Database Info

£205 for XDA II on Ebay? true or fraud? Help!

I find this item selling from Ebay, the no is 4180655748.
I cant believe my eyes, Is this real? it is only price for £205.
There is still one left, so I can not connect with other buyers,
I order one immediately, then I have sent some emails to the seller to ask for when he will send the phone after I send the money, but he only keeps asking me to transfer money from Western Union Local agents to his address,
What can I do? it seems that he is trustable from the ebay id record and he has given me his address detail, but I still do not want to do everything in rush.
please help. Thanks.

This is a hijacked ebay account, asking for western union transfer is against ebay policy, report it to ebay and do NOT send one penny to these robbing bastards.

There is an other auction shown up at once after ending of the last one,
although from different seller,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4180688330&category=32242
itemno: 4180688330
The price is £220.
If anyone have bought this one, I think we can match the address of sellers to make sure the fraud.

No need to match them, I have reported numerous frauds on Ebay, its an every day occurence, high value sought after goods selling for silly money, always western union, the address they give doesnt matter becuase they go to the nearest westen union which can be the money shop, or a pawn broker and collect the money just by showing id of the name they give. This is a definite fraud, the new one is also a fraud, either that or we are dealing with a bunch of mentally deficient people that sell goods at half what they could get anywhere.........and always forget to send the goods after payment.

BEWARE OF HANDANGO STING. SHOP ELSEWHERE

I recently paid nearly $30 for dvd software that will not work, they could not identify my error and will not reemburse me. What a rip off. Its pocket gear from me from now on. Up yours handango.

Hard Chargeback
Don't give up. If you paid by a credit card, call them up and initiate a "hard chargeback". This will force your credit card company to give you the money back. They will of course want to know why. Tell them the story. Handago will recieve the hard chargeback through their merchant acount (their account is automatically deducted) and will most likely not even fight it. If they do then you know have a 3rd party listening to both sides of the argument. You should win since you don't even have a working product and Handango does not seem to want to deliver you one.
When you talk to your credit card company make yourself look like the reasonable patient victim. You ordered the product and could not make it work. You read all the manuals, contacted tech support and then patiently and nicely tried to work with Handango to get the product to work and they could not do it. Your a reasonable person, you did not get a working product and would like your money back. Tell the credit card company that if Handango could make it work right now you would still be willing to pay, but they consider the matter closed.
Use that tactic and there really is not a financial institution on earth that will rule against their customers.

I'm in the same Boat with Omega One's "1 Pass". It knocks out the camera function on an O2 XDAII. Contacted Handango and forwarded an Email from Omega One confirming the problem. Just got the automated response.
This all started 2 weeks ago.

thank you
I will try this, and thanks for taking the time to explain the procedure, ill let you know how it works out.

Warning about SlideME

I recently purchased Quadrant Advanced from the SlideME store since that's the only place it is available. Unfortunately, SlideME has implemented a policy where they will charge your credit card for a random amount less than $1 when you add a credit card to your account. In my case, this was $0.61. They try to justify this as a "security" measure to verify that the card is really yours; however, they let me continue and buy the application without first verifying the charge.
Even though the amount of money is small, I find this type of business practice despicable. I will not purchase any applications from SlideME and will e-mail any developer whose application I am considering purchasing that they have lost a sale until they move their app to a respectable store.

Wanted to follow up on this post to mention that we are indeed aware of the problem that is causing and maybe even loss of sales for apps sold via SlideME.
We did not assume that such a nominal fee (for end users) per card setup considered a registration fee, will become such a big issue.
The reason we took this approach from our early days in 2008, was that we wanted developers via our Marketplace to earn 'the lot'. This means if our payment processing costs are only 5% + $0.05 (as per Amazon Payments fees), the remaining balance will be paid out to developer.
As we have additional payment methods such as our 'direct card' payment option, we need to confirm the real owner of the card, much like PayPal and Amazon Payments require to verify the cardholder.
With the issues related to combating fraud e.g. users using stolen cards, there are processing fees for setting up a card and such fees are not directly related to the transaction of the sale of an application, therefore could not be applied to the developers account. This fee that our direct card processor charges has to be covered from somewhere, and this amount is funded from the < $1.00 fee that we charge per card setup. You only need to setup your card once, and customer is never asked to submit any sensitive card information from their phone ever.
Without such a verification process which consists of two states, 'pending verification' and 'confirmed' to place users account in 'good standing', there is a high risk there could be a large number of chargebacks and related fees, which will be charged to developers account. Not something we will be too happy about nor will developer.
A customer like you, has the option to choose other Payment Methods via SlideME that do not require any such verification, such as Amazon Payments & PayPal (due this coming week), since they provide their own verification process.
So your complain and from many other users, has been taken into consideration and it seems that we will have to charge some additional fees to developers to cover such processing costs via our Direct Pay option. I expect overall this will not mean less income for developers but could reflect to actually more sales via SlideME.
We took the initiative to create a discussion topic at http://bit.ly/aADcvo
Look forward to getting some feedback on what developers think about this issue.

