Bought iPhone on Craiglist. Seller claimed it's unlocked but is locked with due payment. What legal action can take against the get back $?

Bought iPhone on Craiglist. Seller claimed it's unlocked but is locked with due payment. What legal action can take against the get back $? - 1

I bought an iPhone through Craiglist. The guy who sold me told me that it is unlocked. It was sealed new phone and that guy looks very nice guy. Besides, it is going to take time set up the new phone. I gave my money. Soon it turn out that that guy had unpaid due and the phone of was locked. I tried really to get my money back but in vain. Could someone out there help? Can I report to the police this case as scam? Or are there any legal action I take. It is hard when someone cheat you like this of your money that is not easy to earn. Please advise!

Sounds to me you're a fool!

Turn it in to the police. You, my friend, have bought a stolen phone.

Call the news

Craigslist is the WORST place to buy something. There generally is NO refund policy and Craigslist won't do anything to help. You bought it, you're stuck with it.

EBay, Etsy, and many other sites have a policy in place for such instances, but Craigslist is more like a big yard sale… You buy it, and the resale nullifies any warranty that may have originally came with said product.

Learn from your mistake and don't use Craigslist unless it's a simple item that can be easily fixed if it's broken/useless when it arrives!

Ethan, there's really very little that you can do. Never buy a phone that can't be powered on. As for what can you do now? Not much, you can give the cops the details, and if the phone is in fact stolen, the seller may get arrested (and you will have to give up the phone).

But you are at fault for not asking the correct questions, all you saw was a "new" phone for a great price. Always ask for the phone's ESN or IMEI up front before money changes hands, check them on the carrier's support site as well as visiting a carry store and asking about the particular ESN/IMEI, to see if it has been reported lost, stolen or is still being financed. If it checks out, you ask the seller to meet you at one of the local carrier store during business hours, that way the phone can be checked out there to see if it can be activated. If they say they are too busy, and only way to meet at the local mall or 7-11 parking lot, that means they are up to no good

You may or may not have recourse. And ignore the fools calling you a fool. If you have personal information about the seller that will help you greatly. Give as much information about the seller as you can to the police. You may or may not get your money back but do not hesitate to prosecute. If people would prosecute these sum sellers from Craigslist then more honest people would sell on Craigslist. Hope this helps and good luck.

Your money is gone, & you're stuck because you didn't do your homework before handing over payment. Not very smart.

If you have a name and a place to serve them papers at you can file a small claim. That cost money check with your local court for details. But before that I would try and reach out to the person give them a chance to correct it. It is possible that it is just a mistake in billing etc. If they will not work with you let them know your only option is to go to court. If they did sell you a junk phone they more then likely will not show up for court and you win by default. But then still have the hard time of collecting.

Craigslist is really difficult to work with because, unlike Ebay (where you can contact Ebay and get your money back etc), you actually meet the person and once it's done it's done and there's not much you can do, even if you have the person's phone number or something like that.