FURIOUS smartphone owners stormed into telephone shops demanding replacements and refunds over the weekend after their second-hand devices were remotely locked after they had been unwittingly caught up in a ‘sell on and cash in’ scam.
It comes as telecom providers have blocked mobile phones with messages starting: ‘There are late instalments and bill payments owed’ because the original owners had not honoured signed agreements.
The current owners had no idea that the devices they had legally purchased, often below cost price from phone shops, who also made a profit from the sale, had been originally bought over instalment plans from leading telecom companies.
Mobile shop owners’ spokesman and owner of Al Hoot Phones Jaffar Kadhem said angry people were chasing small mobile store business owners demanding replacements or refunds for their blocked devices but it was not their responsibility.
“In just one of my four branches, eight angry customers have come in within an hour, after their devices were locked,” he said.
“There are others who have bought phones from mobile shops across the country demanding replacements or refunds.
“We follow the rules in getting identification from sellers. It appears many have sold them to us pretending they were unwanted purchases, often new devices still in their packs.
“Sometimes it is an individual who is desperate for cash or has received a phone as a gift and wants to sell it. We have not had to be concerned about the back story as long as it came from the legitimate owner and had not been stolen.”
Mr Kadhem sympathised with customers, saying they had every right to be angry because their data had been blocked ... but the middlemen were not responsible.
“Nowadays, people have to work or study using their mobiles and blocking access is something that puts them in trouble,” he added. “Unbacked information would disappear, never to be recovered, and that can be upsetting.
“They want to use the device they have paid for but have been caught up in the middle of something they were unaware of until now.”
Blocking the phones has been an easy task because the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number is a unique identification or serial number that all mobile phones and smartphones have. It is normally 15 digits long.
The IMEI number can be found on the silver sticker on the back of the phone, under the battery pack, or on the box the phone comes in.
It has been used as a tracker over the weekend but it is not clear why telecom providers suddenly decided to impose the technological crackdown in recent days, although one telecom company insider, who declined to be named, said it was determined to crack down on the scam and deter others from selling on devices before honouring their signed contracts.
Senior Shura Council and municipal council members have demanded a system in which all mobile phones – new, used or discarded – are not allowed to be sold on until all instalments are proved to have been made, to avoid a repetition of the controversy.
Southern Municipal Council chairman Bader Al Tamimi said a new standard should be introduced indicating that each phone have been cleared of instalments or late payments to telecom providers.
“People’s lives have been disrupted because a telecom provider, without warning, just blocked mobile phones. We have had to suffer over the weekend trying to get to the bottom of the issue as we have been bombarded with calls asking us to take action,” he said.
“We understand that telecom providers want their due money, but remotely locking phones is wrong, in my opinion, since the phones could have been gifted or sold on to others.
“It is not like they have stolen the device – they bought it from a licensed shop.
“It is time for a new rule to ensure that only devices that are cleared of instalments get sold on to avoid this kind of headache.”
Shura Council financial and economic affairs committee chairman Khalid Al Maskati said original owners should simply not sell their devices until they have paid all instalments to their telecom operators.
“The issue of tracking sellers is lengthy and could take a long time, which disrupts life,” he said. “There needs to be a legal document, paper or electronic, clearly stating there are no late payments owed on the device being sold.
“The blocking for late payments may be within the contract signed with the provider but many customers sign the paperwork without reading the small print.”
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has been notified about the issue and are set to reply later.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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