The idea that charging a fee that a user must verify to prevent fraud might have some validity if the user must verify before being allowed to purchase any apps. However, I was able to purchase an app immediately after registering as a new user and adding my credit card. If I were a credit card/ID thief instead of a legitimate buyer, the victim would now have two fraudulent charges: the app purchase AND the verification charge.
In reality, this is just a way of passing on a processing fee to the end user and trying to disguise it as a fraud prevention method. It may not be fair that the merchant takes all of the risk of ID theft and fraud but that is the way the system works.
If you want to charge a registration fee, you should be up front about it when the user signs up with a full checkout page so that there is no ambiguity that money is about to change hands. When I purchased the app, I went through a full checkout page that clearly showed what I was buying and how much I was paying. This was not the case with the "verification" fee.
If you're not going to prevent users from buying apps until they verify, quite calling it a fraud/verification fee. If you're going to charge a registration fee, be upfront with it and have a full checkout page so that the user will clearly understand what they are buying. Better yet, just take credit cards like 99.999% of online stores and charge the developers an amout that covers your costs.

It's clearly stated that the <$1.00 is considered a card registration fee and we have it in several places on our site. It seems you are the only one that missed it if your name starts with a K. We have had users complain about it, but not one be surprised of such a charge that they did not know it was coming.
Yes we do open up and permit account holders to purchase without verification when we have eyes on the system to prevent complaints from customers that want to buy now!
We send many warnings to customers that have a high fraud score and such require to verify their card to proceed.
We will do what it takes to satisfy developers and users alike.
I guess now we will have to restrict only to all verified users, which will just make it more difficult for that ones that don't seem suspicious to purchase.

You can't make everyone happy.
There will always be people that complain.
If you make them wait, they will complain they can't get their product
fast enough.
If you don't make them wait, they will complain that you didn't verify
their identity...
My experience and 2 cents:
Do what makes your largest user base happy and focus on them.
You won't make everyone happy but at least you'll have market share
and happy customers to reaffirm you've made the right decision.
Some people want their cake and wish to eat it too.

Having issues with your wireless provider? Look here for some tips!

Not sure if this is the right place to share this or not, but wanted to give some others some help from my own experiences.
I have recently gone through an awful battle with ATT regarding my upgrade status for a new phone. The very vague version of the story is that three months ago my online account showed me as eligible for an upgrade and I was going to get the Iphone 3GS. When I went to the store to buy it, I was told that I was not eligible because my account (on their end) said I was not eligible. After countless arguments and working my way through the 'ranks' of management I FINALLY came to learn that Apple's agreement with ATT does not allow them flexibility to correct customer concerns with the iphone and they are not allowed to do price overrides. The truth of that is questionable, but regardless they outright refused to give me the standard upgrade pricing on the Iphone. In the end I chose to go with the Captivate and from what Ive read, it was the right choice . I thought though that I would share with you all some free tools and services that are available to consumers that helped me and can help you get your complaints and concerns taken care of.
Most of you I hope already know about some of these, but if you dont they can be priceless.
1. The Better Business Bureau: (w-w-w. bbb .o-r-g) The BBB are the knights in shining armor for consumers. They basically will act as a mediator between you and a company who you are having difficulty getting through to or who you feel are giving you the run around. The best part is that since the BBB gives 'report cards' to millions of companies across the country, you can almost always get in touch with a very high up customer service worker who has more flexibility to help you. ATT in general has a department dedicated strictly only to addressing BBB complaints (Corporate Escalations Department Consumer Complaints Division) The only way you will ever have the privilege to speak with these individuals is to go this route. Theres never a guarantee with the BBB, but it will beat dealing with mindless call center drones who are unwilling or not allowed to take care of your issues appropriately. The complaint process is very easy and user friendly and in the best case scenario you will be contacted by the company within 7 days of filing. The BBB will stay in contact with you throughout the entire process and keep you updated with what the company is submitting to them as well.
2. The Federal Communications Commission: (w-w-w. fcc .g-o-v) Did you know that the FCC oversees the doings of all wireless carriers in the country? If all else fails, an FCC complaint is the equivalent of calling in a customer service artillery attack against a wireless company. The company is REQUIRED to address any complaints submitted by consumers to the FCC and you WILL hear back about your complaint. Best yet, the FCC will fight for your side of things and encourage the carrier to work towards getting you a fair resolution. Again, there are no guarantees, but if your getting the run around continuously then go this route! One of the most common complaints to the FCC about carriers regard early termination fees and with the FCC on your side you can almost always get a clean break from a cell contract without having to pay any of those nasty fees that can add up very quickly.
3.BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE CALL CENTER WORKERS ARE COMPLETELY WORTHLESS TO YOUR CAUSE! I would repeat that but I think you get the point. Call Center employees are extremely limited in what they can actually do for you. Do yourself a favor and ask to speak to a manager, if they tell you that you the manager will say or give you the same resolve, ignore them and again demand to speak to a manager. Call Center employees are trained to try and steer you away from speaking to anyone above them and they will try to convince you that doing anything above them is pointless. DON'T LISTEN! Stick to your guns and talk to a manager or supervisor.
When it does come time to speak to a manager you will be in much better hands because you will actually be talking to someone who has the authority to resolve your complaint and offer you something in return. Supervisors are USUALLY more sympathetic about your complaint as long as you don't jump down their throats from the get-go. Explain your issue sternly and tell them what you want in return. You don't have to break out the boxing gloves but don't be a pushover either, if you don't get what you want, then move onto the next rung on the ladder. It may sound like a lot of work, but if your getting the work around then it is worth every bit of your time and energy to fight it. Don't back down till you get a fair resolve.
Also, the BBB and FCC are excellent bargaining tools to use in your favor. Threatening to file a complaint with either organization can sometimes be enough to tilt the scale. Companies fear this because they know its incredibly easy to file one and there's a good chance that your going to do it if you threaten it.
Again, desperate times call for powerful action. Don't let these comapnies bully you, tell you that your wrong or the worst one: tell you that you don't understand how something works. Companies love trying to convince you that your wrong and that its your fault that your account or whatever is messed up.

