Database Users

Vodafone nightmare ends in tears

I've had a vodafone nightmare.
I called to get a pac code last week in order to migrate from vodafone to O2 to get an Exec. I was literally in the middle of ordering an Exec when Vodafone called me back and said, "We know you're leaving because you can't get an HTC Universal from us, well we've found one for you, we call it the Qtek 1620."
Erm, I said, that's not a Universal, it's a Blue Angel. Queue a long debate on the phone with them, the guy assures me it's definitely a Universal and even describes the rotating screen. I say fine, but please record my concerns...
Then followed days of broken promises regarding delivery... mistake after mistake, somehow they sent it to Newbury instead of Sheffield (easy mistake to make, of course!) and ultimately it arrived this morning... and guess what I received: A Vodafone VPA 1620, aka a Blue Angel. Grrr.
More long converstations resulted in, 'sorry but there's nothing we can do.'
So now I'm waiting for news on my order with O2 and deciding whether to return the 1620 or ebay it and maintain the minimum payments on the contract - I'd only be about £30 up in the long run but the cash in hand would be nice for Christmas.
And pity my poor work colleagues who've had to put up with my moaning about all this for the last week!
Matt S.

I'd return it - claim compo for being blatantly lied to and demand your release code and if anyone refuses you, escalate to the highest possible.

Returning my VPA 1620 to vodafone. They've given me some credit on my account (which is fine since my wife still has a vodafone handset on the same account) and made the expected copious apologies.
Ordered an xda exec from Mobilefun.co.uk which went through smoothly except for a statement at about 2pm 'yes it's in stock, in fact yours is being prepared for dispatch right now' to, at 4pm, "sorry we're out of stock - we should get some more in on Friday".
I'm beginning to think somebody upstairs doesn't want me to get a Universal!

This just isn't meant to be. Mobilefun now say they won't be getting any on Friday as O2 can't supply them, and they can't give any update on when they'll be able to. What a mess!

o2 stores have them in stock - either that or try onestopphoneshop

Probably because every man and his dog are buying them on cheap contract then ebaying them for a profit...
Not that its not a good idea, but a bit greedy and upsets the poorer people that want the phone and contract but dont have oooodles of money.

In Europe during the first 6 workdays after signing and 'activating the service of a contract' it can be cancelled without any reprecussions. During the first 2 weeks after something was 'bought' it can be returned to the seller to get a refund when a product doesn't do what you expect from it. Perhaps something to think of. This is settled by law and even if companies say it is impossible they never are above the law.
grtzzzz roel..

I'm not really sure whats going on with the o2 EXEC.
They are giving them away .. by the thousand weight.
I'm still waiting for one now, its on 'back order' and has been for some two weeks. They've even offered me an XDA IIi for free on o2 200!
I suspect they will either not have anymore of these coming in or something will change, probably the price or locking the sim/software to deter reselling.
Just hoping I get one now for the pre-agreed price and within my lifetime.
*sniff

onestopphoneshop don't have any. O2 say they do, but only at £150 :-(

hi
try this , a dedicated thread about how to get exec cheap
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=32105

Thanks but I am getting it cheap ..
£149 + £15 a month o2 400
I just dont seem to be getting the f*** handset.
Still waiting after two weeks!

Universals on E bay

Why are there so many for sale - advertised new and going for about 70 euros.
Is there a problem with them.
Do they need to be unlocked.
I was going to buy one at that price as a spare/to try mods on.
Steve

I have one for sale if you are interested, it has been opened, but all items are still sealed and un used. £380 (Boxed & Mint condition) if you are interested, I live in Bedfordshire, the unit is unlocked and contract free.

Sound suspiciously 'Nigerian' no me.
If it's too good to be true & if it's on ebay.....
say no more, don't be a mug UNLESS YOU'RE 10,000% SURE!
Andy
PS
Put it this way, you won't get a BUST one for under 140 quid (and i'm NOT including the marked up postage costs). Without a box in good working condtion, £300. Boxed & Mint, >£400, so go figure at 70E.
I got mine Bust for £80 - dozy tosser mislisted it - ha my bargain. 1/2 hour later fixed the damn thing. Friggin mint condition t'boot.
BTW, I'll bet my bottom dorrar that the seller is Chinese....
And I'll place another bet, I bet the listing will won't last long....

hollytree said:
Why are there so many for sale - advertised new and going for about 70 euros.
Is there a problem with them.
Do they need to be unlocked.
I was going to buy one at that price as a spare/to try mods on.
Steve
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A new universal for 70 euros... mmmm i'll have ten units please; unlocked or not...
It is probably a scammer selling these 'items' under someone elses account.

