lost or stolen, ie fraud.

Has anyone been through similar? Surely consumer law protects us from this?
 
1. Read contract to determine whether it is worth pursuing.
2. Yes/no. If no, return to daily life and buy a new phone. If yes:
3. Citizen's Advice or Lawyer Up.
4. ???
5. Profit (having deducted legal fees to replace said phone)
 
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Congratulations you have a mini tablet / camera :D


Their warranty states "You will not be able to claim under this warranty if the serial number on your device has been removed or if we know, or reasonably believe, your device to be stolen (based on information provided by law enforcement authorities)."

So it appears they sold you a stolen phone, (or it was under contract when sold and not paid for).
Regardless of thier warranty terms, they are liable, however it's the faff of sorting it. Small claims is likely the way forward if they are not forthcoming. The fact that they have such get out clauses shows they know/suspect they sell stolen items.

Regarding checkmend, they have an account and would have been notified by checkmend, it's their responsibility to deal with it, unless they are claiming that you reported it stolen, which complicates things a little.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/c...chase/if-you-think-youve-bought-stolen-goods/. See here for real advice.
 
Blackbadger said:
Their warranty states "You will not be able to claim under this warranty if the serial number on your device has been removed or if we know, or reasonably believe, your device to be stolen (based on information provided by law enforcement authorities)."
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small claims court, they probably won;t even show up for a few hundred quid or whatever.

I doubt that warranty text is ever going to stand up in any court.

Theres probably also an ombudsman you can report them too


they are also the ones selling stolen goods, just threaten to go the police lol
 
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arknor said:
small claims court, they probably won;t even show up for a few hundred quid or whatever.

I doubt that warranty text is ever going to stand up in any court.

Theres probably also an ombudsman you can report them too


they are also the ones selling stolen goods, just threaten to go the police lol
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Yup
It reads like a very unfair term given the consumer has bought the phone in good faith of the retailer and it's the retailers job to ensure the phone is not stolen before they sell it on. It's a bit harsh on the retailer but that is why the retailer will be selling for more than they've bought for.
 
Is it possible that when the phone was sold it wasn't actually reported at that time, I e. Previous owner waited till they'd sold it to that site?
 
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Surely this is in the contract with the person they buy the phone from. As in if it gets reported stolen by the original owner, the company can then sort it out via them.

Seems rather strange that they can just sell expensive phones with a 'not out problem' clause.
 
Yea the seller has been handling stolen goods basically.

If you took it to court and they see it has been reported stolen, things might escalate quickly for them.
 
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You'd have to prove it was stolen at the time of sale surely? Not sure of the delay of reporting it stolen vs actually getting blocked on the network... Very messy either way.
 
Goksly said:
You'd have to prove it was stolen at the time of sale surely? Not sure of the delay of reporting it stolen vs actually getting blocked on the network... Very messy either way.
Click to expand...

Surely all you would need to prove is that you bought it from this seller. It couldn't have been stolen after it was purchased from them.
 
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theone8181 said:
Is it possible that when the phone was sold it wasn't actually reported at that time, I e. Previous owner waited till they'd sold it to that site?
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they should be accounting for losses and not trying to force them onto customers.

they buy and sell the phones directly? it's not a middle man ebay type service? even then I'd expect protection from stolen goods tbh

Goksly said:
You'd have to prove it was stolen at the time of sale surely? Not sure of the delay of reporting it stolen vs actually getting blocked on the network... Very messy either way.
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well it obviously was unless the OP stole it, sold it to the site and bought it back...

It's like going back 20 years ago when places like OCUK tried to claim if a parcels contents were damaged it's your fault for not checking the contents at the door, even though 0 couriers are ever going to let you do that before signing.
 
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Nasher said:
Surely all you would need to prove is that you bought it from this seller. It couldn't have been stolen after it was purchased from them.
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There are multiple scenarios:
1. Person who sold it to the 2nd hand website reported it stolen after selling it. Original seller at fault.
2. Person who sold it to the 2nd hand website stole the handset. Handset can be checked as stolen before it's disconnected (?). Reseller at fault if it can be checked. ??? at fault if it can't be checked.
3. Person who sold it to the 2nd hand website stole the handset, but the insurance company took ages to notify network. ??? at fault.
4. OP purchased it and then reported it stolen to get insurance money / additional phone. Wasn't aware it was going to be disconnected. OP at fault.

Obviously I'm sure the OP is a stand up member of the community - but just giving all angles.
 
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