Buying used Note 2...question about Verizon

[juny20]

Hi, I am planning to buy a used Note 2 for Verizon. The guy told me he did not use it and that he got it as his upgrade. He told me his account is in good standing, but he is going to another carrier (cheaper). My question is, if I get the Note 2 and activate it and then he does not pay his account, will Verizon mess up the ESN on the Note 2, making it unusable? Do I run any risk getting the Note 2 given this scenario?

He said that as soon as I activate it under my account, the ESN will be attached to my account and nothing will happen to it. But, I want to make sure before I spend any money.

 

[jhawkkw]

This has happened in the past, and there have been threads where a member complains that this happened to them. If he actually closes his account, then you are safe. But if he stops paying it, it is very possible the esn will get black listed and then become unusable. This is the risk one takes when buying a used phone.

 

[timelord65]

Call Verizon and ask them to check the ESN # they will let you know if the phone is free to be activated or is still tied to an account. If it is tied to an account you will not be able to activate it.

Never buy a phone until you check with Verizon first.

 

[jhawkkw]

Call Verizon and ask them to check the ESN # they will let you know if the phone is free to be activated or is still tied to an account. If it is tied to an account you will not be able to activate it.

Never buy a phone until you check with Verizon first.

There should be no problem activating it if it is still tied to an account, seeing as how the problem that the OP is afraid of has happened before. If that does happen, then there's nothing you can do. If you were to go this route, I would go to the Verizon store with the person your buying it from to be sure he closes his account before you activate the phone.

Edit: Example 1
Edit: Example 2

 

[juny20]

Thank you for the examples! I have purchased a palm pre ii, a samsung stratosphere, a galaxy nexus, and a motorola razr maxx (first one ebay, second swappa, third traded here, fourth craigslist). I have to say, the razr maxx have me nervous about something like this happening. The guy seemed as if he was withholding information. And, he sold me the Razr Maxx only; no charger or box. It has been working fine, but given the examples, I just hope that a few months down the road the phone gets on the blacklist. The guy selling the Note 2 sounds as if there was something else going on. If he is planning to go with another carrier, he can just go delinquent on his Verizon account and then the Note 2 would get on the black list. It sounds like too big of a risk for me to take. Plus, the price he is selling for is too good to be true. Oh well. I can see the reason for Verizon doing this. It is not fair for the company to discount a phone just to have the person sell it for a profit while defaulting on the contract. If Google keeps releasing Nexus devices at the price point of the Nexus 4, I might go with T-mobile just to avoid this discounted cells on contracts while paying a more affordable price for a fully unlocked phone like the Nexus 4.

 

[chris2k5]

When you buy it have the guy meet you at the Verizon Store. You should have the Verizon tech guys activate it on your account right away.

Once it is on your account, anything that happens with the other guy's account should not affect the phone.

 

[BrianJB]

When you buy it have the guy meet you at the Verizon Store. You should have the Verizon tech guys activate it on your account right away.

Once it is on your account, anything that happens with the other guy's account should not affect the phone.

Thats exactly what I do. I had a CL deal once where the guy didn't want to meet at vzw but I insisted. Thank god I did, once we got there it literally took an hour to get the phone on my account. He wasn't the account holder, and the account was a month overdue. So he had to pay the balance, and get the account holder on the phone.

If we had just met up at walmart I would've traded for a paperweight.


But like chris said, the best way is to meet at vzw and have the phone added to your account there, then the phone is yours.

 

[timelord65]

You can also call Verizon from another phone when you meet. Call and ask a rep to check the ESN. Verizon will let you know if the phone is clear and ready to be activated on your account. So you don't actually have to meet at a Verizon store either.

Then once you activate it, it doesn't matter what the former owner does since its your phone now.