Terms of service.

Who we are

PhoneFetch is a sole-trader business based in Melbourne, Victoria, operating under an Australian Business Number (ABN). References to "we", "us", "our" mean PhoneFetch. We run two services: a door-to-door phone buyback, and an online shop selling refurbished phones.

When you sell to us, the buyback terms below apply. When you buy from the shop, the additional terms in our returns policy and shipping policy apply on top of these.

Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to use either side of the service. The buyback flow asks you to confirm this when you book a pickup. For the shop, by completing checkout you confirm you're 18+ and ordering for yourself or with explicit permission from the cardholder.

Your online quote

The price we show after the quote wizard is an indicative offer, valid for 7 days, contingent on the phone matching what you described. Our final offer is confirmed at inspection on pickup. If the phone differs significantly, we'll talk it through, and you can accept a revised offer or walk away.

Your obligations as the seller

• The phone is legally yours to sell.
• The phone isn't reported lost, stolen, or blacklisted to the IMEI registry.
• You've signed out of iCloud / Samsung account / Google before handover (we'll wait while you do it if you forgot).
• You can show valid ID at pickup (driver's licence or passport).

If any of these turn out not to be true after the fact, we reserve the right to reverse the transaction within 7 days and require the phone back / refund the cash.

Payment

We pay on pickup, after inspection. Cash by default for amounts under $1,000; PayID or bank transfer for $1,000+ (safer than carrying cash). You can also choose PayID for any amount. Payment is in Australian dollars.

Cancellation and changes

You can cancel or reschedule anytime before the pickup window starts. Just reply to your confirmation email or text us. No cancellation fees.

If you're not home when we arrive and we can't reach you, we'll wait up to 15 minutes then mark the booking as a no-show. Repeated no-shows may limit future bookings.

After-pickup data

We factory-reset on the spot in front of you as a backstop. After that point we have zero access to anything that was on the phone. Texts, photos, accounts, apps, all gone. We don't recover, resell, or look at any pre-existing data.

Second-hand dealer obligations

The buyback side of the business is regulated under the Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989 (Vic). That means we're required to verify your ID at pickup, keep a record of every device we buy (model, IMEI, date, seller details), check the IMEI against the AMTA stolen-device register, and hold devices for the legislated period before they're refurbished or onsold. If a device we bought turns up on the stolen-goods register after we paid for it, we're required to cooperate with Victoria Police and the original owner.

Shop purchases (refurbished phones)

Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure, and to compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.

For change-of-mind returns we offer a voluntary 7-day return window from the date of delivery. Full details, how to claim, and refund timeframes are in our returns policy.

Prices are shown in Australian dollars. Shipping costs and dispatch times are set out in our shipping policy.

Marketing communications

Booking confirmations, OTP codes, order receipts and shipping notifications are transactional - we send them because you used the service and can't opt out of them while you have an active booking or order. Anything optional and marketing-flavoured (review requests, occasional product news if we ever start sending it) is sent under the Spam Act 2003 (Cth): you can unsubscribe by replying STOP to any SMS, clicking the unsubscribe link in any email, or emailing us. We honour opt-outs within 5 business days as required by the Act.

Disputes

If something goes wrong, contact us first at hi@phonefetch.com.au and we'll try to fix it. We're a small local business; we'd rather sort it directly than fight in writing.

Beyond that, these terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. Disputes go to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) or the relevant Magistrates' Court.

Changes to these terms

If we change anything material, we'll update the "Last updated" date and (for active bookings) email you. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated version.