Phone blacklisted

[Rocket-Boy]

How can this practice of blacklisting phones when there is no theft involved be legal? I have never seen a condition in a cellphone contract application that says the Cell company retains ownership rights on the device until the full 24 months contract is paid? They have a right to go after someone who defaults on a cell contract repayment, but blacklisting the device is unfair as the person who took the contract out is well within their right to sell the device whenever they want to....

Its been the standard practice since I was in cellular(and that was about 12 years ago!)
They do have a clause in the contract with regards to the handset considering it is subsidized in the contract itself.