IMEI scratched off..

[Mot!]

I bought a Ericsson T28 off ebay from a company refurb's them. Based in stoke with good feedback, it seemed low risk and I fancied the nostalgia whilst I was without my iPhone (waiting for the 4G)

It arrived yesterday, refurbished - excellent nick! Other than a rip-off battery.

Looked in the battery compartment and the IMEI has been scratched off AND marker penned over.

I don't understand why - surely a refurb' just requires new casing..
The IMEI is on the phone's body rather than the casing so that shouldn't have been touched.

I sent them a question asking why, they stated it was because there was no warranty on the phone - which is a pretty invalid reason IMO.

Emailed them back saying I'd like to return it and that I hope they're not practicing the art of changing IMEIs as it carries a 5 year sentence..

No response yet..what do you guys think?

EDIT: Can this be moved into phones / broadband. sorry!

 

[Tom]

Bin it.

 

[markkram]

Type *#06# on the keypad. IMEI will be displayed on the screen. Call your service provider and ask them to check it against the database.

 

[sneeks]

That all sounds very dodgy. I very nearly purchased something from the same place last week, well I'm guessing it was the same place.

 

[Mot!]

It comes up with a IMEI but it seems to be out of the usual range..
I'm not a novice with phones but I'm puzzled as to why they'd try to remove it other than theft / IMEI change.

I don't want to call my operator in case I get in trouble, ha!

 

[Tom]

Throw it away

 

[sneeks]

You have bought it in good faith so you will not get into trouble but they will clarify for you if the handset or the IMEI it is displaying has any issues.

 

[sneeks]

You could try this site for free but I have no idea how accurate it is

http://www.amta.org.au/pages/amta/Check.the.Status.of.your.Handset

Having said that it proves nothing if they have cloned a stolen handset with the IMEI number of a identical but broken one.

 

[H182]

I'd send it back regardless, displaying the IMEI has feck all to do with warranty anyway.

 

[Mot!]

Yeah, it's going back.

They replied with this:

"If you wish to return the handset then please do so. The payment will be refunded through paypal minus the carriage cost. We are a bona fide company who specialise in telecommunications products and are aware of all legislation covering such items. eBay is only a very tiny part of our business but we are proud of our 100% feedback and changing the identity of a T28 would not be of any benefit to anyone. The return address is provided on the invoice"