Phone Repair Man Paid £40 Cash To Not Fix Someone's Mobile

A phone repair man was paid £40 in cash in order to not perform the job he is paid to do.

Oli Pickles was left scratching his head after a bloke came into his phone repair shop in Sheffield in January 2020 and left in a hurry, leaving behind his battered up phone and a strange note in the back telling him not to bother fixing it.

The man left £40 ($56) behind, as well as instructions to keep the money, but make a phone call to the man's girlfriend.

He never saw the man again.

The note read: "Bro - keep the money and the phone. Just call my missus and tell her you can't fix it.

"I'll tell you full story later."

The 28-year-old duly did what he was paid to do - not fix the mangled iPhone 8 Plus and call the woman and tell her it could not be repaired. The woman then thanked him and said she would pass on the message.

The suspicious request left Mr Pickles scratching his head since it would have cost almost double the cash provided to mend the phone and the customer never returned as he said he would to explain the full story.

But while Mr Pickles may have done what was asked of him, the customer may wish he had added a clause on the note that read: "Also, please don't share this story with a national paper and massively increase the chances of my missus finding out about my ruse."

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Pickles said he sensed there was something fishy about the customer when he entered the store.

He said: "I've been fixing phones for six years and have never been paid not to get one going again. It's the strangest thing that's ever happened to me.

"I don't know what this customer was trying to hide but clearly he wanted to keep it secret from his partner. It must have been so important that he was willing to pay for it.

"Normally, people are desperate to get their mobiles working again but not him.

"When he handed over the phone I just had a feeling that he wasn't coming back. There was something not right about him and he was acting quite shifty.

"He just dumped the phone on me and couldn't get rid of it quick enough. I told him to come back in two hours but I knew deep down that it wasn't going to happen."

He added: "This customer only left me £40 so it's not worth my time to sort it out. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the money either. The whole thing is just a bit weird.

"I've been thinking about what this customer might have been getting up to and just can't work it out, but it does make me laugh."

Featured Image Credit: Oli Pickles

Topics: Funny, Technology, Weird

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey