Rory Reid
Rory lives, breathes and would probably even eat computers -- if there are chips and bites on the menu, he's happy. When he isn't digesting the latest PC tech, he's criticising manufacturers for force-feeding us worthless products and chastising hapless consumers for swallowing the industry's lies
Monday 4 February 2008, 2:57pm
3 Mobile in 'XXX-Series' shame
3 Mobile may have just lost a customer. The company sent me a refurbished Nokia E65 -- as an upgrade for my existing handset -- containing all the previous owner's data. Most disturbingly, the phone contained a close-up, high-resolution image of a naked, erect penis.
Needless to say, I'm shocked that 3 Mobile would send me pornography. Just imagine the outcome if my 10-year-old sister had asked to check out her big brother's funky new Wi-Fi-enabled phone? What would I have told her? That 3 is run by a bunch of imbeciles, probably -- I'd always assumed that the company had a bevy of safeguards to prevent such a monumental (ahem) cock-up.

But there's a bigger issue here: privacy and security. With the information on the handset, it was all too easy to build a profile of the previous owner and his friends, family and associates. Seriously, it wouldn't take a great deal of work for someone nastier than me to steal this guy's identity or wreak havoc with his interpersonal relationships with his friends, family and associates.
Within minutes I had determined his full name, home phone number, who he banks with, his place of employment, his local pub, the places he DJs at the weekend and the name and phone number of his partner. Not to mention said picture. Some people I couldn't track down if I tried, but I'm guessing anyone with the surname 'Backshot' or 'Super-Hung' is probably using a pseudonym.
I'd love to know how this happened. Did I accidentally subscribe to the XXX-Series add-on? Is this 3's way of punishing me for threatening to join O2 a few weeks ago? How many of its 3.5 million customers has this happened to? I'm assuming I can't be the only one.
I've demanded answers, but 3 has yet to give me any, other than to say they'll exchange the phone. Assuming its staff take a break from their busy schedule of re-distributing indecent pictures and sending people's private data all over the country, I'll update the story.
In the meantime -- I wouldn't recommend anyone go anywhere near a refurbished mobile phone. Least of all one from 3.
Comments on this post
Dont pretend that you weren't excited.
Posted by Ex E65 owner on Mon 4 February, 2008 3:50 PM
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Rory, Be thankful its wasn't the N95 with all those extra pixels....
Posted by Anonymous on Tue 5 February, 2008 8:49 PM
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I agree that this is a very worrying thing. not too long ago i sent nokia a faulty 8260 and was told that the data on it (contacts, photos etc) would be lost. What are the chances that it may have been refurbished and sent out? Lets hope not, but it shouldnt ever be a possibility. 3 has some serious explaining to do.
Posted by Andy on Fri 8 February, 2008 12:19 PM
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A worrying problem. A similar thing happened, but more expected, when my girlfriend chose to purchase a replacement phone via eBay! Joking aside, if the pictures were sold with a refurbished PC - I think there would be more alarms ringing and perhaps a trading standards agency would be involved. With refurbished / used phones, an assumption that they will have to be restored to factory defaults and "wiped" is becoming the sad norm.
Posted by Paul Valentine on Fri 8 February, 2008 8:28 PM
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As a 3 customer, I don't expect any issue I have with either phone or service to be resolved satisfactoraly. I will only be happy when my contracts with them are terminated.
Posted by Anonymous on Sun 10 February, 2008 3:31 PM
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I think it would be great to contact the person whose phone it was and together take a suit against 3. They need to held accountable in an official capacity - they may even improve their customer service as a result, you never know.
Posted by Dr Shoshana Garfield on Wed 2 April, 2008 6:47 PM
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I work for a well established DSGi PC Retail store, in their "Techy" Department, and something similar has happened before to a preowned machine that was sold, the machine is meant to be brought back to factory settings, but now this retail store has upped its game and told us to data cleanse all machines brought back that are faulty or unwanted!!! I think something like this needs to be in place for 3 and all other mobile phone company's if they decide to continue pawning off refurbished phones to loyal customers!
Posted by Anonymous on Thu 3 April, 2008 11:32 AM
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I have had the exact same problem but at Vodafone. The customer service was also appauling and always has been apart from when I threatened legal action. As well as someone else's initimate moments they also tried to replace the brand new phone [the only reason I subscribed to their contract] with THREE seperate 'refurbished' handsets. The only way they would listen to me was by refusing to leave their busy high street store in Manchester!
Posted by Neil on Fri 4 April, 2008 6:36 PM
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I had 4 contracts with the 3 network and cancelled all of them 9 months early.My contracts were half price for the duration but 3 took it upon themselves to double the amount a few months into the contract.This is a breach of contract but 3 customer services still insist i owe them money for the remainder of the contracts.They are the worst company i have ever had the mis-fortune to deal with.They are so unhelpful and actually talk over you with jargon when you call their customer services.I have used most networks but 3 is top of the list for customer services.
