[jaxouk]

Hi, I bought my girlfriend a n97 mini on ebay for her birthday and I think its fake. I live in the UK and I bought it as brand new. When I i opened it immediately I thought the slider mechinism was knackered and it is. it seems very plasticy and half the apps dont work (maps etc). The instruction book only has 16 pages and says n97 on the front but talks about n95 inside, also the instructions seems like a photocopy and says nokia asia.com. Inside back battery cover it has a blue circuit board which says "BA NO.1". Also it doesn`t appear to be a mini which is what I bought.

When I do a *#0000# it reads

v 10.1.021

22-03-09

rm-327

nokia n97 (12.01)

*#06# reads

imei:356225010542085

imeisv:01

ime:i888888888888888888

please help

[jaxouk]

p.s the charger doesnt say nokia anywhere on it and there is a load ofg other things that is making me think that I have been scammed.

What can I check or do to verify if its fake?

TBH if it is a genuine nokia I would be very surprised

[psychomania]

Sorry to say but you do have a fake.

I hope you manage to get a refund through ebay/paypal!

Ebay is always full of fakes and they do absolutely nothing about them. Often the listings remain even after reporting them.

[foxmeister]

As Psychomania said. You do have a Fake. For further confirmation, you can check your IMEI on

http://www.numberingplans.com/?page=analysis&sub=imeinr

and

http://www.nokia.co.uk/support/repair/repair/warranty

Both will show you have an Unknown IMEI

[jaxouk]

Cheers guys, yous are right. Ive been doing some searching on the internet and came across this too:

 http://www.nokiaphoneblog.com/?p=2054 and I can confirm it is a fake. The screen is smaller than the proper one and I have noticed a few other things thatis mentioned there also.

.....Great, just my f-ing luck. Well hopefully paypal will refund me.

here is the phone I bought if anyone wants a look. 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160397239477&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Thanks for the help guys

[keat · Accepted solution]

Take it into CPW or Fones4u, have them verify it as a fake, and ask for it in writing.

Then file a claim with Paypal.

The 1st thing Paypal are going to ask you for is to prove it's a fake.

Start by contacting the seller and asking for a refund.

I bet he doesn't answer.

Not to worry, this is actually better for you, as you can tel Paypal that you've tried to contact the seller and he hasn't answered.

Paypal may ask you to send it back.

If the seller doesn't answer, then you can ask Paypal.. "Where should I send it, he won't answer me"

Before you send it back, get some assurances that Paypal will refund you, once you can prove you've sent it back.

Ensure it's sent back with a means of tracking.. (royal mail recorded signed for, or special deliver)

I've done this before, and had my money back before the goods had even left Royal Mail.

Message Edited by keat on 28-Jan-2010 02:13 PM

[jaxouk]

Cheers for this info keat. there is a nokia service centre about 8 miles from my house so I think i`ll take it up at the weekend..... I wouldn`t be the first time paypal rules in favour of the wrong person, ( especially if he has already lifted the money)

Thanks

[houseklan]

Open a dispute and escalate it to a claim right away. Don't bother with giving time to the seller to responde.

By opening a claim, paypal will put seller funds on hold, so you are sure it won't be running away with your money.

If you want revenge, when asked to send it back (always recorded delivery) send an empty box. There is nothing the seller can do.

If you have used your credit card, you can always ask for a chargeback.

For now, open a claim.

[jjegan]

Yes be quick if the seller stops trading and leaves nil in his PP account you get nothing back and thats how many of them work . Only to start up under a different name .

jje

[jaxouk]

Cheers houseclan and jjegan, I have just done this. The thing is he had good feedback, he has since mailed me through ebay to say I should have asked if it was fake and basically its my own fault. You can see in the listing he has used a genuine n97 and there is no mension whatsoever its fake. Whats more the starting price was £180, so your not going to think its fake.

[jaxouk]

p.s I sold my own phone on ebay and they held my payment until i received good feedback for the item. Hopefully they have done the same with his payment. I dont know what their policy is on this though. I have 50 feedback and he has 80 so they might not have held it.

[houseklan]

I wouldn't stress too much.

If you search for paypal complaints on google, you will see that paypal is always on the buyer's side (even when he is wrong).

If you have purchased the phone 2 days ago and paid the same day, your money is still being transferred to the seller account. By escalating to a claim your money has been stopped and it's on its way back, on hold.

He hasn't seen your money yet and he never will!!!!!!!!

Consider that, even if you close your paypal account, they can still take money from you (by the way, it cannot be closed in 1 day).

Anyway, you received an item that is different from what was described and that's the end of the story. Seller has the obbligation to take it back.

It happened to me 3 times. Twice where I haven't received anything at all (simply bacuase they were never sent) and once  where a cellphone was described has new,but it wasn't. I always got my money back.

Moreover, seller doesn't seem to be a professional scammer but  a useless idiot without hope. Tell paypal people that you are selling counterfeits and see what they think about it.

[rich_enduro]

---

jaxouk wrote:
  he has since mailed me through ebay to say I should have asked if it was fake and basically its my own fault. You can see in the listing he has used a genuine n97 and there is no mension whatsoever its fake

---

so if you had of asked if it was a fake, he would of told you it was? selling fakes is against ebay rules so in theory, you should get a refund from paypal.

keep us posted as to how it goes?

[jaxouk]

Cool, this is what I like to hear. He has responded to the paypal dispute and now paypal have said (in an email to me) that they would like to see proof that it is fake i.e from a 3rd party CPW/ Nokia service centre etc. Also he has emailed me through ebay to say send it back and he will refune me. I dont know what to do because his address is not listed on the payment details page. Do I ask him for it and send it back or do I get the proof that paypal are looking for??

Thanks

[jaxouk]

My thougts exactly rich enduro TBH he seems like a bit of an idiot. he is just telling me lie after lie. Apparently its his/ her sons contract upgrade and she sold it for him and in another email he goes on to says its not fake and he paid £300 for it.

Message Edited by jaxouk on 28-Jan-2010 06:40 PM

[houseklan]

Don't listen to him and do what paypal says.

By escalating to a claim, you are asking paypal to decide and not the seller. Do not bother with him anymore.

Go to a nokia store and get that certificate. Paypal will tell you when to send the phone back.

By the way, when the same happened to me, it's always somebody else's phone!!! 

Unfortunately it will take at least 2 weeks before you get your money back.

[jaxouk]

Was thinking that myself mate. I`m a bit weary about sending it to an address that he`s just emailed me (could be any address). I think I will do as you say houseclan and do what paypal askes and hopefully I will get my money back in a couple of weeks. Thanks alot for your help, not just yourself but to everyone that has posted. 

I will keep you`s updated as to what happened with the case.

Thanks

[Farhaan5800]

I once bought a N96 from ebay thinking it was perfectly genuine. when i opened it, there was no manual nothing. i thought it'd be normal but when i switched it on, it was a whole new story. it was a fake. there was a chinese OS which was clearly obvious. and the whole OS was fake. i got back on contact with the seller and he offered me a full refund as long as i returned the phone back. i did so and got my refund. ebay is the worst place to purchase something. hope you get your money back.