U.S.: Blacklisting phones, blacklisted phones, and the shebang.

Okay here's the deal. I bought a "new" phone on ebay from a seller in U.S. shipped overseas to where I live. I bought this to use it in U.S. as well when I visit the country in a couple of months.
The seller agreed to include a printed sale receipt and a letter stating that he had sold this phone with this IMEI inside the box. I received the phone two weeks back and surprise, there was no receipt or sale letter inside. I was gutted.
Since then, I have tried to contact the seller at least ten times and he has not responded even once. He had responded to every single one of my emails in an hour before the purchase.
I am not going paranoid. Is there a chance the seller might be scamming me by reporting it stolen? How does it work in the US? Is it possible to report a phone stolen (to claim insurance) and get it blacklisted without the original phone box?
And, if it indeed had been blacklisted by all the networks in US and it fries my new sim, will having the original phone box be enough for a proof of purchase to "unblacklist" it? If so, how long does the process take considering I might be in US only for a few days at a time.
Thanks in advance!

I would just file a ticket with eBay, not because I necessarily believe they're trying to cheat you, but because they violated your agreement. Did you make sure the seller confirmed to you that the IMEI was good and would continue to be so - within eBay ?
There's always a chance they might be scamming you. The original box doesn't mean anything, to anyone, when it comes to reporting it stolen or an insurance claim or them bailing on a payment plan. Them not having it won't hurt them and won't help you. Lots of phones are stolen while still in the original packaging - and those phones do tend to get blacklisted. And like you have thought, they might be planning to report it stolen or stop paying for it (in which case, the carrier will blacklist).
Why not just buy a pre-paid SIM and use that in your normal phone while in the USA ? Or buy a cheap pre-paid phone while you are there if your current phone does not use SIM technology ? You can get one for $20 at places like WAL*MART and similar, which are all over the USA.
Not sure what you mean about "frying" a new SIM. It just wouldn't work if the IMEI was blacklisted, but it's not going to explode or anything. :silly:
If it's blacklisted, I wouldn't count on getting it "un-blacklisted". Carriers really don't like to do that, and you'd probably be looking at making multiple phone calls and facing the likelihood that they weren't going to do it no matter what you said. Normal reps tend to not even know what the IMEI blacklist is, you'd have to have your case brought to someone who did, and convince them to do it - which they usually flat-out will not. I've only really heard of success with having it "un-blacklisted" if you're a long-term customer with a retention/sob story, and it took multiple phone calls and a lot of time.

Thanks I actually did buy a GSM phone for use with a prepaid SIM in USA. I bought it mainly for 3G band inter-compatibility between that used in US and where I live.
Wouldn't opening a dispute with Ebay for this be a little too much? Also, if I open an Item Not As Described dispute, they would request me to get the phone checked with a local dealer and give them a report of exactly how it is not as described by the inspector right? The receipt being missing would be a minor thing that I am not sure they would even consider looking at.

I really don't know the process (but the stories I've heard didn't make the buyer do anything too complicated). Honestly, the sellers themselves have been screwed over because they'll often just take you on your word and people have been known to scam that way. *shrug*
It's up to you how worried you are and if you're prepared to take a loss. But if they're not responding to you, what else are you going to do it get eBay involved? Other than just sit on it and hope for the best - which might all turn out fine, might not.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

The seller is still being very dodgy. Is it true that the Social Security Number is printed on the phone bill when it is purchased from AT&T even if it was an outright purchase?
The seller is refusing to provide the original sales invoice on the grounds that it has his SSN and he would not want to disclose that. He is also refusing to provide a bill by himself saying that he does not know the IMEI of the phone he sold to me so he cannot take the liability of giving a bill for an IMEI he is not sure was sold by him! However, the phone is working fine otherwise.
Could someone clarify if this is right?