Financial lock on phone after 30 days of buying. Return rejected.

[jhusen]

Hi there,

I have been an eBay Australia user for over 5 years. I bought a used Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra on Nov 21 (for about $500). I have had it as a back up phone. I used the phone 2 weeks ago and upgraded it to One UI6. After a restart the phone is showing a blocking message from a financial institution. Nothing in the phone is usable. I contacted the seller immediately and they didn't even respond back to me. I raised a return request and it was rejected with a note that I did something to the phone after buying it. They were able to use the phone just fine since Apr 2023 after it was gifted to them by their relative.

To get more detailed evidence, I emailed the financial company based in Australia on the contact as displayed in the message. They responded back informing me that the phone was rented out and they own the phone and at the time of the sales (Nov 21), the phone was sold to me illegally. They asked me to contact the seller for a return and refund and that they cannot unlock the phone. I contacted the seller again with all of this information and was completely ignored.

I contacted eBay support who initially said they cannot force a return or refund as this is beyond the 30 days money back guarantee but they will check with seller if they can reconsider to issue a refund. I recently followed up and provided the financial institution email evidence (along with screenshot of the IMEI number from order description photo and the same IMEI displayed on the blocking message on the phone). This time eBay support told me that the seller have not responded to them either and have asked me to submit a proof of police complaint even though this was not the recommendation from the financial institution. 

If anyone has prior experience in a similar situation, is it to contact the police the next right step. Would the email from financial institution claiming their right to ownership not sufficient (and eBay is free to contact them directly to confirm this)?

What sort of document or letter is expected to be provided by police in this case?

Should I try contacting fair trade for advice before contacting police?

Thanks in advance for any advice which could guide me in this issue.

[domino-710]

I'm just wondering if it would be productive to take all of this to the bank - same as the police report - the money had to go into an account - registered with eBay.

But a bank account all the same. ??

[gutterpunkz05]

This all seems awful sus to me,  why on earth would the financial institution, being the supposed owner, want the phone sent back to the illegal seller, without reporting the matter to the police, have they asked and been provided with the current location of the phone, why are the police not at your door already.  That is to collect the phone and evidence of your purchase.

Could be a new return to sender scam.

[domino-710]

This is a weird one.

Financial Institutions - along with most companies - supply their employees with a phone & a laptop - to be used for business.

These remain the property of these companies & institutions.

Seems this seller has sold a company phone.

Why has the Financial Institution not asked for return of the phone - they would know exactly who it belonged to - and would/should follow it up from there.

[jhusen]

I checked with the financial institution a while earlier and I just got a response from them asking me to go ahead and submit complaint to the police if seller is not issuing refund. Indeed a weird response from them. But I will contact police and hand over the phone too. 

Their latest response:

Thanks for getting back to us. 
 
If the seller is not responding to you please contact the police and file a report, hopefully they will be able to help you get your money back. If you need anything else of further help please reach out to us. 
 

This is an excerpt from their original response:

Thank you for getting in touch. 
 
I have had a look into this for you and can see that the phone that you have purchased online was sold to you illegally. The person who has sold it did not own it, they were renting it from us and we own it. 
 
We cannot unlock the device unfortunately. We do suggest that you contact the seller and see if they are able to issue a refund as the device is under contract with us and sold illegally. 
 
If you have any further questions or issues please do not hesitate to contact us. 

[twyngwyn]

bank sound like they're handballing

[domino-710]

---

@jhusen wrote:

I checked with the financial institution a while earlier and I just got a response from them asking me to go ahead and submit complaint to the police if seller is not issuing refund. Indeed a weird response from them. But I will contact police and hand over the phone too. 

Their latest response:

Thanks for getting back to us. 
 
If the seller is not responding to you please contact the police and file a report, hopefully they will be able to help you get your money back. If you need anything else of further help please reach out to us. 
 

This is an excerpt from their original response:

Thank you for getting in touch. 
 
I have had a look into this for you and can see that the phone that you have purchased online was sold to you illegally. The person who has sold it did not own it, they were renting it from us and we own it. 
 
We cannot unlock the device unfortunately. We do suggest that you contact the seller and see if they are able to issue a refund as the device is under contract with us and sold illegally. 
 
If you have any further questions or issues please do not hesitate to contact us. 

---

One does not ' rent ' a company phone.

Who is this ' Financial Institution '. ??

[brickworksmarket]

Isn't this just a phone which is still under contract from a financial company who pays for the phone upfront and you pay a monthly amount.

You usually get these through a telco and sign a contract and at the end of your contract you own the phone. Selling the phone would be against the contract agreement they signed and they would be still up for any money owing on the contract remaining.

[domino-710]

A financial company does not ' rent ' you a phone - they supply it as a part of being able to do your job.

The rest.............................................

[brickworksmarket]

I was unable to find where there is mention other than yours that this is a company phone. Maybe you could point it out.

[padi*0409]

---

@brickworksmarket wrote:

I was unable to find where there is mention other than yours that this is a company phone. Maybe you could point it out.

---

Sheesh, try the OP..................

"To get more detailed evidence, I emailed the financial company based in Australia on the contact as displayed in the message. They responded back informing me that the phone was rented out and they own the phone and at the time of the sales (Nov 21), the phone was sold to me illegally. They asked me to contact the seller for a return and refund and that they cannot unlock the phone. I contacted the seller again with all of this information and was completely ignored."