RIMarkable Reviews UniquePhones

by Robb Dunewood on December 2, 2006 · 79 comments

*** The following post is a PAID advertisement ***

I recently had the opportunity to review UniquePhones, a remote mobile phone unlocking service that has generated over 2.9 million unlock codes to date.

UniquePhones has unlock codes for over 1500 handsets from most of the leading manufactures including LG, Siemens, Motorola, and many others, including my personal favorite, BlackBerry. The price range for unlock codes vary as greatly as the devices they support from as low as $1.99 all the way up to $25.99, which happens to be the price to unlock a BlackBerry.

I am being paid for this review, however, you will get my honest opinion as it is far from raving. It’s not a scathing review either, however, I do have a few concerns and maybe UniquePhones can take this review as a bit constructive criticism.

My guess is that the overwhelming majority of the 2.9 million unlock codes that UniquePhones has sold have gone off without a hitch. Most of the forums and blogs that I found that mention UniquePhones do so in a positive light and generally comment on how much cheaper UniquePhones unlock codes are compared to other services.

The few times that I found negative feedback, complaints seemed to revolve around two themes:

  1. My Unlock Code didn’t work and I couldn’t receive a refund.
  2. Support was very unresponsive or flat out didn’t contact me back.

Unfortunately, I am experiencing the latter issue as I type this. Before I ever use a service that I purchase online, I test out customer support. I noticed that the list of BlackBerry devices supported by UniquePhones is fairly dated with the newest device being the BlackBerry 7105t. I opened a ticket simply asking if any of the newer BlackBerry devices such as the 8700c or the 7130g are supported. After four days I still have yet to hear anything back from UniquePhones even after I updated the ticket asking for an update.

This type of delay is just not acceptable for a service like what UniquePhones offers and the company needs to improve in this area.

If you have had any experiences, good or bad, with UniquePhones, leave us a comment and tell us about it. Additionally, I invite anyone from UniquePhones to respond as to how they are improving support because I see this as being the one area that is holding them back.

You can find more information about UniquePhones by visiting their website at www.uniquephones.com.

*** The previous post was a PAID advertisement ***

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  • Daniel Fontanella

    Hi Paul M,
    I’ve managed to get my money back through PayPal.
    It took me a while (2months) but they refunded the complete transaction.
    But do not waste your time writing to them. They will never reply!
    Stay away from this guys!!!!
    Dan

  • Taylor

    I’ve used Uniquephones twice and both times they took extremely long (3 weeks first time and over 4 weeks the second time) to process my order. The most upsetting thing about them is their customer service: Email support only, no phone no online chat no nothing but submmitting a message to them on their website. This is very frustrating when your “Estimated processing time” is 7 days and 3 weeks later you have not received a code or a reply from them. I will NOT be using their services anymore.

  • Rachael

    I would never recommend Uniquephones or deal with them ever again!!!!!

    Placed my order to unlock my phone on the 31.08.08 and still waiting for the unlocking code AND replies to many emails that I have sent to them chasing it up

    I wish I had seen the above comments before dealing with them, and then I just wouldnt have bothered

    I decided to go into two phone shops this weekend and they both said that it is impossible to unlock a nokia 6110 navigator phone……. wondering why it came up on Uniquephones phone list as one to unlock ? Scammers ??? Am now trying to get my money back, paid by paypal but when I last spoke they said to try and deal with supplier direct . I shall try pay pal again and see if I get any joy!!!

  • Peter Lee

    Rachael,
    Why are you ‘talking’ to PayPal? This is usually a waste of time,just put a claim in.
    It is always worth exploring the possibility of unlocking by the network (depending on cost of course)
    My Blackberry was unlocked by Orange (any phone) for £20 which is less than the asking price of many unlockers.

  • b.stocker

    I wish i,d read these comments before i parted with my money.I.m another one thats been tricked.Unique phones are doing this to too many people!

