topic Re: Phone in police custody in Contracts & Billing

Phone in police custody

EthanNasey — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 20:11:32 GMT

Hi everyone,

I'm currently in a tough situation and could really use some advice. My phone and contract are being held by the police as evidence in an ongoing investigation. This has left me without a phone and unable to access my mobile services.

I'm wondering if anyone has been through a similar situation or knows what I can do while waiting to get my phone and contract back. Specifically:

Are there any temporary solutions for staying connected (like a replacement phone or temporary contract)?

Can I request a temporary suspension or alternative arrangement with my mobile provider during this period?

Is there anything I should be aware of legally in terms of retrieving my device once the investigation is done?

Any tips or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

Re: Phone in police custody

killyouridols08 — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 20:25:27 GMT

Unlikely. Depends on What reasons the police have your phone whether you stand any chance.

4.7.12 You must not use the Services for any fraudulent or other unlawful purpose, whether You’re acting
alone or in collusion with anyone else. You are not permitted to use the Services, whether manually or
automatically, for any direct financial gain, revenue share or benefit in kind, including where Your
financial gain has derived from the termination charge payable by EE for calls on its Network;

Re: Phone in police custody

Chris_B — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 20:27:07 GMT

@EthanNasey No such thing as a temporary contract and no you can not freeze the contract until you get the device back.

Why didn’t you keep the sim ?

Nothing stopping you from purchasing a device on PAYG as this is the only temporary option you have to stay connected.

Re: Phone in police custody

Chris_B — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 20:49:03 GMT

@killyouridols08 As we don’t know the reason why the police have the device in the first place you’ve assumed that it’s because @EthanNasey has tried to use EEs network for unlawful activities. Not sure where you got that conclusion from. It might not even have anything to do with the service provided via the EE network for anything you’ve listed above.

If this was the case then EE will terminate the contract and request any remaining contract payment to be made for breach of the T&Cs. Again that’s only if the above has been violated and there is no evidence in the OP to suggest this is the case.

All we know is the police have the device for what ever reason that is.

Re: Phone in police custody

killyouridols08 — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 20:52:34 GMT

@Chris_B I never assumed that at all, hence I said it depended on what reason the police had their device and posted the only piece of T&C that directly mention anything legal in case it was relevant to the situation. I didn't assume anything, you assumed i did.

Re: Phone in police custody

Chris_B — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 21:10:05 GMT

@killyouridols08 Oh but you did when posting T&Cs namely 4.1.12. why post something that’s probably not relevant to why the police have the device. Who says it’s a contract violation of service to warrant such a response ? Posting anything from the T&Cs has to be relevant to the OP. In this case at present it’s not.

The police having the device doesn’t mean that a response should show T&C of a violation of a contract especially when you/I do not know the reason why the police have the device in the first place.

The T&Cs are about breaking terms of service that’s all. The T&Cs do not cover anything else that might be on the device. Ie what might be recorded, what might be sent in a text to or from the device.

We don’t know why or what has caused the police to seize the device and that’s all we know.

Re: Phone in police custody

killyouridols08 — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 21:14:28 GMT

Alright, Inspector Morse.

Re: Phone in police custody

bristolian — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 21:37:04 GMT

Depending on the circumstances for the phone being seized, I would consider reporting the SIM as being lost and thus arrange a replacement.

You would have to source your own phone independently.

Re: Phone in police custody

Chris_B — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 06:48:02 GMT

@killyouridols08 Not a problem, Lewis Experience takes time to achieve.

Re: Phone in police custody

Michael_D — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 10:20:48 GMT

Hi @EthanNasey.

Thanks for coming to the community.

I'd recommend having a chat with our guides over the phone, and they can have a chat about the options for you, as what we can do can vary depending on the reason for the police having the phone, but the team can look at getting a replacement SIM with your number. You can see all of our contact options on our Contact Us page.

Michael

Re: Phone in police custody

Tambo1982 — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 02:21:23 GMT

Hi there,

I went through a similar situation back in October 2024,

i had my 12 Pro Max & sim confiscated for an investigation still ongoing .

for a short period I was using someone else’s giffgaff contract & Samsung A52 phone,

& I had to manually recover all of my things, like google, iPhone login, email, Facebook, instagram etc

my Banking could not be recovered until I had my own phone number back which was a big problem, so…

I was only on a sim only contract with ee,

my iPhone 12 Pro Max & sim were confiscated ,

so what I done was order a new sim from ee with my original number to get my banking back,

I was considering getting a new iPhone contract but I got a big hospital insurance payment so i bought a new 16 pro Max then with my new sim card i recovered my icloud stuff + my internet banking, i also set my old phone to delete if switched on & i changed all my passwords as well.

it can take ages to get stuff back from the police as I've found out & so I'm glad I didn't get the 16 pro max earlier.

its too bad if you got a new phone on contract but you can buy a replacement sim to help get services back like your banking like i did & if you get a temporary similar phone to your one confiscated , you can recover your account & passwords etc and try to get back as much as possible,

when it comes to your new phone , i don't know if you should either keep paying it or stopping payments??

maybe once you get a replacement sim, you can get your number transferred to a different network and then stop payments for your new phone until you get stuff sorted out ??

i really don't know?

i thought i'd give you advice on the replacement sim with original phone number which will help you recover online banking etc ,

and a similar phone to the one confiscated to recover your account then change all your passwords & block your old phone for the time being ..

but the rest is up to you to figure out my friend.

i hope this helps you out.

Re: Phone in police custody

Chris_B — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 06:57:02 GMT

@Tambo1982 You do know this thread is from August last year , so even before your situation happened.

The clue is the numbers in the top right of each post.