[beneficial]

Hi all!

I have a bb torch and i recently lost it so i reported it to the insurance company. They sent me a refurbished torch after i paid a deductible of $125. This was about a month ago. I recently found the phone under my car seat that i lost a month ago. My dad, who is in the same family as I lost his phone 3 days ago. I was wondering if i can give him the torch that i reported lost to use? He will only use the torch as a phone. He doesn't use bb services, internet, nor texting. Do you think at&t and or the insurance company will find out and charge/fine me? Please help! Thanks Ben...

[ShadowFlame]

Why don't you call them and ask them??

[bold.lover943]

Let us know what happened. I am wondering the same thing

[BB-MAZDASPEED]

ask your dad to check under his seat, maybe his phone is there!!!!.. lol just kidding, ya i wanna know how that goes

[qbnkelt]

If it was reported stolen your phone will most likely be "blacklisted" unless you contact RIM. There was a very informative post here on the forum a while back, someone who had bought a phone off eBay which had been stolen. If I can find it I'll link it here, it may help you.

***Edit - found it. Hope it helps.***

http://forums.crackberry.com/f2/so-t...listed-544393/

[mklee90]

LOL wait... I just realized...

Why don't you put your sim card in your old Torch to see if it works???

That way you can check to see if it's blacklisted or not by trying to use bbm, internet, etc.

[TorchFrank]

If a phone has been reported lost your cell service carrier has put a stop on that phones ESN number so if the phone is found it can't be used. Call your carrier and explain the situation, they will clear the ESN and your dad can get a sim card and use the phone

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[escobar973]

9 out of 10 times it will still be usable. The issue would have to be escalated to the max for it to get blacklisted. I worked for at&t and it's not as simple as it should be, though it should. Fact is, whether the phone is lost or stolen, chances are it will still be usable. Stolen or lost, it's still an opportunity for money to the carrier.

[amazinglygraceless]

My dad, who is in the same family as I

Completely off topic but this line made me chuckle

Posted from my phone at wapforums.crackberry.com

[kbz1960]

^^^^^^ plus 1

[Motorcycle Mama]

You reported it lost to the insurance company. Using it would constitute insurance fraud.

[ridesno159]

Just to add to this scenario. If the phone is still usable, when your dad puts his SIM card in Att will see that it's a smartphone and they will add the most expensive data plan to it. ALL smartphones on Att activated after September of this year (I think it was that month) will REQUIRE a data plan. No if, ands, or buts about it...

So if your dad wants to use it, he will need to add at least the $15 BlackBerry data plan to the account. As I said, if your dad just puts in his SIM card Att will add the $25 plan to the account for him. It might take a few days or maybe just a few hours, but it will be added.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[amazinglygraceless]

@ridesno159. You're right about the automatic data plan but it was
September of 2009 that the policy change went into effect

Posted from my 9800 at wapforums.crackberry.com

[ridesno159]

Ahhh, thanks AG!

At least I got the month right, shows how fast 2010 went...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[beneficial]

Just to add to this scenario. If the phone is still usable, when your dad puts his SIM card in Att will see that it's a smartphone and they will add the most expensive data plan to it. ALL smartphones on Att activated after September of this year (I think it was that month) will REQUIRE a data plan. No if, ands, or buts about it...

So if your dad wants to use it, he will need to add at least the $15 BlackBerry data plan to the account. As I said, if your dad just puts in his SIM card Att will add the $25 plan to the account for him. It might take a few days or maybe just a few hours, but it will be added.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

not true.. i gave my mom my iphone 3gs before getting the torch and she is using it w/o a data plan. at&t does recognize she is using an iphone 3gs but is not charging her an extra data plan. she's been using the phone for about 2 months now. besides, i have a block on data usage on her line.

[Pete6]

It is possible that the phone in question is blacklisted. This means that its IMEI has been blocked from working on any US network. Blacklisting happens quite often and here's why.

Say you have a phone and you lose it someplace and let's also say that you have it insured against loss. You call you insurance company and they cough up for a new phone. Now let's say you find your original phone. Hmmm. In truth, this device now really belongs to your insurance company but... (I am sure that no CrackBerry member would ever even allow the slightest vestige of this most unworthy thought to even surface in their brains -- yea, right) you decide to sell it on CraigsList. You offer it cheap so as to get a quick sale.