  • frank dux

    Same here, what a scam! 40$ is now smoke! I Cant believe my self I got caught is this scam…Never happened to me. Its the first time…

  • peter

    this mob is a ripp off they have not 2.9 million unlock codes do you know how much they would be worth at £10.00 a hit. Bullshit they are a fucking scam.

  • peter

    i am getting my money back and they will be closed they made an error and responded to me saying paypal was dealing with my money so that was a lie and now paypal will have to deal with them for fraud.

  • F. Soares

    No doubt UniquePhones is a scam! Around 30 Euros spent for nothing because not only they didn’t send the unlock code in a period of two days, as when they finally did it, the codes didn’t work.
    I will try to ask my money back but I’m not holding my breathe.

  • James

    Yikes! ” 1. My Unlock Code didn’t work and I couldn’t receive a refund.
    2. Support was very unresponsive or flat out didn’t contact me back.
    ”

    That’s what scares me about online sites. I unlocked my own phone and my wife’s phone through Cellfservices (http://www.cellfservices.com) which I heard about through Blackberry Cool . Since BBCool claimed that they were partners with Cellfservices, I thought I’d give it a shot. The unlock code worked fine on my Verizon storm, but I had this annoying message that said “activation required” and e-mailed them about that. They directed me to their blog http://www.cellfservices.com/blog and they write useful info there.

    I bookmarked it…kind of cool how they give useful tips to the general public. Highly recommend them for anyone who’s scared to purchase things online.

  • Bruno

    Party people, just do what I do, I use my credit card to purchase these types of goods, when they do not work, I give the card company a call, and they refund the charges. Simple as that, and they are the ones that are going to go after the main Uniquephones.

    Enjoy

  • James

    UniquePhones is terrible. Every order has huge delays!

    It says “Process Time: 12 – 24 hours” on their website, but it’s been already 8 days! That’s 16x more than their advertised time! Such a scum company!

    I contacted them over email and chat many times – I haven’t got a single apology for this incredible delay. It’s been terrible customer service, they don’t seem to acknowledge their misinformation as a problem. It’s illegal!

    They do nothing to speed orders up, and come up with lies to mask up their slow, and fraudulent service.

    I do NOT recommend you order from them. As one of their customer service representatives, Lyle, said in a chat, “you get what you pay for”. Ironically, he was referring to cheaper unlocking solutions that I was asking him about.

    No wonder Google Search Suggestions shows things like:
    “uniquephones scam”

  • Peter Lee

    In spite of stating above that Orange will unlock any phone for £20, this proved a complete waste of time, They just don’t follow through! I eventually went on ebay and my Blackberry 8820 was unlocked NEXT DAY for £15.15 by xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  • Denise Richards

    uniquephones.com is a total SCAM. waited 2 weeks and got various excuses and no codes. waste of time. am now following up with credit card co for chargeback and to have there paypal service revoked.

    bruno is right. go straight to credit card co and have them follow this up. uniquephones.com scammers

  • Frustrated

    BEWARE! Their new website address is unlocking.com. When you go there and buy services from them, you are actually buying from uniquephones. That’s what showed up on my credit card statement. I can’t believe how long I’ve responded to their useless emails asking for information from me, photos, even video. I got so frustrated cause they couldn’t open a simple jpg file that I made them a website! I don’t believe I’ll ever see my money again, but fortunately, I ordered through cc and can dispute this purchase. My problem was they changed their name. When I did a search on “unlocking.com + scams” nothing came up. Different story when you type “uniquephones + scam”. They may work for some people out there, but when they don’t work, customer services is horrible and don’t count on seeing any refunds.

  • http://www.unlocking.com Lyle

    Reply to Peter Lee, Denise Richards & Frustrated.

    My name is Lyle Rosenfeld I work for Unlocking.com as the Reseller Laison in customer service. I would like to help if I can with your issues, Please geive me the order numbers or the IMEI#’s of the phones you tried to unlock so that I can see what the issue’s may be and help resolve them to your satisfaction. Be aware that sometimes with jpg files (photo’s) they do not come through as attachments due to various reasons like the email senders email program strips them from the email due to size limitations or other issues with this type of file. Again contact me directly so I can help you resolve your issue.

