bought a stolen phone off ebay

[wad04]

So last week my old phone went through the washing machine thus completly destroying it. I thought that going through ebay would get me a cheaper phone than buying a new one. So I bidded on a pm8200 flip phone (the same cell I had before). I recieved the package yesterday upon flipping the phone up, the account was still activated. All the contacts were still there, pictures were still there, and the phone bill was over due. Now i'm not positive it was stolen, but why in gods name would you not deactivate your phone before selling it on ebay? Now the reason this is a problem is because spring can't or won't deactivate the phone. I'm trying to find out if they won't because it's company policty or because the actually can't deactivate it.

I contacted the seller last night, and if i don't get a reply i'll be filing a complaint through paypal.

Can anyone helip me out here?

[Pyroboy597]

Sprint cannot deactivate it because its not yours. Can you imagine your friend calling up Sprint and cancelling your phone as a joke? That is probably why they willl not do it. I would just make some calls on the phone to numbers like 'Home' or to anyone you can assume is a family member and explain what happened. If they don't cooperate, call up paypal and eBay. Regardless of what happens, make sure they know that you will not pay shipping what so ever, and if you get a refund you want your paypal charges refunded by the seller.

[wad04]

this is getting so weird...

Okay, so today I decieded to call "grandma" in the contacts. Call her up, I ask her if she knows a person named Tina. She tells me she was her grand daught and that she was killed. And I then asked her if she knew who sold her cell phone and she told me that her stuff went a lot of different ways. And I listened to these recordings under memos, and there really really creeepy. Like people crying and stuff. And the person who sold the phone on ebay hasn't responded to me yet; I told him he has until tomorrow at 330 to contact me or i'm filing a complaint. I'm not really sure what else to do at this point besides file a complaint tomorrow.

[behemoth]

this is getting so weird...

Okay, so today I decieded to call "grandma" in the contacts. Call her up, I ask her if she knows a person named Tina. She tells me she was her grand daught and that she was killed. And I then asked her if she knew who sold her cell phone and she told me that her stuff went a lot of different ways. And I listened to these recordings under memos, and there really really creeepy. Like people crying and stuff. And the person who sold the phone on ebay hasn't responded to me yet; I told him he has until tomorrow at 330 to contact me or i'm filing a complaint. I'm not really sure what else to do at this point besides file a complaint tomorrow.

Tina sold it to you.

Tina will kill you.

/cue twilight zone music.

[beam]

I'm not trying to be mean or unsensitive, but...

With the story you have told so far...as how things have played out...you could probably relist the phone on eBay as "Haunted" and detail the whole story complete with "creepy" memos saved on it and sell it for far more than you bought it for.

So much "crap" sells on eBay because the seller creates a good story to go along with it.

[bentothejam1n]

I'm not trying to be mean or unsensitive, but...

With the story you have told so far...as how things have played out...you could probably relist the phone on eBay as "Haunted" and detail the whole story complete with "creepy" memos saved on it and sell it for far more than you bought it for.

So much "crap" sells on eBay because the seller creates a good story to go along with it.
yea i remember seeing feathers on ebay that were blessed by angels.... and some doulbe f implants

[Pyroboy597]

I'm not trying to be mean or unsensitive, but...

With the story you have told so far...as how things have played out...you could probably relist the phone on eBay as "Haunted" and detail the whole story complete with "creepy" memos saved on it and sell it for far more than you bought it for.

So much "crap" sells on eBay because the seller creates a good story to go along with it.

I see a brand new tequila fade x-mag and a nice car in his future :argh:


That does sounds like a weird story. Just had a thought.. if she was murdered and the murderer sold the phone..... :eek: You might want to talk to grandma again.. who gives their dead granddaughter's cell phone away.. what good would it do? This could get really weird, really fast. Ask sprint who the phone is registered to, and then google the name.

[going_home]

Did you pay thru Paypal ?
Did the seller use a tracking number ?
You can get Paypal to refund if the seller didnt use a tracking number
and then just mail the phone back to him/her.

[wad04]

yes to paypal, and yes to tracking number. Yeah, i'll be giving who ever sold me the phone until tomorrow to explain all this weirdness. Then i'm filing a complaint through paypal.

you know, I could sell the phone for a lot..... but then i'd be going straight to hell.

[going_home]

Paypal wont refund unless he lost the tracking number.
All he has to do is send it to Paypal and case closed.
Send it back to him using a tracking number, wait till
he recieves it and then file a Paypal complaint if he refuses
to refund, providing the tracking number showing he recieved it back.
And explain its a locked phone, unuseable.
You only have 45 days from date of payment, and you
only get to file a complaint once on each transaction so you better
make it count.
But you can file a complaint with Ebay that the phone is stolen though, they own Paypal.
That has a 90 day period.

Have you tried calling him on the phone ?
heres the request contact info page :

http://cgi1.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?UserInformationRequest

[wad04]

wait, so you're saying that if I don't send the phone back to him with proof (tracking number), I most likley won't win the complaint?

And thanks for that contact page, i'm requesting his number now.

[Rudz]

really wierd story....

[going_home]

wait, so you're saying that if I don't send the phone back to him with proof (tracking number), I most likley won't win the complaint?

And thanks for that contact page, i'm requesting his number now.

If you file a Paypal complaint, Paypal will send him an email requiring him to
prove you recieved the item (provide a tracking number).

If he does that the case is closed.
But if you ship it back with a tracking number, wait till he recieves it,
then file a complaint, sending them the tracking number proving he recieved it back,
AND the reason you sent it back (locked phone unuseable).
You have a good chance of Paypal refunding your money.
Of course thats if he hasnt already transfered the money from his Paypal account
into his bank account.

You would be better off if you can get him to voluntarily refund the money.

[wad04]

I got everything worked out finally. Turns out the seller was selling this phone for his boss. The boss's neice died and asked him if he would sell the phone, he thought sprint had already deactivated the phone. Upon calling him today, he once again called sprint to see what they could do. They told him that he needed to call another number for owners who have died. When he tried to call that number, the number didn't work. So he called me back and said it would just be easier to send the phone back. He already refunded me so it's all good now.

[MantisMag]

The boss's neice died and asked him if he would sell the phone [...]
:eek:

[matt-o]

you should have sold it as the haunted cell phone

[wad04]

yeah and be haunted by a dead chick? I hate my basement as it is...