Bought "stolen" phone off ebay

[rock_doctor]

Sorry, this made me laugh.

You are right they are pit bulls with buyers. Unfortunately OP needs pitbulls with sellers. And in that case Paypal will give you the money if the seller hasn't moved it someplace they would have to work to get funds. Then you will get told "we can't do anything to help you".

PayPal protection means PayPal got paid.

Sadly, this is correct. Every time i had a bad seller i lost the money. Each time i filed a report with both Ebay and Paypal. The last time i tried a charge back with my credit card. The CC (bank of America) gave me the money back and then paypal told them it was a good charge so they took it back. I then called paypal and they said they could no longer deal with me directly because i did a charge back and i would have to go to my bank. BOA said i had to deal with paypal and they could not help me. In the end, I ate the loss and told BOA to take a leap and canceled the credit card.

 

[LilyWDW]

Do NOT send the phone back to the seller. If it is stolen AND you know about it, sending it back could get you in some hot water. Why? Because you knowingly sent a stolen item to someone instead of contacting the authorities. The person who sold it to you wants it back so they can try and sell it to some other person and hope that person is too dumb to figure things out.

 

[si-am]

I had a Verizon phone stolen last year and if someone called me now and asked me to unlock it, I'd refuse, too. Just because I'm still really bitter and angry about the whole incident.

People think, "Oh it's just a phone," but dang if you're on a contract, you'll be paying $200-$400 for a new phone!!!

OP, I agree with others that you should contact the police. At least then you know you've done everything you can do on your end and you won't end up in trouble.

 

[CC12005]

Have you thought about calling the old owner with the seller's info? Might be fun.

 

[Allison]

Thank you all so much for guiding me through this process.

At 11:30 am I got an email from the seller saying:

11:38 AM (2 hours ago)

to me

All information has been specified in the declaration. Phone is not refundable.

At 1:30pm I got another email saying:

I've sent you money to PayPal account.
The purchase must be returned in the same conditions. Cellphone and charger. Thank you.

So I get my money back. Right now it's on hold with paypal. Now I get to send the stolen phone back to the seller. Hope he's smart enough not to resell it.

He's a thief, of course he would sell it again.

As far as the original owner, if some stranger called me and asked me to unlock my stolen phone-no way.

 

[webshark3]

Only send the phone to where Paypal tells you to send it. Or destroy it...

It's likely illegal to send stolen goods through the mail.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/201...ebay-buyer-violin-counterfeit-_n_1183687.html

 

[janatmovies]

That seller is a jerk! @rock_doctor, BoA, for a lack of a better word, SUCKS!!! Believe me, been there done that! Hubby had a checking account with them. They are downright thieves. Citibank is really great. I have a CC with BoA but I pay it off every month before due date and check that my statements are correct. But when it comes to their interest rates and policies, and customer service, blegh!!!

 

[sherabby]

OP here, guess what???

I was playing with the "stolen" phone and found the only phone number on there, so I called it. AND, no surprise, it was stolen back in January in Miami.

So I called ebay to go ahead and pursue it now rather than wait until July 4. Of course, I bought it off of my DH's account and they won't talk to me, but I'll have him call when he gets home.

What will happen with the phone now? Anyone know? I asked the owner if he would be kind enough to unlock it (I would buy it from him) and he laughed and said "For all I know you stole it". He also said he didn't want it back because he has a new phone.

Did you use your credit card to pay for it via paypal? You can also file with the bank or credit card company and file a dispute. I did that last year with our Disney time share fiasco and was fully refunded by my credit card company. the seller never disputed it back.

 

[rigs32]

Call the non-emergency number in your city or in Miami to ask what to do.

It is a Federal crime to knowingly send stolen merchandise across state lines.

In New York, knowingly possessing stolen goods is a crime.

I'm not surprised the original owner was wary. If you agreed to pay him, suddenly you have the phone legally even if you did steal it.