Apple require "Original Proof of purchase" to remove Iphone from an Icloud account??

[grisleigh]

I have recently started repairing mobile phones (Microsoldering & Logic board repairs)...

I purchased a Gold Iphone 5s 16GB from a seller on ebay That wasn't powering on....

Once I had repaired the phone it booted to their welcome screen asking for their passcode. I immediately contacted the seller through ebay informing them that the phone was now functional & requested could they either remove the phone from their Icloud account or give me the passcode so that I could reset the phone, within 30 seconds of sending the message (ebay) the phone became disabled (This Iphone has been temporarily disabled for 15 minutes) it then proceeded to countdown to zero.....(the seller had logged into their Icloud account and remotley erased the Iphone) when the countdown was complete the Iphone reset itself as a new phone but was now Icloud locked!! with an Apple statement that the Iphone had been reported lost or stolen!

I messaged the seller thanking them for erasing the phone & requested that they remove it from their Icloud account? I received a message shortly after apologising "Sorry forgot login details"

I mentioned that I assumed that they had needed their login details to erase the Iphone remotely??

I asked them "If I contact Apple & they contact you (The seller) for confirmation, would you (The seller) be willing to verify the sale??" they promptly replied "NO"

I am now left with an Iphone 5s paperweight.... I have contacted ebay & they have placed a "Return Request" but have informed me that the seller isn't obligated to comply

I then contacted Apple directly & explained the situation to them (They informed me that the seller is indeed the original owner & had remotely accessed their account to erase the Iphone) & they have agreed to remove the Iphone from their Icloud account with the associated ebay transcripts & PayPal receipts but in addition I need to provide them with the "Original Proof of Purchase" from Vodafone?

I then contacted Vodafone telephone customer support & was very abruptly re-directed to Vodafone/NUC

which I soon discovered was a completely different department to the department I needed

So I contacted Vodafone again via "Online" chat & despite my attempting to convey the situation was informed repeatedly by the advisor that it was an issue between me & ebay?? apparently according to the advisor "Vodafone was the manufacturer & Ebay was the seller" I tried in vain to explain that in this instance "Apple was the manufacturer & Vodafone was the seller"?

It was & is frustrating to convey the contextual content in a monotone written text??

I have the seller details courtesy of ebay

Using these details am I able to request an "Original Proof of Purchase" from Vodafone? I am more than happy to disclose all ebay & Apple transcripts, receipts along with any additional documentation Required or requested?

Thanks in advance Leigh

[63johnw]

Hi @grisleigh I very much doubt Vodafone will supply you with what you want. Confidentiality and all that. 

If you hang on the team here will get to your post and will be able to give a definitive answer.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @grisleigh

Due to the Data Protection Act Vodafone Uk will not be able to provide this information to anyone apart from the original owner. If they did then this would be in direct contravention of that Act.

The original owner needs to remember their Apple ID credentials or contact Vodafone for Proof of Purchase to help you further. 

I'm also dubious to what the Apple Agent has told you about being able to do what they’ve said. I’m assuming you may have telephoned their help line to which I believe your put through to off shore call centres who act on behalf of Apple but they are not Apple employees themselves. I’ve used this contact avenue before and have had varying levels of support which has at times sadly been wrong. They read from Apple Help Support Notes and scripts. 

Apple pride themselves on the level of security and layers of security credentials they apply to their hardware and software thus I’m not convinced they’ll help you but would only help the owner. 

The original owner can reset their Apple ID Password etc to be able to help too. 

By all means await for one of the Vodafone Social Media Team here to catch up with your thread but please ready yourself for a very possible polite No we can’t divulge or even access another persons information for your use. 

[John]

@grisleigh As @63johnw and @BandOfBrothers said, we'd be unable to provide a proof of purchase for someone who is not the original owner.
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