Stolen iphone got sold to electronic shop, what now?

[abaganov2]

My iphone got stolen from inside my bike earlier today, i was able to locate it a few hours later in an electronic shop in town, i called them right before they close for the night and the guy told me that he bought a locked iphone a couple hours ago for 2500 baht (it's 100% mine) and to come in the morning

so what's now, would i need to pay the store owner the money he claim he paid the thief in order to get it back? i guess i could get it for free if i will involve the police but do i want to go that route?

[CharlieH]

You can talk to the shop and reach an agreement or go to the Police, make a formal report and ask them to accompany you to recover your property.

[BenStark]

1 minute ago, abaganov2 said:

i guess i could get it for free if i will involve the police

Wrong guess, it will most likely cost you money to get the police interested, and then you probably still have to pay the shop owner.

 

My advice is, if the phone is worth much more than that, pay him and be done with it.

 

Other option is to get as much recorded evidence where the shop owner admits he has your phone, then go to the police

[orchis]

go to the police.

[Sigma6]

I think the shop will take 2k.

 

How did you track it down to a shop level?

 

The shop is on a street, rather than a Mall?

 

Its strange that the thief didnt remove the sim after stealing your phone, and nor did the shop owner - E-sim maybe?

 

 

[abaganov2]

11 minutes ago, Sigma6 said:

I think the shop will take 2k.

 

How did you track it down to a shop level?

 

The shop is on a street, rather than a Mall?

 

Its strange that the thief didnt remove the sim after stealing your phone, and nor did the shop owner - E-sim maybe?

 

 

with find my phone app, 

[OneMoreFarang]

43 minutes ago, BenStark said:

Wrong guess, it will most likely cost you money to get the police interested, and then you probably still have to pay the shop owner.

 

My advice is, if the phone is worth much more than that, pay him and be done with it.

 

Other option is to get as much recorded evidence where the shop owner admits he has your phone, then go to the police

I agree with this. Which police officer will use his time to go to the shop with or without you just because he wants to help you? 

 

Another way, which could maybe work, is call Apple. They might be interested to know which shops are buying stolen phone(s). And maybe they will help you.

 

And then there is of course the possibility that tomorrow there is no phone in that shop anymore. Must have been a misunderstanding. That's my guess.

 

Last but not least, don't play the hero! Thailand has a lot of organized crime. Don't try to fight the mafia because of a phone! You can only loose. And losing your phone is the smallest of the risks. 

 

[CharlieH]

Troll comment removed.

[eisfeld]

A friend of mine had a very similar situation. Found the shop who was happy to give it back without asking for money. My friend even offered a finders reward which the shop declined. The shops know they have stolen goods and worst case you get the police involved. Best to collect evidence to prepare for worst case but chances are you'll just get it back without much fuss.

[scubascuba3]

5 hours ago, eisfeld said:

A friend of mine had a very similar situation. Found the shop who was happy to give it back without asking for money. My friend even offered a finders reward which the shop declined. The shops know they have stolen goods and worst case you get the police involved. Best to collect evidence to prepare for worst case but chances are you'll just get it back without much fuss.

Possible the shop might give it back no charge, he could be involved in the stealing of it

[PeachCH]

Pay the 2k and be happy to have the phone back. 

[swm59nj]

Unfortunately you have basically three choices.  You can try to negotiating a price with the shop owner.  Who is probably buying stolen phones or couldn’t care less.  Or contact the police.  Or buy a new phone.  
Apple will only tell you to contact your provider to alert them.  And contact the police. 

[Colabamumbai]

He knowingly bought srolen property, have him give the phone or busted. 

[OneMoreFarang]

A question to the expert iPhone users: What can a shop do with a bricked iPhone?

I saw lots of videos from Louis Rossman, who is an electronic specialist, who concentrates on Apple products.

It seems to be my now almost everything on those phones in serialized, so it is not even possible to use parts from a bricked phone to repair other phones. Or not?

[OneMoreFarang]

2 minutes ago, Colabamumbai said:

or busted

Did you even witness any other illegal activities in Thailand? And then, what happened? Nothing? 

[MrJ2U]

6 hours ago, orchis said:

go to the police.

