[citation][nom]jellico[/nom]That is something that retailers do on a regular basis that really cheeses me off. They'll take a return, and if the customer claims there is nothing wrong with the item, they'll promply seal it back up and place it on the shelf as if it had just come off the truck. They really should be required to put a sticker on the item indicting it was previously returned. Of course, they won't want to do that because they know they'd have a harder time selling it.[/citation]
I actually work retail as a manager. I can honestly tell you that at my location that we throughly check returned products before selling them again. If it doesn't pass my inspection, I will send it back to the manufacture for a credit. At NO TIME do we ever reseal a package and sell it as a new one. We let the customer know before it is even brought up to the register.
I'm not familiar with Vodafone and their practices. However I refuse to purchase locally from any cell phone shops because all the phones are "handled" before you, the customer, actually purchases it. I order mine directly from either the carrier or the manufacture. Costly, but my phones work from the git go and I don't have to worry about this kind of thing as mentioned here.