You insurance company however knows that your old phone now belongs the them and the also know this phone's IMEI and they have it blacklisted forever within the entire country - just in case it is not a Crackberry member.

Such a phone will never, ever work in its own country. For it to work, this phone MUST be taken to a country other than where it was bought, used, lost and paid out on. Again, not that we would ever think of doing that...

[ISUNickIV]

Just to add to this scenario. If the phone is still usable, when your dad puts his SIM card in Att will see that it's a smartphone and they will add the most expensive data plan to it. ALL smartphones on Att activated after September of this year (I think it was that month) will REQUIRE a data plan. No if, ands, or buts about it...

So if your dad wants to use it, he will need to add at least the $15 BlackBerry data plan to the account. As I said, if your dad just puts in his SIM card Att will add the $25 plan to the account for him. It might take a few days or maybe just a few hours, but it will be added.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Not 100% true... My wife got an 8310 two years ago without a Data Package. When September 2009 hit, she was "Grandfathered" in and has not had a data package automatically added to the account. She can put her SIM into my BB and it does not add data to our account. As long as she doesn't upgrade/renew her contract with a new smartphone, we will not have to add data to the account.

[ridesno159]

Not 100% true... My wife got an 8310 two years ago without a Data Package. When September 2009 hit, she was "Grandfathered" in and has not had a data package automatically added to the account. She can put her SIM into my BB and it does not add data to our account. As long as she doesn't upgrade/renew her contract with a new smartphone, we will not have to add data to the account.

Right, but if you go I to Att and buy a new phone from them and get a discount you will be forced into the data plan. If you buy one off of EBay then your grandfathered plan will stay.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[ratm68]

9 out of 10 times it will still be usable. The issue would have to be escalated to the max for it to get blacklisted. I worked for at&t and it's not as simple as it should be, though it should. Fact is, whether the phone is lost or stolen, chances are it will still be usable. Stolen or lost, it's still an opportunity for money to the carrier.

I think Escobar layed it out the best. You guys are all over analyzing the situation..legality..ethics..blah blah blah..this is a business. The more phones that are on the carrier's network, the more money they make. I'm not gonna lie, the OP's post is very suspect, for the fact that you rarely "find" a lost phone..moral ethics aside, it probably will work although i'd simply suggest you sell it and buy your dad a new phone in case somebody's on your BB trails..haha

[tedzone]

Hi all!

I have a bb torch and i recently lost it so i reported it to the insurance company. They sent me a refurbished torch after i paid a deductible of $125. This was about a month ago. I recently found the phone under my car seat that i lost a month ago. My dad, who is in the same family as I lost his phone 3 days ago. I was wondering if i can give him the torch that i reported lost to use? He will only use the torch as a phone. He doesn't use bb services, internet, nor texting. Do you think at&t and or the insurance company will find out and charge/fine me? Please help! Thanks Ben...

Speaking of Rogers and Fido. The answer is-- no one cares. Thieves steal iPhone display units out of my stores a few times a year, the phones are on the network literally minutes later and no one does sh!t about it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[bigsteveatt]

If a phone has been reported lost your cell service carrier has put a stop on that phones ESN number so if the phone is found it can't be used. Call your carrier and explain the situation, they will clear the ESN and your dad can get a sim card and use the phone

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Negative. They will tell you to return one of the phones. ATT will tell you to do the same. Assurion, the insurance company, replaced your phone at a fraction of the actual cost. If you keep the other one, it's called insurance fraud.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[escobar973]

When you call your carrier for losing your phone, they will suspend your account at your request. But pretty much anyone can pop a sim in and start using it in some way. For it to get blacklisted, you'll need to get that PIN# far up into the escalation process for it to be completely useless. I worked for at&t Tier II support and dealt with RIM many times. It's not that easy, trust me. The carrier doesn't care if you lose your phone. You are still responsible for the bill minus any authorized usage while it was lost. Thats it. At the end, it's just another opportunity for the carrier to make money with another phone outhere. This unless your some government official or someone who has some power to really make it an issue on how "important" this phone was to you.

[beneficial]

hey thanks for all the great info guys... bottom line is that if i used the lost phone it would be considered insurance fraud so i've decided to return the lost phone to asurion. thanks again!