Comments on: My phone’s been blacklisted

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 21 May 2012 08:48:10 +0000

I don’t know of any magic route other than persistence and making a BIG noise

By: ellen

ellen — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:24:39 +0000

omg my e bay bought t mobil phone worked 3 months before they black listed it the seller claims it was a new phone how do i fight this.

By: shaun

shaun — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:59:26 +0000

Just happened to me i have had a Nokia 6310 for 4 years, (bought off E bay)it is Orange But unlocked, I have always had it with Virgin, it has suddenly stopped working and Orange cannot and will not do anything as they say the person who requested it to be blacklisted had all the correct security??

Seems odd that it took them 4 years??

I now have a phone which is useless.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:17:25 +0000

Edit above – sorry, bought the Defy on eBay in April 2011!

I’m not used to 2012 being this year and not next year just yet!

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:16:19 +0000

Wardy277. Let me guess, your phone is either on the t-mobile or Orange networks?

I’ve just encountered a similar problem with a Motorola Defy bought on eBay in April 2010. It worked fine for about six months, then I upgraded and left it on the shelf for a couple of months. Over Christmas, I decided to pass it on to my girlfriend, only to discover that it had apparently become blacklisted!

The following thread mentions that this is a problem due to the merging of the Orange and t-mobile networks:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3677593

I’ve spoken to Orange and couldn’t get them to do anything about it though they confirmed it is now blacklisted. Next step t-mobile. Hopefully, they will be able to help as my girlfriend’s SIM is a t-mobile one and the phone was originally a t-mobile device before I unlocked it.

I’m sure it isn’t stolen otherwise it wouldn’t have worked for 6 months without a problem! If a phone is stolen, I’m pretty sure that there won’t be a delay of 8 months before reporting it!

I’ve also tried to contact the eBay seller but no reply as yet.

By: Wardy277

Wardy277 — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:40:00 +0000

I am in a similar situation. After 6 months of working fine it suddenly stopped making or receiving calls or sms.

I bought my phone online from a shop selling could contracts for many operators.

It got blacklisted and after many back and forth calls to the shop and the operator, eventually I was told another separate company blacklisted it and neither of them can remove it. Kind of a huge flaw in the system.

Hopefully this company will remove the blacklist if the operator asks. But they don’t have to. They can just say no and that’s it. Phone is useless!

Fingers crossed this gets sorted soon

By: Janet E Davis

Janet E Davis — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:44:00 +0000

That’s why I’m wary of buying things on e-Bay myself, but setting that aside…
My interest in this story was piqued by lack of uniqueness in the IMEI numbers. The problems of unique identifiers do concern me at times. I sometimes need to create systems of identifiers for analogue or digital objects, therefore I think about what happens when the context of the identifier shifts eg when a small museum uses its own accession numbers to identify images of objects and when they out them on the Web, they find that they are the same as another museum’s. We found out recently that a Sainsbury’s re-usable bag has the same barcode as an item of clothing in M&S.

If I were a mobile phone company, I’d want to get together with other mobile phone companies and insurance companies to:
1) devise a unique mobile devices identifier system
2) think of a snappier, public-friendly name for the database
3) create a public-friendly database
4) charge public to register a phone on the database but offer them incentive so that when they have they can get money off insuring the handset, or free calls/texts/data for a set period
5) market it so people know about it, know advantages
6) employ staff tough enough to withstand the Awkward Squad’s senior members, such as Mr Clarke

By: Interesting elsewhere – 12 July 2010 | Public Strategist

Interesting elsewhere – 12 July 2010 | Public Strategist — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:17:18 +0000

[...] My phone’s been blacklisted – honestlyreal As soon as a centralised system becomes powerful enough to be any use, almost by definition it becomes unusable when exposed to many real world conditions. The blocking process might have been quite effective when almost all handsets came via your MNO, and you didn’t swap networks much. But those days are long gone. [...]

By: Paul Clarke

Paul Clarke — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:57:00 +0000

Yeah, it’s definitely a bit moany

But there’s something to moan about if a ‘secure’ system suddenly falls apart like a cheap suit, or if some customers are able to get ‘help’ through invoking certain words or behaviours. If I hadn’t been a white, middle-aged professional sort, would I have got the same help? What if I’d looked (in the eyes of the company) like a phone thief? It’s these inconsistencies and weaknesses that trouble me.

And yes, I’m all for personal responsibility on the paperwork. I won’t make that mistake again. But people do legitimately buy phones that have no paperwork. Should they not? I guess it’s a calculated risk; however the odds seem a little stacked against them due to this rather odd (and flawed) blocking system.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:39:00 +0000

Ah c’mon Paul. If I’m understanding you right, your initial complaint was that no one could help you, and your subsequent complaint was that someone helped you.

Current system is not perfect, agreed. But why would it being centrally kept prevent typos?

How about when you buy something you make sure you get all the paperwork? How about caveat emptor?