Bought a hot phone, am I screwed?

[xxmeatxx]

I bought a mts blackberry 8330 from kijiji and i didnt get a bill of sale. There saying to me at Mts that I cant put the phone on my account unless i have a bill of sale. The guy has disappeared, is there anything i can do? or am I screwed.

[Zach7]

I haven't heard of anyone requiring a bill of sale to activate a phone on an account, but maybe that is their policy. Did they say the phone was listed as stolen?

[xxmeatxx]

no the person that had the phone before didnt pay their last bill.

[Zach7]

Gotcha, that makes sense then why they want a bill of sale. Well, any other carrier options? Maybe have the blackberry unlocked to use on a different network?

[xxmeatxx]

no need it for my girl and she is on mts. i have two telus blackberries, but i dont understand the unlocking business. And have no idea if mts would put them on there carrier even if they were unlocked

[dancing-bass]

kinda late to the game here, but this is the deal. In canada (to the best of my knowlege) CDMA phones cannot be "unlocked" to be used on a different network. A MTS phone has to be used on MTS. (GSM phones that use a SIM card can be unlocked but that's another ball of wax)

OP, you're stuck. Whenever you buy a used phone, always find out which provider it was being used with, then call that provider (or meet at a store) to verify that the ESN (the phone's ID within the provider) is clear. Way to many people make a fast buck like this. They can't afford the phone bill, it gets cut off, and then they sell the phone to some poor unsuspecting person. The only way to get this phone going again is to settle the account tied to the phone. AKA pay someone else's phone bill plus any service charges.... chances are you're better off buying the device brand new, but if you're careful you can buy used devices without problem.