    Respectfully,

    Lyle

    • Frustrated

      Hi Lyle,

      I appreciate the efforts you are trying to make, but I’ve already taken the steps to dispute my credit card charge and report the horrible customer service to BBB. It’s not just about not being able to open files, but the incompetence of the people I’ve been working with and the lack of any good communication method other than emails. I was disappointed with having to answer at least (3) times what steps I took to get my phone unlocked. I had to resend at least (3) times, photos documenting the steps before finally being told that you couldn’t even open the pictures. I just felt like someone was trying stall me for 60 days so I couldn’t dispute the charge on my credit card anymore. I know that’s probably not your intention, but I have never dealt with any company that has frustrated me to the point of actually reporting them to the BBB. I just counted in my email sent box. I have emailed 33 emails to you guys and still no resolution. At this point, I just want to move on now. I’d rather not try to resolve this because I’m so disgusted with the service I’ve gotten.

  • Unlocking.com scamed

    Lyle from old Uniquephones (new Unlocking.com), wrote me to send once again IMEI number… like you, Frustrated! It is a stupid tactic to lengthen resolving. They delay to send unlocking code. Expires one week tomorrow since I paid. However I still believe in unlocking.com honesty and accuracy… but only until tomorrow, March 31, 2010!

  • http://unlocking.com joeidefrank711

    I have paid $10 to get unlock codes from unlocking.com they were supposed to send code in 3 mins but I have waited 10hrs still no code nothing mailed them twice, but never got response might be scam will wait 24hrs and put dispute in paypal.

    Uniquephones.com —> unlocking.com scam

  • joeidefrank711

    My order Id with unlocking.com is 2134290, they have mailed me to wait 24hr to get the code, will wait and see if they would send me the unlock code for my BB STORM at this point I think its a scam. Will update my status here 2mmarow.

  • http://unlocking.com ilja

    i buyed yesterday unlock code for my htc hero, i will show you witch aswers i have, i think it is total scam and i am going to report, paid with cc..
    hello there i just payed for my unlock code what is that means
    status on hold? when do i recive a code??
    Quoting *”Unlocking.com Support” *:
    >
    >
    > Hey Ludmila,
    >
    > Thank you for your recent order. Your order is being processed.
    >
    > However, due to the high level of fraud in the digital delivery
    > market we randomly select orders to be confirmed by phone. Please
    > visit the following link:
    > https://secure.unlocking.com/checking/check.php?orderid=2145902&c=c4c0e10ca31e04ecee38b53c468344dd.
    >
    > We apologize for the delay and hope you understand this is for your
    > protection as well as ours. We have reported many compromised
    > accounts to Mastercard, Visa and PayPal, saving our valued customers
    > thousands of dollars in fraudulent transactions. If you need further
    > information, please reply to this email.
    >
    > Thanks,
    >
    > Teri Drake-Floyd
    >
    > Unlocking.com Support

    ilja

    Posted On: 15 Apr 2010 05:57 PM

    ——————————————————————————–
    i though it is fast service ? :(

    Whitney Perdue

    Posted On: 15 Apr 2010 09:32 PM

    ——————————————————————————–
    Hey ,

    Thank you for your recent order, your order is being processed.

    However, due to the high level of fraud in the digital delivery market we randomly select orders to be confirmed by phone. One of our support agents will be in contact with you soon.

    We apologize for the delay and hope you understand this is for your protection as well as ours. We have reported many compromised accounts to Mastercard, Visa and PayPal, saving our valued customers thousands of dollars in fraudulent transactions. If you need further information, please reply to this email.

