Unwanted upgrades

jrwagh333 · 27 Jun 2020 at 12:49

I am just curious as I see a lot of these 'unwanted upgrades' for sale in the mobile phone thread.
I am due an upgrade, but I chose to keep my phone and go SIM only on the same network, as I got more data for less money.

So if people want to keep the phone they have, why don't they just go SIM only instead of getting an upgrade? As all the upgrades I have been offered would cost me more per month

Squink · 27 Jun 2020 at 13:13

Maybe these sellers want a lump sum of cash for selling their new phone, whilst maintaining an "affordable" monthly payment for the contract.

It's not an efficient way to obtain a lump sum, but it must work for some people.

Deleted member 77746 · 27 Jun 2020 at 13:15

A lot of people shouldn’t be selling the phones if they are still in contract.

The phone still belongs to the company it was purchased from until it’s paid off if it’s a contract one.

The thing is they still paying for the phone even if they sell it over the term of the contract.

DataVampire · 2 Jul 2020 at 18:35

mrbell1984 said:
A lot of people shouldn’t be selling the phones if they are still in contract.

The phone still belongs to the company it was purchased from until it’s paid off if it’s a contract one.

The thing is they still paying for the phone even if they sell it over the term of the contract.

I think you will find its 6 months with most uk providers.

Richy888 · 4 Jul 2020 at 09:46

mrbell1984 said:
A lot of people shouldn’t be selling the phones if they are still in contract.

The phone still belongs to the company it was purchased from until it’s paid off if it’s a contract one.

The thing is they still paying for the phone even if they sell it over the term of the contract.

I've often wondered about this - what happens if the person sells their unwanted upgrade and then defaults on the contract? Will the person who bought the phone suddenly end up with their phone being locked or blacklisted?

I ask because I often buy second hand off such as eBay.

Cant see the point of taking an unwanted upgrade then paying for it over 2 years though guess a lump of cash is always useful.

Deleted member 77746 · 4 Jul 2020 at 10:10

Richy888 said:
I've often wondered about this - what happens if the person sells their unwanted upgrade and then defaults on the contract? Will the person who bought the phone suddenly end up with their phone being locked or blacklisted?

I ask because I often buy second hand off such as eBay.

Cant see the point of taking an unwanted upgrade then paying for it over 2 years though guess a lump of cash is always useful.

Yes it's a risk and there's nothing you can do about it. I have heard of some people selling their phone to someone far away, black listing it and then claiming under insurance. Yes it's fraud but people do it. This is why I would NEVER buy a phone from online unless is was directly from a proper phone shop.

jrwagh333 · 4 Jul 2020 at 14:00

I have yet to be offered an upgrade at the same price though. It's always more expensive per month. That's why I was mainly curious about why people do it.

Trifid · 5 Jul 2020 at 13:24

jrwagh333 said:
I have yet to be offered an upgrade at the same price though. It's always more expensive per month. That's why I was mainly curious about why people do it.

Poor financial planning or they get a offer that is cheaper overall then sim only plus the resell value of the phone (much rarer these days, but I did used to get contracts that were less then the new cost of the phone).

Richy888 · 5 Jul 2020 at 13:45

mrbell1984 said:
Yes it's a risk and there's nothing you can do about it. I have heard of some people selling their phone to someone far away, black listing it and then claiming under insurance. Yes it's fraud but people do it. This is why I would NEVER buy a phone from online unless is was directly from a proper phone shop.

Last couple of phones I've bought s/h off private sellers on eBay. Up to now I've got away with it but what you write has always been in back of my mind. I've swapped from Android to iphone in the shape of an XS Max. Previous Galaxy S10 was bought s/h. I've been an android phone user for ever and fancied a change. Early days, but loving the XS Max and IOS which I thought I never would. If I get tempted with an iPhone 12 of some description then I'll do a trade in with Apple and go brand new. Depends on the money

RaiderX · 5 Jul 2020 at 19:47

I’ve bought many devices 2nd hand from different places, Over the years I’ve had 3 devices get blacklisted after buying them. Networks only blacklist them if no payment is ever made on the account. Also EE/BT is the only network where you don’t own the device straight away, you only own it after 6 months with them.