blacklisted

[etoe]

HI,

i have had LG g3 phone bought from Dubai in Aug 2014 and last night the phone stopped working, i am with virgin who advised vodafone blacklisted the phone. went to vodafone customer service 8 times where the last time the cs adviser said to take it into store with the box who can unlock this. what happens they cant do anything..  need to know why my phone is locked and how do i get this unlocked..

no one can do anything as i dont have a vodafone account

[jeffkinn]

Where did you get the phone from - a shop or an individual?

Either way you're probably the victim of  scam where either a stolen phone is re-sold to someone or the rightful owner sells it and then reports it stolen, and the insurance company asks the network to blacklist it.

You are unlikely to get the phone working again I'm afraid unless there has been some mistake, which is also unlikely.

[etoe]

bought it from a proper phone shop inside a shopping mall not from an individual, 

vodaphone cs cant tell me why its locked 

[jeffkinn]

If the phone has been blocked for the reason I've given, they won't talk to you as you were not the original owner of the phone, even if it appears to be brand new.

If you get no joy from normal customer services, wait a couple of days or so for the eforum team here to pick this thread up and look into the issue for you. But be prepared for your phone to be out of action for some time if not permanently.

[etoe]

no i am the original owner,this phione was not a second hand phone, it was bought from a proper mobile shop like we have here such as carphone warehouse, phone is not set to vodafhone

the phone was brand new, still had its new screen cover and the install setup came when you switch the phone on first time

[hooker1uk]

forgive me for being patronising here but you said 

"i have had LG g3 phone bought from Dubai"

You purchased it from Dubai, while it may have been a known shop I've read many horror stories from indian based phone shops on the nokia forums where it usually goes like this:
(for reference many phones in the uk come unlocked on contract - or easilly unlocked)

• mule buys the phone on contract (vodafone provide some unlocked handsets on contract devices)
• Mule sends the phone overseas buyer
• Buyer sells the handset on to legitamte store at a reduced price, usually offering bulk buys at a cheaper price
• Store sell the phone on to you (they make a killing as a result) 
• Vodafone block it once they realise they've been scammed 
• as you weren't the mule who set it up you can't get it unblocked,
• you're left with an expensive paperweight and a victim of imported cellphones. 
  
  
  

I'm sorry to say there's not much Vodafone could possibly do here as it seems you're stuck between a rock and a hard place

[etoe]

i understand but there i a lot more vodafone can do

* i have been calling them several times to check why this has been blacklisted, response they don't know why but it has been blocked.  Cant confirm if its been reported stolen or user error

* why has it taken 6 months to blacklist a handset if its been stolen from the UK

* Took this to a vodafone shop who scanned the box and and advised its not one of there phones

am getting conflict on information as CS are saying take it to a vodafone shop with the box and photo id but they are saying to call customer service.  all i want is to speak with a person who can advise why is blocked so then we can move forward and resolve this

[jeffkinn · Accepted solution]

The situation is quite simple but not helpful to you.

Unless you are the person that asked Vodafone to blacklist the phone, the provisions of the data protection act, as well as measures to prevent fraud, will prevent Vodafone from talking to you in any way. They won't give you any information as to why the phone has been blocked nor who requested the block.

I suspect that someone got a phone as an upgrade and sold it right away. They had insurance, and waited three or four months, and then reported it stolen.

It's a common scam I'm afraid.

[etoe]

we are making a lot of assumptions here, just because its been bought from oversees it must be stolen

phone was bought from "Dubai Mall" have a look at there website its a multi-billion pound shopping mall not a run of the mill pop up shop. also cant see any forums that backs up stolen phones are/were being sold from this shopping mall.  they maybe selling stolen phones at the bazaars but this was not bought from a bazaar

[jeffkinn]

I agree there are assumptions but it seems reasonable on the basis that Vodafone, a network that you have no connection with, have suddenly blacklisted a phone bought overseas.

Lots of dealers in this country buy their handsets from sources on the gray market and not the manufacturers. That isn't illegal but certainly has its issues. In the Middle East things might be even more suspect (I was in Dubai airport only last weekend and I can see the quality of shops there).

The eforum team should be able to track down the issue by using the phones IMEI number.