Blacklisted IMEI

[bomx15]

I purchased an iPhone 13-mini from Backmarket. I tried to move an existing line to this phone. It worked initially, but the line was suspended. After several phone calls with customer service and technical support I was told the IMEI was blacklisted. I contacted Backmarket they said it was clean and I checked at https://www.imei.info/ , the IMEI came back as clean. Is there a process to get my IMEI off of Vezion's blacklist?

thank you

[vzw_customer_support]

If the device is on the lost/stolen list, then you will need to contact the seller for a resolution or a refund. A device cannot be removed from this list except by the person who originally reported it as lost/stolen.  ~Peter

[bomx15]

Thank you for your response Peter, but Backmarket assures me the phone was not lost or stolen.  They show the IMEI as clean. My issue is that Verizon has blacklisted it. How do I contact the responsible department at Verizon that blacklisted the IMEI. 

[SynthpopAddict]

You need to get a refund.  Since Verizon doesn't have the record in their system that you purchased the phone legitimately, they won't undo a blacklist.

We're not allowed to discuss how this situation occurs in more detail in these forums, but in a nutshell, there are ways to make a phone look like it's OK, and then somewhere down the road, the phone will suddenly brick itself because it was messed with in the past.  Unfortunately, this happens a lot with phones purchased through 3rd party sites.

[bomx15 · Accepted solution]

Thanks very much SynthpopAddict, that is good advice. It's unfortunate because I've been happy with other purchases at Backmarket, but I'm also a Vz retiree and appreciate the impenetrable groups and databases that are in place. It's not likely my issue will be resolved through them.

Thank you and have a great New Year!