The guys buying stolen property.   Obviously he couldn't break into it to factory reset it. He's freaking criminal. 

[bendejo]

Doesn't Apple have a way to shut the phone down?

 

[SunnyinBangrak]

save yourself the stress and hassle of involving the police and just buy back your phone. If you can get it for 2,500B that would be a result. Not an ideal outcome but IMO the best one. 

[The Fat Controller]

I wonder if the phone will have mysteriously gone "walkies" and have a flat battery by the time the shop opens.

 

Best of luck !

[2baht]

7 hours ago, orchis said:

go to the police.

Make them an offer! 

[Gsxrnz]

99% probable that somebody saw you putting the phone under the bike seat and nicked it. Tea-Leafs don't go randomly opening bike seats hoping for treasure.

 

A bike seat lock can be popped with a screwdriver or a damp piece of lettuce. A lesson for us all.

[TimeMachine]

Police will need money from you to investigate. Take into account that, the cost of a new phone, etc. Just tell the chap to give you back the phone at a fair price. He wouldn't have paid a lot for a locked iPhone. The threat of police involvement might get the shop owner to be fair. Otherwise , move on, and buy Android. Apple is for people who like to support companies that are against consumer rights.

[Andyfez]

I would assume the shop took a copy of the sellers ID card?

[brianthainess]

8 hours ago, orchis said:

go to the police.

Would the "Tourist" police be better ? 

[JBChiangRai]

It comes down to the law and practicality.

 

The law says that the shop owner cannot acquire a better title to the phone than the person who sold it to him, who had no title.

 

Practicality, the police are unlikely to want to get involved, you need to negotiate with the shop owner, he doesn't want to be accused of handling stolen property, he is out of pocket to the tune of 2,500 baht, a fair solution he will probably accept is if you pay him the 2,500 baht by putting it to him in a way that flatters him and makes him feel good.

[ChipButty]

Get the police to call the shop 

[Troy Tempest]

8 hours ago, Sigma6 said:

I think the shop will take 2k.

 

How did you track it down to a shop level?

 

The shop is on a street, rather than a Mall?

 

Its strange that the thief didnt remove the sim after stealing your phone, and nor did the shop owner - E-sim maybe?

 

 

Both Android and iOS have built-in tracking features that allow you to locate your phone remotely. These features work even if your phone doesn't have a SIM card, as long as it's connected to Wi-Fi.

[mstevens]

Go to the shop and tell them that you're the owner of the phone and you'd like it back. Tell them that if they hand it over, that's the end of it and you will walk away with the phone and they will never see you again. If they don't give the phone to you or try to ask for money, go to the police station and make a formal charge and instruct the police that wish to see it through to the end with recover of property and full prosecution. According to Thai law, the cops cannot refuse to accept your complaint of criminal activity and if they do, they can find themselves in the gun. It would of course be helpful if you are presentable and speak Thai. If not, perhaps take a respectable Thai along.

 

I find it quite unbelievable that some people would suggest buying back your own property. Thai law is actually strong in situations like this.

[kwak250]

Someone said contact Apple.

Like they would even care about a shop buying stolen phones?

 

Just go to the shop and see how it goes probably 1000 baht will get it back .

[OneMoreFarang]

18 minutes ago, mstevens said:

Go to the shop and tell them that you're the owner of the phone and you'd like it back. Tell them that if they hand it over, that's the end of it and you will walk away with the phone and they will never see you again. If they don't give the phone to you or try to ask for money, go to the police station and make a formal charge and instruct the police that wish to see it through to the end with recover of property and full prosecution. According to Thai law, the cops cannot refuse to accept your complaint of criminal activity and if they do, they can find themselves in the gun. It would of course be helpful if you are presentable and speak Thai. If not, perhaps take a respectable Thai along.

 

I find it quite unbelievable that some people would suggest buying back your own property. Thai law is actually strong in situations like this.

How long do you live in Thailand?

What is your experience with the Thai police?

Are they keen to serve and protect individual people?

What you describe might work in a country where the police cares. Thailand is not such a country.

 

If the owner of the phone likes to continue to use an expensive Apple phone, then he has two options: Buy an old one or buy a new one. In this case his old phone will be the cheapest alternative - if it is still in the shop.