My new mobile arrived 'Blocked' instead of 'NEW!'

This guide is aimed at warning you that people are selling 'new' phones that have been reported lost or stolen in order to obtain an insurance replacment, then sending the old ones that are then being blocked by the network:I was looking for a motorola V3X, found one and bought it. The photo showed the box, phone and accessories. Im a carefull ebayer so i checked that the photo looked home made and not stolen from a website.The sellers feedback was good- not too high (i dont like traders) but not too low either- just right.So i paid and the phone arrived. My first thought was how tatty the box looked, it had a very basic ink stamp on the label saying 'received May 20th 2006' obviously an attempt to make it appear new. It also had a tear where a sticker had been peeled off some time ago.The accessories all looked new, they were sealed, the charger was worn, the handset looked new though which was the important thing.Basically whe i turned it on it said 'Unregistered USIM' so i called three, they asked for the IMEI number, and confirmed that the handset was blocked.The man from Three couldnt tell me why it had been blocked but hypothetically he said a network would barr a stolen handset or one that had been reported broken and replaced by an insurer.I went back to the auction page and took a good look at the picture, the box on the picture was immaculate, the accessories wrapped differently.I emailed the seller saying that the phone was blocked and that i believed they had pulled an insurance job not realising that the insurance company would notify three and the handest get blocked, i therefore said i was prepared to give the benefit of the doubt and wanted a refund and wouldnt take it any further, i politly added that if i heard nothing id be sending small claims papers to the address on the back of the parcel.The seller called me very very quickly, he was okay, not mean or anything but he started by saying how rude my emails were. And that i had no right to be rude! Believe me they were tame for me! He then went on to spend 15 minutes defending himself saying he's found a gap in the market buying and selling phones and if i had bothered to look at his feedback id have seen he was a trader. He therefore claimed the handset was bought from someone else, tested, worked and sent out to me. He showed no anger towards the person who 'sold him the phone', this was strange.I argued why i thought it was an insurance scam, the box was old, his reply 'i never said the box was new, just the phone!' I think i actually laughed out loud at this one!Anyway, he was far too defensive, clearly lying, the handset in the picture as ar as i believe was the new insurance replacment, what he sent me was a mix of the old box and phone, with the new accessories and manual and a new facia.I did however get a refund!

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