Hello everyone
I bought an Unlocked Note 8 from Phonebot St. Kilda in January and it came with a 6 months warranty. The phone was working just fine until today. Now the phone does not connect to mobile network, it says "Phone not allowed for voice" and if I try to make a phone call, it would say "Not registered on network". I tried to take the SIM out and insert it back again and it didn't work. I tried to factory reset the phone and it didn't work. I entered safe mode and it still did not work. The problem is not with the SIM because it works fine with my another phone.
I am thinking that Phonebot may gave me a faulty phone or a locked phone. What do you think?
I will take it to the store to let them have a look at it. Should I expect a repair from them or should I ask them for a replacement? I think I will ask for a replacement if it's found out that the phone is locked.
Please let me know what you think. It would be very appreciated.
Thanks heaps everyone!
Update 1: after checking on http://www.lost.amta.org.au/IMEI, now I can confirm that the phone is blocked by Optus. The website says “the IMEI number is currently blocked by Optus since 1 Jan 2019” so that means it was blocked even before I purchased the phone. It’s weird that I could still use the phone for 2 months.
Update 2:
I finally came to the store in St. Kilda today and I managed to get my money back.
So the phone was reported as lost/stolen and was blocked by Optus on 1 Jan 2019. This information was confirmed by Optus.
The sale of the phone to me was made on 23 Jan 2019. That means at the time of sale, the phone is considered as a stolen property. Consumer Affairs Victoria website says that I would be entitled for either a replacement or a refund if the problem is major. Consumer Affairs Victoria defines major problem as “There is a major problem if a reasonable consumer would not have bought the product if they known beforehand that there would be no clear title.”. So if I was aware that the phone was reported as stolen then I would not buy it in the first place. Therefore I am entitled for a refund which is what I came for.
I went to the store and the gentleman (I believe to be the manager) turned up his tone after every single sentence. I was telling him that the phone may be stolen because the person who sold the phone to them was doing the insurance fraud. The gentleman said that he got the phone from his supplier and they purchase 10 20 devices at one go. That means the supplier probably has a problem regards the legitimate of their stocks. He offered me a replacement phone but I ask for a refund instead. He said that I had used his phone for 2 months and now I cannot ask him for a refund. He said they provide warranty and the warranty says to give refund only in the first month of purchase. However I don’t think that the warranty was designed for stolen items so I still ask for my money back. I mentioned Consumer Affairs and all of the sudden he agreed to give me the refund but I wouldn’t say that it was smooth.
That’s everything. Hope everyone will never experience what I have experienced. And be careful.
Cheers
It's 31st March. You're covered and it's up to them to repair/replace.