Can Apple blacklist an iPhone and block Apple Pay?

pandk wrote:

My husband recently sold an iPhone 13 Pro Max that had been purchased outright from a retailer and was on a SIM only contract. It has never been reported lost or stolen and was working fine with no issues.

6 weeks after purchasing the buyer has contacted him, saying that they have been unable to add their bank card to Apple Pay. They say after contacting Apple and their bank, the bank have said that a fraudulent claim has been made against the phone in the past and that it has been blacklisted by Apple? Is that even a thing - I thought only a network could blacklist the phone?!

It all sounds like a load of rubbish but trying to get facts straight before replying. TIA

Sounds like the buyer is trying to scam you. As Bob Timmons correctly suggests, Apple does NOT blacklist phones. A blacklisted phone cannot connect to a carrier, rendering it useless as a cellphone for the purpose of making and receiving calls. Blacklisting has nothing to do with payment methods.

I wonder if you're being set up for a scam where the buyer "returns" an iPhone 13 Pro Max that looks just like the one that they purchased from you – but that is a different iPhone 13 Pro Max. A blacklisted one that is probably stolen, as well. They get your working phone for "free" and you get "their" brick.

Apple does not blacklist phones......period.

No. That's not a thing.

They are trying to scam you.

Hello~ How would a bank know this? Well…of course they wouldn’t. Apple doesn’t blacklist phones either. They are attempting to scam you. Sorry you’re facing this situation…

~Katana-San~