IMEI on Blacklist! Please Help!!

[FITIMS]

Hello...

I have purchased a phone (Samsung Alpha) privately from a person on October 15th. Phone was locked to Bell, but I got it unlocked.
I paid him in full and his reason for selling it was because he was looking to get a different phone.
He gave me the receipt that he purchased the phone from Wireless Etc.. in a Costco Store. Under his name and number.

I have checked the phone if it was blacklisted and it wasn't. Phone was sealed and brand new.

So I used to phone until Nov 1st, (over 2 weeks) to notice that morning my phone was only working on WI-FI?

I don't know what to do? I cannot get a hold of the person anymore. That number is invalid and doesnt exist.
I have paid for this phone and now I am stuck and I cannot use it.

I did use it for 2 weeks with a Rogers Sim Card and everything was working fine until Nov1st in the morning.

Please help.

Thank you

Fitim.

***Edited Labels.***

[Meowmix]

Hello FITSMS

Have you tried calling Rogers to add the IMEI number on ur Rogers account?. Also have you tried calling Apple to see if their systems shows that it's been blacklisted?.

I would do a factory reset on the device via iTunes and see if that fixes it. It could just be a issue.

[FITIMS]

Sorry I have added this post on the wrong category.

Its a Samsung Alpha.

I did not call to add the IMEI on my account. (didnt think this was going to happen).

The phone initially was fine and brand new (sealed).

It wasnt blacklisted and it worked fine for just over 2 weeks.

[Meowmix]

Hello FITIMS

If it worked for 2 weeks, its not blacklisted UNLESS the device was stolen from a store & the seller found out & blacklisted the serial number / IMEI number. This is something all stores do to prevent stolen devices being out in the market.

Your only option you have is go into a local Rogers store & see what they can do or i would suggest switching sim cards to a new one & see if that will make it work!.

[Buddielee]

Changing the Sim won't do anything considering its the IMEI number thats blacklisted.
In frist post he states it came with proof of purchase.
chances are orginal seller reported it stolen .
almost certian your stuck with a phone thats only good on wifi or parts.
far as im concerned the blacklist thing is a double edged sword.

Carriers wanna makesure phones are usless regardless if its been stolen or failure to meet contract obligations.
You'd think because it's a Bell phone they would need to lift the restrictions.
Goodluck hope it all works out.

[Micolas · Accepted solution]

Hello FITIMS

    Just to clarify, have you contacted Rogers and confirmed through them that your IMEI is currently on the Blacklist?

    Also, did you have Bell unlock the phone or had you gone to a third party (Pawn shop, etc.). I only inquire because in order for any service provider to unlock a phone, it would have to have been active on an account for 90 days or more and if you paid him to have it unlocked, this would have required to have him had the phone registered for 90 days prior to you purchasing it from him.

    A phone can be blacklisted within 90 days of it being used on the account, as well as through a third party insurance program. An example of the latter of the two would be if he were to sell the device to you, and then claim it under his phone insurance as lost or stolen. Once the replacement is sent out, the insurance company usually blacklists the reported phone. This is unfortunately one of the risks of buying from third parties that you're not able to get in touch with afterwards.

    Bascially, your phone is now useless except in the case as a wifi/MP3 player if it is indeed blacklisted. There is no override, and it can only be removed from the account, phone number, and account holder/insurance company that it was originally applied through.

    Sorry to hear about it, but hope this helps explain.

[User399]

So insurance pays here before verifying the facts knowing that scammed like this exist yet when there's a real claim in life or home insurance they find any loophole.

If you go to a store and transfer the phone that still won't help you. Can anyone from rogers confirm this. Seems like you can't trust the seller or rogers in this situation. I want to buy a phone locked to rogers and with a receipt but comments I seen here state that it won't help me if first owner decides to claim later it was stolen or lost even if we both go to a rogers store and check the phone and conditions of ownership

[GibMcFragger]

It sounds like he phoned and had it blacklisted AFTER you purchased it. If so, there is nothing you can do. He screwed you over. They will not un-blacklist an IMEI after it has been blacklisted, UNLESS it's requested with proof from the ORIGINAL OWNER who purchased it.

[beadonn12]

Hey there

of heard of this sometimes happening with indivduals will sell a cell phone to someone then shortly after turn around and blacklist it so their service provider will replace it as a stolen phone its an unfortune thing that sometimes happens but hopefully you can get ahold of the guy or call in to the provider that it use to be explain the situation and if you have a written recpits bring it down to the store for the provider and see if there is anything they can do too help. sorry this has happened to you and i hope you get it figured out with the individal

[OLDYELLR]

The caveat is if you purchase a phone privately you need to get a written bill of sale with all the details, including the IMEI, seller's ID and unlocked.

[Rebound]

If everything you said is accurate, sadly, you got ripped off, but it is not Rogers' or Bell's fault. It is the person who sold it to you to whom you should direct any ill will. You can try taking the bill of sale he provided you to a Bell store and have them verify the phone was reported lost/stolen and if it is a valid receipt maybe there's something else they can do. More likely, there is nothing you can do without the co-operation of the person who sold it to you. It may be that the person thought he could get away with scamming his carrier by selling you the new phone and then attempting to get a replacement but it's far more likely the person got a new account entirely and just broke the contract on the line that has your phone on it and when it was cancelled, it was also blacklisted. Then you're doubly screwed. 

