Help Big Start-Up Problem w/ Droid X

[kingraj7]

Greetings DROID X users & experts. I am in a bit of a bind and need your help! I recently bought a Motorola Droid X on craigslist since my old phone broke so I needed a new one. I have bought a phone from craigslist/ebay in the past w/ no problems but no I am in a jam b/c I ran into a MAJOR PROBLEM.

I took the phone to the store to get activated under my account, and the guy tells me "Your Phone is listed as "Stolen/Lost" by previous user and you will not be able to use it, and nothing he can do. I am quite pissed off because now the person on craigslist is not returning my calls (obviously we know why now) so SOMEONE PLEASE HELP, is this a lost cause, or is there a way to reset the phone so I can use it since it's coded/listed right now as stolen/lost? How was I suppose to know, some people out there are so unethical it is frustrating. Any answers would be helpful thanks again!

 

[Airmaxx23]

Greetings DROID X users & experts. I am in a bit of a bind and need your help! I recently bought a Motorola Droid X on craigslist since my old phone broke so I needed a new one. I have bought a phone from craigslist/ebay in the past w/ no problems but no I am in a jam b/c I ran into a MAJOR PROBLEM.

I took the phone to the store to get activated under my account, and the guy tells me "Your Phone is listed as "Stolen/Lost" by previous user and you will not be able to use it, and nothing he can do. I am quite pissed off because now the person on craigslist is not returning my calls (obviously we know why now) so SOMEONE PLEASE HELP, is this a lost cause, or is there a way to reset the phone so I can use it since it's coded/listed right now as stolen/lost? How was I suppose to know, some people out there are so unethical it is frustrating. Any answers would be helpful thanks again!

I would contact the local Police Department.

 

[gibbga]

Greetings DROID X users & experts. I am in a bit of a bind and need your help! I recently bought a Motorola Droid X on craigslist since my old phone broke so I needed a new one. I have bought a phone from craigslist/ebay in the past w/ no problems but no I am in a jam b/c I ran into a MAJOR PROBLEM.

I took the phone to the store to get activated under my account, and the guy tells me "Your Phone is listed as "Stolen/Lost" by previous user and you will not be able to use it, and nothing he can do. I am quite pissed off because now the person on craigslist is not returning my calls (obviously we know why now) so SOMEONE PLEASE HELP, is this a lost cause, or is there a way to reset the phone so I can use it since it's coded/listed right now as stolen/lost? How was I suppose to know, some people out there are so unethical it is frustrating. Any answers would be helpful thanks again!

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I'm no expert on this and someone else may chime in with a better answer, but I'll give it a shot to start things off for you.

I think you are pretty much out of luck. I would contact your local police department and see if they would be interested in following up with your craigslist seller. If no, I'd suggest calling the craigslist seller from different phone #'s. If that doesn't work, then I'd suggest cruising craigslist for more listings from this individual. Most likely this is not a one time occurrence. Perhaps setting up a meeting for another item using a different email address will get you in touch with this person.

In the future, I'd suggest when purchasing a used telephone to request the seller provide you with the ESN # of the phone. I believe you should be able to then contact Verizon to confirm that the phone has a "clean" ESN or if there is some sort of block placed on activating it (such as lost/stolen or unpaid bills from prior owner). If the seller is not willing to give you the ESN #, then I'd suggest finding another seller.

 

[bigbadwulff]

Was there a return address?(like it's a real one). But I think the Police(or anyone) can track a phone number to find the address of the person. Contact the Police.

 

[bigbadwulff]

On Craigslist(or any other place) I only buy stuff I can get my hands on(and the person) to make sure there won't be a problem. Sorry. But..................buyer beware.

Another thought too. Since the phone was stolen, you may want to(eventually) give it to Verizon under the direction they get the phone back to the owner. It is STILL that person's phone.

 

[nj02vette]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I'm no expert on this and someone else may chime in with a better answer, but I'll give it a shot to start things off for you.

I think you are pretty much out of luck. I would contact your local police department and see if they would be interested in following up with your craigslist seller. If no, I'd suggest calling the craigslist seller from different phone #'s. If that doesn't work, then I'd suggest cruising craigslist for more listings from this individual. Most likely this is not a one time occurrence. Perhaps setting up a meeting for another item using a different email address will get you in touch with this person.

In the future, I'd suggest when purchasing a used telephone to request the seller provide you with the ESN # of the phone. I believe you should be able to then contact Verizon to confirm that the phone has a "clean" ESN or if there is some sort of block placed on activating it (such as lost/stolen or unpaid bills from prior owner). If the seller is not willing to give you the ESN #, then I'd suggest finding another seller.

Not bad advice, but just having someone give you an ESN doesn't help if they give you a fake ESN and ship you a phone with a bad ESN.

The only way I'd buy a Verizon based phone is to meet the person, in the flesh, at a Verizon store and have them confirm it's good.

At a minimum, get a copy of the sellers drivers license when doing a transaction like that.