I got mine on Ebay for 420 pounds. I'm in australia and you'd be lucky to get it for 600 pounds here. works like a charm. of course AFTER i upgraded with the JasJar ROM and burnt O2's software

I bought one on eBay for GBP 414, but the seller reneged -- he said he could not get the phone from his supplier. I quoted him eBay policy on selling items that are not already in possession of the seller. He was apologetic, and said this is the first time it's happened (his feedback shows previous Universal sales which were successful). He has a 99.7% feedback rating, with 358 positives and 1 negative from long ago. He said he's going to refund me, but has to wait for a bank transfer to clear PayPal, since he already transfered the money out of PayPal. Sounds suspicious. But I have PayPal buyer protection (for what it's worth), and I used my credit card. I will give him time, and if he still doesn't refund, I'll go through the non-selling seller process.
So I bought from a different seller for GBP 431, and I am waiting for it.
So many of these Universal auctions say "opened only to inspect" or "opened only to test", that it sounds suspicious.
Also, many of them say "unwanted upgrade", as if they were mailed a free phone and just want to get rid of it. Does O2 mail free Universals as upgrades?
Don't buy Universals on eBay unless the seller has 99+% feedback > 100, and the auction is covered under the "Free PayPal Buyer Protection". Look at their feedbacks, and what they bought/sold earlier. Pay with PayPal, and use a credit card as the funding source.

'free' at £75/month, min term 18months.
So if you consider £1400 free, then yes, they're 'free'.
Anyway, rules of ebay are:
1) It's a sellers market
2) Don't be greedy or you'll get a deserved bite in the ass
3) Supply & demand rules the roost.
4) research research research
5) READ FEEDBACKS & APPLY A BIT OF NOUNCE!!!
Hunt around for mislisted items - takes time but jeeeez the bargains I've scooped! Hence:
6) You put the effort in, you get the rewards out.
Andy

I had a look at those 70Euro Universals.
Seller from overseas? Check
Selling price way too low? Check
Seller doesn't take paypal? Check
1 day auction? Check
Seller's username appears randomly generated? Check
New seller account with feedback of around 10? Check
Feedback comments all left in a very short time interval? Check
Feedback comments brief and unlike genuine feedback? Check
Feedback left by 10 feedback, randomly generated usernames? Check
Initial bid from 10 feedback, randomly generated username? Check
So it rates 10/10 on the scammometer! But what the hell - bid on it anyway!

ROFL! :lol:
Yep, came across one of these & was about to flag it as a scam & as I was looking, it got removed!!!
Andy

spv-m5000 unlocked
gd day all i have them for you shippin via ems from israel to worldwide
spv-m5000 brand new unlocked
450 gbp + 15 gbp shipping
send me a private message if you want

Tried to sell mine on ebay a couple of times now , each time some idiot ruins the auction - so not sure who to trust now

I see these posting all the time for all sorts of high priced electronics. They are so easy to spot really if you follow the guidelines people posted above.
leek said:
So many of these Universal auctions say "opened only to inspect" or "opened only to test", that it sounds suspicious.
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IMO neither of those are suspisious. It means i have a better chance of getting a working unit. And just because someone got a free upgrade and does not state it does not make the listing any more legit.
I sold a spare XDA Exec on ebay which i acttually got as a cheap upgrade but not free. My wife prefers her existing phone. I knew it had a good chance of going out of the UK so for me to not check it would be madness. I wanted to list it as Sim Free i could not do that without physically checking. Plus i could not list it as working if i did not know that fior sure.
leek said:
Also, many of them say "unwanted upgrade", as if they were mailed a free phone and just want to get rid of it. Does O2 mail free Universals as upgrades?
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Yes this does happen a lot. O2 want to keep your business so at the end of your contract you are eligble for an upgrade to tie you up again for 12 or 18 months. They look at your history and if you have spent a lot of money with them on calls you get lots of offers. The more you have spent the better the offers. A lot of people are happy with there existing phone but know they could make a lot of money selling the new one.
zoidster said:
Tried to sell mine on ebay a couple of times now , each time some idiot ruins the auction - so not sure who to trust now
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Yes this is another bad problem with ebay. You have the option to remove bidders and to cancel the auction early to the highest bidder. You can only do this up until 12hrs before the auction ends. When i sold mine i waited to just before the 12hrs deadline and accepted the highest bidder i considered genuine based on their location and feedback that had an agreeable price for me. I was not out to make as much as i could get but just a fair price.
This worked well for me.

