Scammed
06-07-2006, 05:00 PM
I feel like a complete idiot.
My brother recently had his birthday. He is a professional accountant by trade. His office does not reimburse employees for Blackberry's because the partners do not want to always be accessable. For managers, however, having a Blackberry is somewhat crucial.
I figured that as his older brother, I would buy him a Blackberry for his birthday. Being somewhat of a penny-pincher, I always try and find the best deal. If it means that it fell off the back of a truck, so be it. I checked out Rogers' website and learned that the 8700r retailed for a whopping $600. I could afford the $600, no problem, but why pay $600 when someone on Craigslist was selling theirs for a cool $400.
The Blackberry was advertised as unlocked, new, and all that jazz. I checked it out. It was in brand new condition. The seller even had the original box and manuals and everything. I was not the least bit worried about the transaction. The seller seemed like a legit. person and his reason for selling was more than valid IMO. Without hesitating, I paid the $400, excited to see my brother's reaction when I would hand him his present.
His reaction was as follows: "You idiot.. this doesn't work."
When I bought it, I threw my SIM card in there to make sure it worked. It did, no problems. I would later learn that there was a PIN which was cancelled.
Apperently the seller had either found or stolen the phone (which was subsequently reported lost/stolen) and Rogers' disabled the PIN, meaning that my present to my brother was merely an oversized phone with a keyboard on it. The email capabilities were useless, which was 95% of the reason my brother needed/wanted a Blackberry.
My question is, where do I go from here? The seller is not answering his phone at this juncture in time. The ad on Craigslist has been deleted. I am not the type to persue revenge or anything like that. I have been cheated for $400. Is there anything I can do to at least recoup part of this? Once the PIN has been blocked, is there anything I can do to get a new PIN or is that all she wrote?
Any tips or suggestions would be more than appreciated. Please refrain from calling me an idiot. If I had all this info a week ago, I would havef most certainly not purchased a Blackberry on the black market.
Cheers!
My brother recently had his birthday. He is a professional accountant by trade. His office does not reimburse employees for Blackberry's because the partners do not want to always be accessable. For managers, however, having a Blackberry is somewhat crucial.
I figured that as his older brother, I would buy him a Blackberry for his birthday. Being somewhat of a penny-pincher, I always try and find the best deal. If it means that it fell off the back of a truck, so be it. I checked out Rogers' website and learned that the 8700r retailed for a whopping $600. I could afford the $600, no problem, but why pay $600 when someone on Craigslist was selling theirs for a cool $400.
The Blackberry was advertised as unlocked, new, and all that jazz. I checked it out. It was in brand new condition. The seller even had the original box and manuals and everything. I was not the least bit worried about the transaction. The seller seemed like a legit. person and his reason for selling was more than valid IMO. Without hesitating, I paid the $400, excited to see my brother's reaction when I would hand him his present.
His reaction was as follows: "You idiot.. this doesn't work."
When I bought it, I threw my SIM card in there to make sure it worked. It did, no problems. I would later learn that there was a PIN which was cancelled.
Apperently the seller had either found or stolen the phone (which was subsequently reported lost/stolen) and Rogers' disabled the PIN, meaning that my present to my brother was merely an oversized phone with a keyboard on it. The email capabilities were useless, which was 95% of the reason my brother needed/wanted a Blackberry.
My question is, where do I go from here? The seller is not answering his phone at this juncture in time. The ad on Craigslist has been deleted. I am not the type to persue revenge or anything like that. I have been cheated for $400. Is there anything I can do to at least recoup part of this? Once the PIN has been blocked, is there anything I can do to get a new PIN or is that all she wrote?
Any tips or suggestions would be more than appreciated. Please refrain from calling me an idiot. If I had all this info a week ago, I would havef most certainly not purchased a Blackberry on the black market.
Cheers!