Posted by Joanne on Mon 26 May, 2008 10:52 AM
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Sorry i meant to say "top of the list" for the worst customer service! Take my advice do not enter into any contract with the 3 network! It will cost you dearly!
Posted by Joanne on Mon 26 May, 2008 10:56 AM
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well where do i start??!! My ongoing saga with 3 goes right back to feb 2006. I took out a contract with 3 tempted by their reasonable rates and the canny spiel of a independant agent. firstly the nokia i was issued with was faulty from the start, it was sent back 3 times and returned to me still faulty. After much rangling and frayed tempers i was issued with anew Nokia only to be confronted with yet another faulty handset, i was incensed!! I got nowhere with 3 on my own so took my complaint back to the agent who advocated on my behalf and managed to get another phone with similar specification off them. Did it end there I hear you ask?? NO!! Network coverage was diabolical, so after giving 3 six months i decided enough was enough and went about trying to terminate my contract, Big mistake!! The indian customer service dept had absolutely no grasp of my situation nor frustration and insisted that if i was to terminate my contract early then a fee would be charged amounting to in excess of £500. I was flabbergasted and despite me insisting that 3 were at fault in supplying me with faulty handsets and not providing the network coverage promised i got nowhere. I was told that i could decrease my payment scale incrementally until the end of the contract in March 2007, which i agreed too, wanting to be free from 3 as quickly and as painlessly as possible. So imagine my surprise thinking that my contract had been terminated and having worked abroad for a year with little attention paid to comings and goings in my bank account ( my own stupid fault I realise) that 3 had continued to take £35 per month out of my account from march 2007 to the present. When i asked for this to be addressed they denied all knowledge of any mention of termination of contract and demanded that i still give them 30 days notice to terminate. Just don't go there guys!!!
Posted by Kristoffer on Thu 12 June, 2008 5:38 PM
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3 Customer Service P.O.Box 333 Glasglow G29 AG Dear Sir I purchased a phone from Phones4U on an 18month contract in November 2007. Model no. K530i Sony Ericsson. After a month I was having problems with my phone and this is where it all started. 1. I went back to the Phones4U shop and they said it might need re-programming. I did this and upgraded the software but found it still did it now and again. The problem seemed to subside 2. Then eventually it got worse and I went back to where I purchased the phone. They basically didn’t want to know as they are not allowed to handle repairs for 3 phones. 3. I then had to go to the 3 store to explain everything that had happened and they sent to phone away to be repaired. 4. I had to go back to the store days later to pick up the phone 5. Another fault appeared on the phone approx 10 days after it had just been repaired, so I had to go back to the 3 store and they said the only thing they could do was send it back to be repaired. 6. Went back to pick the repaired phone up and after installing the battery and sim card made a phone call and the phone was still faulty. I passed it to the salesman so he could hear the fault. He apologised and the only thing he said he could do was send it back to be repaired. This was only seconds after I had just picked it up after being repaired. I said I wasn’t happy and he recommended that I go back to where I purchased the phone from to complain. 7. Went back to Phones4U , they basically again said they couldn’t help and told to me to phone 3’s customer service helpline. I did this while I was in the store but all they kept saying was we’ll send it back to be repaired. I said I wasn’t happy with this and asked that someone call me at home as the shop was now closing. 8. Over the next 2 days and several phone calls later a manager from 3 customer service agreed to replace the phone with a reconditioned unit and he would waiver a charge of £35. I said I didn’t think there should be any charge as it was not my fault the phone was faulty. 9. After receiving the new phone approx 10 days later another fault appeared. Again after several phone calls and speaking to several different people at 3’s customer service, they said it would have to be repaired. I said this was crazy as I had only had this new phone a few days. They said if I wanted another reconditioned phone there would be a charge of £35. 10. I wasn’t happy with 3’s response so I went back to Phones4U and explained the whole story again to the manager. He was very apologetic and said he would phone 3’s customer service on my behalf while I was in the store . He did this and after asking is there nothing we could do to help the customer out as he’s had all these problems, etc. etc. But he got the same response as I did and was told it would have to be sent back to be repaired. 11. I then went back to the 3 store and explained what had happened again and one of the sales people there said maybe if I was to send it back to Sony Ericsson with a detailed letter of everything that had gone on asking for them to maybe replace the phone with a different model as this one had let me down so many times. So this I did and sent it back to Sony Ericsson. 12. Weeks later I received a parcel with my old phone which had been repaired, and yes days later the phone has gone faulty again. 13. Phoned 3’s customer service spoke to an English person (Scottish) for the first time. She was very sympathetic and said she would phone 3’s other customer service, which I think is abroad. Minutes later I was speaking to the person abroad. He said it was possible for me to have a different model as a replacement phone but before this could be authorised he would have to go through some checks with me about re-programming my phone. After all this he said could I hold and he was going to get authorisation. He then came back to me and said he was sorry but his manager
Posted by robert norbury on Fri 13 June, 2008 4:53 PM
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