Dingo said:
I see these posting all the time for all sorts of high priced electronics. They are so easy to spot really if you follow the guidelines people posted above.
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See what postings?
So many of these Universal auctions say "opened only to inspect" or "opened only to test", that it sounds suspicious.
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Click to collapse
IMO neither of those are suspisious. It means i have a better chance of getting a working unit.
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But it could be being used to sell a unit as "new" while hiding that it was "used".
And just because someone got a free upgrade and does not state it does not make the listing any more legit.
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???
(You probably meant "any less legit", but it still doesn't make sense. I said that they do state that they have an unwanted upgrade, something which sounds suspicious because it seems to be hiding something else. "Oh, I'm just selling this because it's an unwanted upgrade. I won't tell you anything else about it though.")
I sold a spare XDA Exec on ebay which i acttually got as a cheap upgrade but not free. My wife prefers her existing phone. I knew it had a good chance of going out of the UK so for me to not check it would be madness. I wanted to list it as Sim Free i could not do that without physically checking.
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All Execs are unlocked AFAIK.
Plus i could not list it as working if i did not know that fior sure.
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I always offer refunds on DOA equipment. Be sure to write down the serial number and put it in the auction, or someone might trade their defective unit for yours.
zoidster said:
Tried to sell mine on ebay a couple of times now , each time some idiot ruins the auction - so not sure who to trust now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes this is another bad problem with ebay. You have the option to remove bidders and to cancel the auction early to the highest bidder. You can only do this up until 12hrs before the auction ends. When i sold mine i waited to just before the 12hrs deadline and accepted the highest bidder i considered genuine based on their location and feedback that had an agreeable price for me. I was not out to make as much as i could get but just a fair price.
This worked well for me.
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You're missing out on the sniper bids by ending early, but as you say, you weren't out to make as much as you can get.

leek said:
All Execs are unlocked AFAIK.
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I believe the german market units are providor locked. But don't quote me...
Richard

Hi,
I got my Vodafone V1640 for 330 GBP on eBay.
The seller accepted PayPal but anyway I spent a few days worried about not getting the phone.
It took 4-5 days till I received it.
Unfortunately it is locked to Vodafone UK and I want to use it with Vodafone Portugal.
No luck till now for the unlock code...
Cheers

I have over 900 + feedback on ebay and I always buy from those who have Buyer protection if its over £100. Bought my exec back in dec/jan this year from a guy who had 2 for sale for £385. The first had a screen calibration problem as if it'd been dropped. Sent him an email and he promptly sent me his other one just as soon as I sent him the first back. Since then absolutely no problems.
Also I always mention when selling that any1 with less than 5 + feedback will have their bids removed. I make sure I'm logged in for the last minutes of the auction in case I get sum1 with less then 5 feedback messing around. And I sure have had to cancel a few bids in the last few minutes. HTH

Consider this
£378 will buy a XDA Exec direct from O2's site brand new.
This is £150 for the XDA & 12 * monthly cost of £19
(which includes 50 anytime mins per month.)
Puts some of the £400-£500 Buy it Now deals in perspective.
Well in the UK at least.

O2 XDA Exec (aka Universial) porting desktop app to WM5.0

I have a project where I will be porting an application (VB and SQL) to WM5.0 and the target is expected to be an O2XDA Exec, Orange SPV M5000 etc... Universal??
Anyway I am trying to figure out if these are dodgey at all but there seem to be plenty of new O2XDA Exec on ebay with prices way below what the same units would/should cost from O2 et al without contracts.
I expect a few members might have bought from ebay??? so asking what peeps views are.
The sellers always seem to have 20 or so units but everything is anonymous and seem to have to part with money in advance and cannot do this in person so more than a bit cautious.
I am going to need a couple for development and testing.
Regards,
Dom

Universal from Ebay
I bought my brandnew O2 XDA Exec from Ebay for less than 2/3 the price you would pay for it from any 02 shop. No problems at all

OP, you've just described Ebay as whole ;-D
I suppose it's like everything else on that site: sometimes you get a good deal, sometimes you get burned. Personally I had good and bad experiences on Ebay, just like any other 'ad board' site or magazine.
EDIT: check out this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=53525&highlight= for a cautionary tale...

