S7 IMEI outstanding balance
need2knowplz
Enthusiast - Level 2

Purchased a Verizon Samsung S7 off of craigslist. Went to activate the phone and was told that there is an upstanding balance associated with the phone. Other than that, clear IMEI. Verizon will not activate due to the outstanding balance. Why is this my problem? They should pursue the original owner for the outstanding bill. Sent them to collections, whatever. I am currently holding onto a $300 paperweight.

What options do I have? I can't trade in because it says its not eligible. Is there any way for Verizon to see how much is outstanding on the account? There has to be something that can be done.

Would it be able to be used on another carrier? I don't want to sell it to someone unless I know it will work with their carrier.

I reached out to the person who i bought from and she was 'so sorry' and 'going to take care of it'. Well, that was a line of [Removed].  I text her every once and a while to make sure she doesn't forget how she screwed me over.

Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

profanity removed as required by the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service

Message edited by Verizon Moderator

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Re: S7 IMEI outstanding balance
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

It's definitely disheartening hearing you purchased a phone from a 3rd party and are now having trouble getting the device activated, need2knowplz. I just wanted to piggy back off of the information Weth had provided. The reason the phone is unable to be activated is likely because the original owner has an unpaid device payment, so in essence the phone has not been paid for. Regrettably there isn't anything we are able to do until the original owner takes care of their balance.

JosephE_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the 'Correct Answer' button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

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Re: S7 IMEI outstanding balance
Weth
Legend

An unpaid device is stolen. You were sold a stolen device. It is well within Verizon's rights to block access to merchandise that was not paid for. $300 is a bargain for a like new S7, alas, a deal too good to be true. It is likely blacklisted on all US carriers. Now that you know it is a stolen phone, you cannot sell it or else you are committing a crime. The person who sold it to you screwed you over. Consider small claims court or other legal aspects against her. Verizon will not activate it.

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Re: S7 IMEI outstanding balance
need2knowplz
Enthusiast - Level 2

As I understand from Verizon, phone is paid for. The person left verizon for another cell company and left an outstanding bill balance.

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Re: S7 IMEI outstanding balance
Weth
Legend

Really just splitting hairs - the account was not in good standing. The person to go after is the person who did not zero out her bill. The person is profiting at the expense of Verizon and Verizon has the right to block access to the phone.

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Re: S7 IMEI outstanding balance
sprmankalel
Champion - Level 3

Contact eBay.

They have buyer protection.

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Re: S7 IMEI outstanding balance
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

They bought it off of Craigslist.

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Re: S7 IMEI outstanding balance
sprmankalel
Champion - Level 3

Guess I shouldn't try to keep up on the community while catching up on some work at 9PM.

No recourse except trying to find the information of the person that you need for small claims court.

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Re: S7 IMEI outstanding balance
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

It's definitely disheartening hearing you purchased a phone from a 3rd party and are now having trouble getting the device activated, need2knowplz. I just wanted to piggy back off of the information Weth had provided. The reason the phone is unable to be activated is likely because the original owner has an unpaid device payment, so in essence the phone has not been paid for. Regrettably there isn't anything we are able to do until the original owner takes care of their balance.

JosephE_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the 'Correct Answer' button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

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Re: S7 IMEI outstanding balance
orangesherbet01
Enthusiast - Level 1

 


@Weth wrote:

An unpaid device is stolen. You were sold a stolen device. It is well within Verizon's rights to block access to merchandise that was not paid for. $300 is a bargain for a like new S7, alas, a deal too good to be true. It is likely blacklisted on all US carriers. Now that you know it is a stolen phone, you cannot sell it or else you are committing a crime. The person who sold it to you messed you up royally. Consider small claims court or other legal aspects against her. Verizon will not activate it.



That's like saying a credit card balance is stolen money. No, it's not. A payment plan is a loan, an unsecured loan. When a borrower defaults on a loan, they aren't charged with theft. Your erroneous interpretation as "theft" serves only to rhetorically justify the ridiculous policies adopted by Verizon, policies that only serve to punish people purchasing in 3rd party markets. These policies are deliberately chosen to increase the value of Verizon-Certified Pre-Owned devices.

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Re: S7 IMEI outstanding balance
SDL04
Newbie

Oh Good that means I can now go after Verizon for FRAUD & THEFT for holding back unlocking the phone I BOUGHT OUTRIGHT WEEKS BEFORE MY BILL WENT TO GARBAGE DUE TO A CRIMINAL FRAUD THAT'S BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE FTC, FCC, PUC AND FRAUD PREVENTION (TOOK YOU blockheads 4 MONTHS TO NOTIFY ME BY THE WAY). According to Verizon Policy no paid off phone can be held in account for a back bill, only those phones which are still under contract payments. The Moto E6 that was paid off doesn't qualify for this ILLEGAL ACTION regardless how much is owed on the account. The person who it was bought for now can't go to another provider because if you liars and scammers in Customer Support We now will be filing an action to charge Verizon Wireless for FRAUD & GRAND THEFT OF PERSONAL PROPERTY with the U.S. Attorney General's OfficeGOOD LUCK WIGGLING OUT OF THIS ONE VERIZON

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