Unfortunately, whenver you purchase from a 3rd part, you're always at their mercy in terms of whether they turn out to be honest. Since you can no longer contact this individual, it seems you chose poorly. Buyer beware. My suggestion is to save money and buy a new phone outright at retail. Then you can be certain you will receive support in the event of any issues. 

[PizzaSlice]

This is a very common issue when buying phones from private individuals. Most likely they are stolen. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, do your homework. Don't get excited about the phone you're so badly wanting but think. Look for red flags to go off. There are so much this happening I would NEVER buy a phone from anyone I did not know personally. It's not worth the risk. Unless the original owner removes the iemi from the blacklist, you've basically bought yourself an expensive paper weight.

Check on an IEMI for blacklisting - Canada.

[elicitone]

Assuming that the bill of sale is legit and matches the phone you were sold you can try availing yourself of the good nature of the provider.
Might have the added bonus of them going after the seller of it was a stolen claim through handset protection.
If no luck with the carrier. Contact the police. If you have the sellers info along with the bill of sale proving criminal intent should be rather simple for them.

[lockdown2341]

You can try to appeal to the good nature of the provider but with the blacklist it is very tricky. It always has to be the person who adds it to the blacklist who can request to remove it. I suppose if an investigation of some sort was launched then something could be done but if it happens, I've never seen it in a year and a half, maybe longer if you count my time working with one of the other carriers around the time the blacklist was launched.

It is definately flawed in that someone can sell a phone, and then call to have the IMEI blacklisted immediately and there is generally no way around this. I am of the opinion that adding a device to the blacklist should be a special process that is followed, and not simply adding it at the whim of the account holder. I've actually dealt with a call where someone blacklisted a phone to get back at their estranged child who ran away from home and left them with no phone to use.

But back on topic, there generally is nothing that can be done in regards to the OPs request for assistance. It's basically amounts to a lesson learned when it comes to buying phones privately.

[czqcq9]

It happen to my friend 2 weeks ago too, he just bought a Rogers Iphone 7 from Kijiji from guy claimed that he wanted a bigger phone. It works at the time when he tested and paid for the phone. It stop working after one week. When I call Rogers support and find out the phone is locked on the IMEI black list. Then I went to a  Rogers store and had the phone check again, the store told me this happened alot.

Your case was happened in 2015 and now its almost 2017, it looks like these type of deceits still happen alot. Rogers, the Police and the insurance company still does not try to do anything to stop these. All this parties have social responsibilities to stop these thieves of the socity.

[czqcq9]

I think those bad or deceitful sellers should be able to be traced by using the Phone's IMEI number in Rogers and law enforcement. When the buyer use a service provider, the IMEI number of the is registered and assoicated with the phone number, address and name of the users. If the phone was lost or report lost, the phone and user information should be sent to the insurance company for claim if phone protection insurance was purchased and service provider also has the same infomation in order to put the phone on the Blacklist.

[Meowmix]

Hello @czqcq9

Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. Once someone reports it stolen or lost, the carriers just blacklist it as there is NO insurance involved. Even if you pay for the Rogers protection, all they do is ask for device back and that's all. If the device is in pieces, they send you other one out and record that one as a loss. Blacklist the IMEI and that's all.

[nick_loss]

If they ordered the phone as a subsidized account purchase, you're right. There would be a paper trail to investigate and eventually track down the culprit. BUT the assumption you're making is that the person that ordered the phone from the cell carrier used his own legit details. This is a typical fraud situation. Some1 starts an account using fraulent details (ie: identity theft) via the internet or by telephone, the company sends out the phone because all they need is a few pieces of info (verbally) and a credit card number to charge...and ta-da! Sale is completed, phone is shipped out...then re-sold to an unsuspected member of the public. 

Rogers/Bell/Telus will simply put the IMEI # on the negative file (blacklist) and re-coup their loss through their corporate insurance. Their loss is negligible, the insurance company doesn't care because they're getting their enormous monthly premiums, and only having to pay out $1000 or so per instance. The credit card companies do the same....So who gets screwed? The public. 
HINT: the blacklist is limited to North America (as far as i know).....Meaning the phone would probably work great on a network outside Canada/US..... might be able to recoup some of the cost if you were to sell is overseas ...(iuno, maybe ebay; or post it on craigslist-BurkinaFaso if you plan on vactioning there...lol)...something to consider since the authorities over here are content enough to allow this to continue happening and don't care enough to provide some sort of recourse to the victims of this "victim-less crime."

[Meowmix]

Hello @nick_loss

That is all true but once a carrier blacklists a Apple products, Apple blacklists the IMEI number on their systems worldwide. So the iPhone wont be able to work oversees. The other manufactures? It may work and may not. Depends. I do agree with all that though.

[arkie]

I am the leagle owner of a Rogers phone that was Blasklisted Jun 3 2016 I recently learned. There must be a way my Rogers phone can be taken off the Blacklist? The must be some way of find oout how this happend. The phone has always been in my possion. so how can this happen. As the phone is a Rogers phone I paid to unlock the phone through Rogers. They must be able to get it off the Blacklist. But they say they can't. as they did not blacklist it.

[Meowmix]

Hello @arkie

Oh no that's no good! I do believe they can do that as long as you can provide the contract you signed when u first got the phone and your Government Photo IDs. I would contact Rogers management office when u contact Rogers and see what they can do. Also try private messaging @CommunityHelps and see what they can do!