Re: Universal from Ebay
elkitos said:
I bought my brandnew O2 XDA Exec from Ebay for less than 2/3 the price you would pay for it from any 02 shop. No problems at all
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From an individual or a trader outlet?
Sorry to ask but these are not cheap enough to make a mistake.
Regards,
Dom

mdaexecfan said:
OP, you've just described Ebay as whole ;-D
I suppose it's like everything else on that site: sometimes you get a good deal, sometimes you get burned. Personally I had good and bad experiences on Ebay, just like any other 'ad board' site or magazine.
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Ditto, why I was asking. Don't want to get burned for £500 and no XDA's.
Found what seemed to be a good deal at about 2/3 (£280) of the RRP (£400 ish) from one ebay trader. I wanted to exchange cash in person and all of a sudden it wasn't possible and there was this reason and that reason why they couldn't... all sounded far too dodgey to me.
BTW it was someone from O2 shop that said look on ebay when I said I just wanted the phones without the contract.
Dom

I got my MDA Pro from eBay for £250. It was brand new and sealed, I am very happy with it.
You have to be very careful when you buy from eBay.
Always email the seller and ask if you can collect and pay cash. If they refuse then ask yourself why? Maybe its dodgy - sometimes it maybe genuine.
Also check their previous selling history - if they have never ever sold any pdas/phone and suddenly they have 20 PDA's for sale then be careful - usually very dodgy.
Good Luck...

On the matter of refusing to accept cash to be fair I suppose I'd be the same. When you bet on something it clearly tells you how the payments are accepted: usually paypal.
Personally if someone bought my 500pounds device and wanted to switch the payment mode to cash right after winning the option, the alarms bells would be ringing too. I'd probably just say no and explain the above but some people don't like saying no and rather make crappy excuses instead... in which case the alarm bells would then be ringing in the buyer's ears this time round...

From an individual.

mdaexecfan said:
On the matter of refusing to accept cash to be fair I suppose I'd be the same. When you bet on something it clearly tells you how the payments are accepted: usually paypal.
Personally if someone bought my 500pounds device and wanted to switch the payment mode to cash right after winning the option, the alarms bells would be ringing too. I'd probably just say no and explain the above but some people don't like saying no and rather make crappy excuses instead... in which case the alarm bells would then be ringing in the buyer's ears this time round...
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Oh wasn't before winning, insisted on emails with bidders before he would accept any bids from you. Would cancel bids otherwise.
It looked like he had the items as a fixed price and would sell direct just not through ebay and so no ebay protection etc... why I asked face to face and cash.
Regards,
Dom

what kinda apps r u gona be porting?

I am porting amateur radio logging, prediction and rig control software(last one a bit of a non-starter as these do not have USB host and not sure can get rs232 connectivity working).
There will also be some additional Oracle, sql2000 and sql2005 monitoring apps written using VB .net
Regards,
Dom

I bought my O2 XDA Exec from Ebay, Paid $650.00 for it new in box and have had no problems with it. The seller was UK based and I live in the USA.

Well, my contract with O2 was up for renewal a couple of months ago and I said that I wanted my PAC code as I was going to switch to Orange as I wanted a Universal. In the end O2 said I could have a new O2 Exec for FREE on a O2 500 tarrif for £25/mth. Of course I accepted.

Dom,
I got a refurbished Vodafone V1640 from a business seller on ebay for £240! It came with everything in its original box. The only flaws were a small scratch on one of the hinges (stated in description) and a little polarisation flaw on the screen (NOT stated in description, but it's not too much of a problem). Overall I think I made a good purchase.

where to sell my hermes?

Hi all,
i just need a guide or advice on how and where to sell my hermes ( vario II ) with the best price? thanks

If you need some input into this you need to provide just a smidgen more detail. To help the grey matter get going:
- How old is it?
- What condition is it in (good, fair, poor)?
- Describe damage incurred, if any.
- Why are you selling?
- Are there any extra's, accessories, etc included?
- How much are you looking to sell it for?
- Is it locked or unlocked?
- Have you got all of the original components that came with the phone, eg manual, disks, etc?
Do you see where I am going with this? Once you can give these details then either someone will come along and make you an offer or you will be told where you might best go to get the best price.
Good luck with the sale.
WB

EBAY is very active with HERMES sales. Go to their web site and see what others are doing with them, prices, details, etc....

Or just sell it to me for 60 bucks and be done with it
d

dwella said:
Or just sell it to me for 60 bucks and be done with it
d
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I will give $61 then.

ill top that with $70.99
kidding aside, you might want to try and explore other sites too as their are other sites with members wanting to have your device.. thats how i did mine...

