Did I buy a stolen phone? HELP!
gravollet
Newbie

I bought a Droid Razr on ebay and today went to activate it. My boss is putting me on her business account, so just adding my phone and number to her acc. She called verizon, who asked for the IMEI and confirmed it was clear for activation. They said they could send the SIM Card through mail, but I decided to pick it up at the store. Went to the store, got the sim card, the person working there activated everything nicely and said It was working.

When I got home, the phone wasn't making any calls or sending texts, everytime I tried to make a call It would come up with an automated message from verizon asking to call a certain number. My boss called the number and provided them with the IMEI and they said it was invalid, that the phone was either stolen or lost. So how come the first two people we spoke through the day saw no problems with the IMEI? I also checked over verizon's website and it says the phone is clear for activation. What should I do, ask for a refund from the seller and return the phone, or maybe the last verizon employee I talked to was mistaken, and the reason the phone isn't working is purely for the lack of the right settings?

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Re: Did I buy a stolen phone? HELP!
Not applicable

Have the account owner call verizon and make sure its functional while talking to tech support.

It could be just settings in verizons system not set up properly.

I don't buy cell phones from ebay etc. I always buy new at the corporate store.

Good Luck

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Re: Did I buy a stolen phone? HELP!
gravollet
Newbie

the thing is, i spoke with the seller on ebay and they said they're just a electronic repair shop and that they bought that phone from someone.

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Re: Did I buy a stolen phone? HELP!
Not applicable

Return it back to seller and cancel the Credit Card payment or Pay Pal payment because the phone does not work.

Never buy cell phones from ebay, or craigs list, or questionable places.

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Re: Did I buy a stolen phone? HELP!
rcschnoor
Legend

I don't know what your problem is, but as to your question:

"So how come the first two people we spoke through the day saw no problems with the IMEI?"

That is an easy one. If the phone was reported lost or stolen AFTER you spoke with them, the problem would not have been there when you spoke with them, but showed up afterwards. Whether or not that is the reason for your problems, I have no way of knowing.

Re: Did I buy a stolen phone? HELP!
BillerDude
Enthusiast - Level 1

I agree with the scenario that rcshnoor provided.  The phone was reported stole AFTER you purchased it.  I have successfully bought phones of of Craig's list without issue.  In all cases before making the purchase I had the seller remove the phone from their account and perform a factory reset in front of me.  This is the only way I know of to prevent the scenario you described.  I would make every effort to stop the payment to the eBay seller or have the money refunded.  At a minimum give the seller a bad review, I've found that a legitimate seller will often work with refunding you money if you threaten a very bad review.  Good luck!

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Re: Did I buy a stolen phone? HELP!
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Gravollet, thanks for those details. If the phone is reported lost or stolen, you will be unable to activate it on your line. I apologize for this inconvenience. When it was initially activated, it may not have been reported at that time. Please contact our Customer Service Department at 800-922-0204 to verify the MEID number which is the electronic serial number in that device to ensure that it's not on the negative list. We are standing by to further assist you.

LasinaH_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSUPPORT

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