Bought a sure signal box second hand

[ChrisHedges]

I bought a sure signal box from Ebay that was advertised as part of a job lot that the seller thought was still registered to an unknown third party. I won the auction, and the unit is unsable as it is still registered to someone else. I have asked vodafoneto contact the original owner to get it deregisted, but they are refusing to do so. They are quoting Data Protection as being the reason they cannot supply me with the details of the existing owner which is fair enough, but as they are the owners of the data, there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to contact the existing owner to get it deregistered. I am also lead to believe that Vodafone contact people that have not used their Sure Signal for more than 3 months to warn them that the unit will be de-registered, so could this process please be used in this case, as it is therefore obvious that Data Protection DOES NOT prevent such a request being made? The serial number is 40113817668.

[AnnS]

Hello ChrisHedges

You do realise that if Vodafone accessed the previous users information without the account holders authority, they would be in serious breech of data protection ?

The only way you are going to be able to get the device deregisterd is if the previous user who has the Sure Signal registered to their account contacts Vodafone and makes the request.  If you do not know who the previous user was, you have no chance of deregistering the device.

As you purchased the Sure Signal from ebay, this will between you and the seller.

[ChrisHedges]

Would you kindly detail WHAT PART OF THE DATA PROTECTION ACT you are quoting as being contravened? Sure, it would not be possible for the new owner to be told the information relating to the previous owner, but there is nothing to stop Vodafone AS OWNERS OF THE INFORMATION from contacting the previous owner to conform that they are no longer the owner, and to authorise de-registration. 

[AnnS · Accepted solution]

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@ChrisHedges wrote:

Would you kindly detail WHAT PART OF THE DATA PROTECTION ACT you are quoting as being contravened? Sure, it would not be possible for the new owner to be told the information relating to the previous owner, but there is nothing to stop Vodafone AS OWNERS OF THE INFORMATION from contacting the previous owner to conform that they are no longer the owner, and to authorise de-registration. 

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You have already been given the answer to that question in the first paragraph of the reply.

Vodafone cannot access the previous users details without the account holders permission.  As already mentioned, the only way to get the Sure Signal deregistered is for the person who has the devise registered to their account contacts Vodafone and makes the request.

I suggest you go back to the seller and ask for your money back.