Where to sell my hermes? Careful at eBay...
Ebay and selling my Hermes
Ref. your query I just tried selling my phone on eBay for a month or so. I was blessed with so much scamming I gave up.
10 Fake sells- Where a buyer says they have paid the payment in escrow with paypal etc. please send to South Africa, or Nigeria payment has been made. All took a couple of 3 days each to re-list with Google and list as a fraud so you can get your money back from Google. Each time potential real buyers get out bid by the fake buyers, then don't rebid. I gave up in the end.
All of these were a bit different and some seem genuine, (no sending to nigeria). Trouble with paypal, can they pay direct etc.
The scams are sooo good now (sometimes) they are even faking emails from paypal. The more savvy will see the obvious aspects.
So consider something besides eBay.

I've had luck with my local Craigslist in both buying my Hermes and selling my Wizard.

E-Cell Global- BAD

Total and utter nightmare, appauling delivery and contact, DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY. They trade on ebay and are absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, the most unreliable, untrustworthy shower of sh#t.........you have been warned.

If this is the same E-Cell that sell car holders, 12v chargers and the like for phones, I bought one from them in the UK. Super fast delivery and good contact. The mount broke, and they replied the same day with an RMA number although it's not really worth doing that given it was so cheap to begin with. Superglue here I come

constablechris said:
If this is the same E-Cell that sell car holders, 12v chargers and the like for phones, I bought one from them in the UK. Super fast delivery and good contact. The mount broke, and they replied the same day with an RMA number although it's not really worth doing that given it was so cheap to begin with. Superglue here I come
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Funnily enough, I'd had items like that from them before, itouch cases etc, it seems to be with the bigger items that things start to go wrong, phones etc. This will be the second phone I have ordered from them in three months(for other poeple) and both times the item has been 'lost in the post'!

The Kop is right; I also attempted to order from E-Cell and I never got my Touch HD.
Luckily I managed to get a refund, but the course of that took 2 MONTHS! Looks like many people can't even get refunds.
Should have checked out their customer feedback before I paid, it's atrocious. They only deliver on stupid silicon cases for ipods and such. lol.

I bought my THD from E cell, it took 1 month to receive DUE TO THE POST OFFICE - NOT THE SELLER,
why people can't understand that the seller sends the item and if it is lost in transport it isn't his fault
(perhaps the postman would like to have what is in this big heavy box and state it is missing -happened to a 8gb iphone a year ago from usa)?
And the refund is slow due to Ebay process.
Anyway, Ecell had great communication and initiated a refund process when i requested it,
but at the 2nd day after that i received my Blackstone (@#$%$#@ Greek post employee strike - lazy bastar_s)

E_cell / elcell ((((warning))))
(((((((((((WARNING)))))))))))
Guys, people will make their own minds up about this 'company', but all I can do is warn people.....DO NOT USE THEM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
Too long to go into here, but if anyone wants my own sorry tale of dealing with them (on more than one occasion), please feel free to get in touch, pm me and I will contact you. I have every email they have sent me (14 of them).
DO NOT BUY A MOBILE FROM THIS COMPANY...
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED​

Kimosabesun said:
I bought my THD from E cell, it took 1 month to receive DUE TO THE POST OFFICE - NOT THE SELLER,
why people can't understand that the seller sends the item and if it is lost in transport it isn't his fault
(perhaps the postman would like to have what is in this big heavy box and state it is missing -happened to a 8gb iphone a year ago from usa)?
And the refund is slow due to Ebay process.
Anyway, Ecell had great communication and initiated a refund process when i requested it,
but at the 2nd day after that i received my Blackstone (@#$%$#@ Greek post employee strike - lazy bastar_s)
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Sorry mate, I've been doing a fair bit of research on this, check out their feedback on ebay, filter it so it's all negative, I think you may be suprised at just how many people fall victim to the 'LOST IN THE POST' bulls**t.

((((((UPDATE))))))
EBAY LOOKING INTO E_CELL, DEFINATELY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED, http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayI...-1&de=off&items=25&which=negative&interval=30

e_cell
Avoid this company like the plague. All dearer items are not despatched. What has happened on ebay to three strikes and you're out. This company gets hundreds of negatives a month and is still allowed to trade. I was lucky and got my money back through Paypal. This company are liars and abuse the system and give ebay a bad name.