How my Samsung phone worth £1,200 was blocked by a network I never used. Sally helps me resolve the issue.

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I took my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 in for a repair to a damaged screen in January this year.

The repairer informed me that they could not fix it as it’s been blacklisted by Three UK.

I was shocked as my network provider is O2 and I purchased the £1,200 phone new directly from Samsung in September 2022.

Since then, it has always been in my possession.

The device has now been blocked. I can’t afford to replace it. Please help.

F. S., New Malden, London.

Cut off: A reader’s phone was blocked after he took it in for a screen repair to discover it had been blacklisted

Sally Hamilton replies: The mystery of your blacklisted mobile is particularly baffling as you have never been a customer of Three.

Initially, you spent considerable time on the phone to both Samsung and O2 urging them to help unblock your device. You said they made every effort to help but concluded that only Three could resolve the problem.

After a slow start, Three launched an internal investigation which, maddeningly, also concluded that it could not help.

The firm simply sent you a deadlock letter to enable you to escalate the complaint to the Communications Ombudsman.

You hit yet another brick wall when the Ombudsman said it could not consider your complaint as you are not a Three customer. Arrgh!

I was your last hope if you were ever going to be able to use your pricey phone again.

On my request, Three reopened your case. It kept in touch with you throughout the process. It was three weeks before I finally received the good news that your phone had been unblocked and removed from the blacklist.

Three confirmed your device had been blacklisted on November 22, 2022, but could not confirm whether it was Three or another provider that had requested this, or the reason.

It won’t share details of the mechanics of the blacklisting process either in case fraudsters take advantage of the information.

Devices are blacklisted via their International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, which is unique to each phone.

Providers or networks tend to do this if a mobile is lost or stolen, if there are security issues, if a customer fails to pay their bill, or the device has been reported as used for fraud or spam purposes.

Theft victims may find they are unable to claim on their insurance until the device has been confirmed on the blacklist.

No one was able to work out what happened in your case. It’s possible the IMEI number from another phone might have been mistyped when it was reported stolen. We will never know.

You were grateful for my intervention and can finally get your phone repaired.

It’s a pity there is not a simpler and speedier way for innocent victims of blacklisting to get their devices removed from the list.

Granddaughter in Australia can’t access account

Our granddaughter emigrated to Australia with her parents 16 years ago at the age of three. At the time she had a Child Trust Fund with Nationwide Building Society.

Recently, she tried to access the £402 balance, but Nationwide blocked the account because she has not been into a branch. Can you help?

F .S., Nottingham.

Sally Hamilton replies: You said your granddaughter posted certified copies of her driving licence and passport to Nationwide’s head office, along with a covering letter explaining that she would like to withdraw her money. But these were not accepted.

Staff told her only the original documents would do. She was reluctant to send these to the other side of the world as she feared never seeing them again.

Nationwide insisted the only way to resolve matters was for her to go into a branch and present identification in person. But as she lives in Queensland, Australia, and has no plans to visit the UK, this was not possible.

You say friends of hers with CTFs at other banks have been able to access their accounts online, but she doesn’t have an internet account with Nationwide.

Scam Watch

Households should beware a scam email impersonating British Gas, consumer website Which? has warned.

The tricksters claim you have an overdue bill which needs paying as your

last direct debit ‘hasn’t gone through’.

The fraudulent email says you are £7.21 overdue and you are prompted to click a link to pay the remaining balance.

But the link will lead to a malicious website designed to steal your personal and financial details.

Do not click on the link – instead, forward the email to report@phishing.gov.uk.

She faced an additional frustration recently when the building society distributed £50 to eligible members as part of the so-called The Big Nationwide Thank You. This was a bonus handout following its purchase last year of rival Virgin Money.

Your granddaughter was issued a cheque but was unable to pay it into her Australian account as that country’s banks no longer accept cheques in foreign currencies. I stepped in to ask Nationwide to resolve both the problem of the CTF and the bonus cheque and give her access to her £452.

It took about three weeks but eventually Nationwide found a way ‘given the exceptional situation’. It agreed to verify your granddaughter’s ID over the phone and sent the CTF funds and the bonus to her Australian account by bank transfer once it received an emailed copy of a recent bank statement.

A spokesman for Nationwide says: ‘We apologise for the time it has taken to find a solution and we will offer her £50 as compensation.’

By coincidence, reader D. F., from Stroud, Gloucestershire, had a similar tale regarding her grandson’s savings account with Coventry Building Society.

Now 21, he emigrated aged six to New Zealand, but in January tried to access the cash to help with his university costs.

He was told this could be done only by closing the account and raising a cheque for the £787.86 balance. This was done, but New Zealand also no longer accepts foreign currency cheques.

All was resolved by reopening the old account, paying the cheque back in and raising another in the name of his grandmother. This could be done only on receipt of a letter of consent from the grandson who also had to provide a copy of his passport and driving licence, validated by a Justice of the Peace.

After a tedious five months of effort, D. F. will shortly be able to transfer the money from her account to her grandson’s.

Straight to the point

I booked an easyJet flight from Newcastle to Paris for June 6 but the airline cancelled the flight the night before. I was given no explanation.

I’ve tried twice to claim compensation through the website but it keeps telling me my details don’t match the customer on the booking, when it does. It’s almost impossible to speak to someone on the phone.

N.A., Durham.

Easyjet apologises and says you will be compensated. It says the first claim was filled out incorrectly while the second was rejected due to a mismatch of information.

***

I bought a television from John Lewis for £2,999. It has a ‘price promise’, which means if I find the same product at another retailer for a lower price within seven days of making the purchase, it will refund the difference.

I found one for £2,699 so submitted a claim, but it was rejected. I made the purchase at 10.30pm on a Tuesday so thought I could make a claim up to the same time the following week.

I made the claim around 4pm the following Tuesday, but John Lewis won’t accept this.

R.W., via email.

John Lewis says it recognises your frustration and has refunded the price difference.

***

In May my phone, which had my bank card in the case, was stolen out of my pocket while I was in Benidorm.

The thief used my Apple Pay, which was linked to a different bank account, to transfer money to the account linked with my physical card.

They withdrew £1,450 from cash machines. I couldn’t freeze the account until four days after the card was stolen as I no longer had my mobile phone to do this on the app.

I later attempted to dispute the transactions with the bank, but it says they aren’t fraudulent.

B.B., via email.

Your bank apologises and is paying you the £1,450 along with £250 in compensation.

Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.