Financial lock on phone after 30 days of buying. Return rejected.
Summary: En la discusión sobre un bloqueo financiero en un teléfono después de 30 días de su compra, incluso con la devolución rechazada, participan varios usuarios intentando encontrar una solución al problema. jhusen, quien parece ser el afectado inicial, explica que su teléfono fue bloqueado y no puede realizar un retorno exitoso a pesar de que lo intentó. Otros participantes como countessalmirena, sugar249 y domino-710 también contribuyen con sus experiencias y sugerencias, discutiendo posibles caminos a seguir para resolver el problema. Las respuestas indican una preocupación común sobre las políticas de devolución y seguridad financiera de los dispositivos móviles, aunque no se menciona una resolución definitiva en el hilo. Varias sub-conversaciones destacan la confusión y frustración experimentadas por los usuarios debido al bloqueo involuntario del dispositivo.
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.
countessalmirena
·2 years agoPadi!!!!!!!!!
🖕📱🥷🔪🩸
jhusen
OP2 years agoThanks everyone for the suggestions. After lodging an incident on NSW Police Community portal (as per suggestion from Police Helpline) and a number of back and forth with eBay customer service providing evidence of police incident report, I was finally provided refund for this purchase in full by eBay. There are definitely some lessons for me in this experience which I will follow in future. Cheers!
cam-2793
·2 years agoWell, this is a good outcome for you, and I'm glad you were able to get a resolution. Even if it did take a bit of effort.
I'm curious about the seller and what the consequences are for them. I suppose that is for the rental company to decide and one would presume they have a procedure for that.
You mentioned earlier that the phone had been given to them by a relative? They might not have known it was not actually theirs.
Thanks for coming back and letting us know the outcome.
springyzone
·2 years agoYour problem is you paid over $500 and have a phone that doesn't work.
(Advice for future: Never buy things such as phones on ebay)
Back to your problem: It is beyond the normal 30 day period in which to make an ebay claim & you didn't pay via paypal.
However, ebay support has looked at your documentation so far and they can see you have a valid case, by the sound of it.
Just go to the police station, make a report-take your documentation, ebay details etc.
The police will give you a copy of the report, I would think.
Once you have that report, get back to ebay.
The reason they are asking for this report, I suspect, is just to make double sure this is all genuine. Once they have a copy of the police report, I think ebay may issue you a refund out of their own coffers, even though it is past the usual 30 day period.
Go for it, it sounds like the quickest way to get your money back.
jhusen
OP2 years agoI 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.
domino-710
·2 years agoOne does not ' rent ' a company phone.
Who is this ' Financial Institution '. ??
brickworksmarket
·2 years agoIsn'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
·2 years agoA financial company does not ' rent ' you a phone - they supply it as a part of being able to do your job.
The rest.............................................
brickworksmarket
·2 years agoI 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
·2 years agoSheesh, 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."
davewil1964
·2 years agoSimple comments seem to be yours.
You asked a question, you were given the answer that the OP provided in their initial post. Wherein lies the confusion?
brickworksmarket
·2 years agoA financial company does not ' rent ' you a phone - they supply it as a part of being able to do your job.
This is the comment I am referring to. Just curious as to why they think it is a work phone. Copy and pasting a comment is so easy luckily for you.
jhusen
OP2 years agoMake it Mine Finance Pty Ltd
brickworksmarket
·2 years agoThey are a product rental company.
domino-710
·2 years agoAnd one would assume as such - they would own the products they rent out.
brickworksmarket
·2 years agoYou can't be serious. Really.
You said
One does not ' rent ' a company phone.
Who is this ' Financial Institution '. ??
It appears it is a rental company and you rent things like phones from them for $11/week.
domino-710
·2 years agoGiven - this has now been identified not as a financial institution as first thought - but a company who rents products.
It was only explained - after being asked ' which financial institution '.
The fact remains - one would assume the phone rented from this company was owned by the company - therefore - if not purchased at the end of the rental agreement - but retained - it still belongs to the company - but has been knowingly sold on.
gutterpunkz05
·2 years agoThis 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
·2 years agoThis 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.
twyngwyn
·2 years agobank sound like they're handballing
domino-710
·2 years agoOK - you have all it takes to file a police report.
This should consist of all you have found - printed in a statement - and handed over the counter at the polce station.
Along with the phone.
Don't worry about the rubbish mentioned about stolen goods - you are the one actually reporting it.
sugar249
·2 years agoThey are actually stolen goods, and if OP doesnt report them, they are implicate,
I didnt say they stole them.
But they have known for some time now and they need to take action, not come to a forum and do nothing. Ebay arent responsible, they are the ones holding the stolen goods, they need to take action, they are trying to pass it to fair trade and Ebay. They need to take it to the police,
jhusen
OP2 years agoThank you. I will follow this advice!
domino-710
·2 years agoContrary to ' being implicated ' - you are not.
You didn't go to the back bar of the pub and purchase.
A prosecutor has to prove you did know/suspect the goods were stolen.
This doesn't even fit this scenario.
Make sure your statement to police contains all you are aware of - this will help them chase down the culprit.
domino-710
·2 years agoJust a thought - did you use PayPal ??
They give you 180 days - to make a claim - and they may be able to chase the culprit also.
jhusen
OP2 years agoI bought this using my debit Mastercard.
domino-710
·2 years agoI'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. ??
kywal-5006
·2 years agoPolice don't handle civil matters, they don't help people get their money back.
domino-710
·2 years agoPolice handle reports - which help people get their money back.
padi*0409
·2 years ago...........or track down the owner...............
sugar249
·2 years agoA couple of questions. or are they observations.
Why is the financial institute saying don't contact the police? Sounds odd to me.
Ebay is only a sales platform facilitating a sale from a seller to a buyer, but they do go a little beyond with their MBG. But at the end of the day you purchased allegedly stolen goods from the seller, so the issue is between you and the seller.
Sorry but it sounds like a police matter and not an Ebay matter. But be careful about how you handle it, because at the moment you are holding onto allegedly stolen goods.
jhusen
OP2 years agoSorry. The financial institution did not ask me not to go to police but rather recommended to request for a return and refund through the platform where this was sold. I will reach out to the police as recommended by multiple members.
countessalmirena
·2 years agoIf eBay is willing to assist you with a refund past the 30 day period and have asked you to submit a police report, go ahead and do that!
It’s not an unusual or unreasonable step, except that it’s unusual for eBay to help past the timeframe of that 30-day period. Grab the opportunity.