    Whitney Perdue
    Customer Support Agent
    Unlocking.com

    * Want to win $100? Email creative pictures or videos of you unlocking your handset to pictures@unlocking.com. We’ll post them to our blog, and each month we’ll award $100 for our favorite entry! *

    ilja

    Posted On: 16 Apr 2010 04:37 AM

    ——————————————————————————–

    im sorry but this was supposed to be 10 minutes service? today is a
    second day and my status is stil ”on hold” make it today or refund
    Quoting *Whitney Perdue *:
    > Hey ,
    >
    > Thank you for your recent order, your order is being processed.
    >
    > However, due to the high level of fraud in the digital delivery
    > market we randomly select orders to be confirmed by phone. One of
    > our support agents will be in contact with you soon.
    >
    > We apologize for the delay and hope you understand this is for your
    > protection as well as ours. We have reported many compromised
    > accounts to Mastercard, Visa and PayPal, saving our valued customers
    > thousands of dollars in fraudulent transactions. If you need further
    > information, please reply to this email.
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > Whitney Perdue
    > Customer Support Agent
    > Unlocking.com
    >
    > * Want to win $100? Email creative pictures or videos of you
    > unlocking your handset to pictures@unlocking.com. We’ll post them to
    > our blog, and each month we’ll award $100 for our favorite entry! *
    >
    >
    > Ticket Details
    > Ticket ID: ZXX-567539
    > Department: General
    > Priority: Critical

    • Shaylin

      TOTAL SCAM.

      Get your refund or report to authorities.

  • Shaylin

    I HAD A VERY BAD EXPERIENCE.

    I purchased a unlock code for my blackberry. They promised a ‘premium’ service which will deliver my code within 24 hours. The code did not arrive until after 7 days later. I canceled my purchase because it didn’t arrive after 3 days, but they said I can’t cancel and get refund because I agreed to the terms. But they did not comply to their terms with the ’24 hours premium’ service. After I canceled it, the codes arrived. I entered both codes they provided, and it DIDN’T WORK. I emailed customer service more than 10 emails to get my refund, and they said they refunded but I DID NOT RECEIVE ANY REFUND. I had to go to my bank to check but they said no refund was made by Unique Phones. I emailed them again about this matter, after 5 emails and arguments, THEY SAID IF I’M NOT SATISFIED I CAN EMAIL A COMPLAINT. How rude is that? I called their phone numbers but NO ONE PICKED UP. I emailed the complaints department more than twice BUT NO REPLY. I take this as my loss and I WILL NEVER PURCHASE CODES FROM THEM.

    Customer service is extremely bad and rude. Sometimes they don’t even reply your email after several emails. I am shocked at their terrible service and definitely angry with their rudeness. No apology from them since the first email. After reading so many comments from others, unfortunately we have all been TRICKED INTO THIS SCAM.

    PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH THIS COMPANY.

  • Danny Herran

    Worst scam ever. 20$ for an unlocking code, it has been 4 days and still nothing.

  • Asal Keto

    Wish I was here before to read that http://www.unlocking.com is a 100% scam fraudulent. Recently, had a terrible experience with them, bought an unlocking code for my lg mobile hoping everthing would be fine. Yes, they did send unlocking code after 24 hr but turned out to be FAKE! Now, escalating a claim for total refund through PayPal. Trusted by millions? 24/7 Support?? What a waste of time, BE AWARE of these loosers!!

  • Hazeem Sharma

    unlocking.com is a scam. I bought a code from them but they never refunded me and never got anything from them. i went to http://www.cellfservices.com and got my unlock code for my blackberry torch. the code worked on teh first time. people stay AWAY from unlocking.com. too many scams online.

  • code worked

    it worked for me, after paying, my code arrived in an hr… comments above scared me i almost called my credt card company. whew.

  • code worked

    sorry just to clarify i purchased fr unlocking.com. i did what the instruction said and voila, what a relief to see “Network Unlocked”. just writing this because i know how reputation can affect business and also im not working for them just in case cuz it seems like im the only positive feedbk here aside fr that 1 person up there.

  • Lauren Mcdonald

    Want to unlock your blackberry phone? visit my site Blackberry Unlock Code . It guarantees blackberry  unlocking. Don’t believe? At least give a try..

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