Activating old phone... but error message says its in use

So I have a new phone which is a friends old razor and I am trying to switch it with mine. I went to verizonwireless.com, I had the account set up, I did all of the necessary steps to activate it. But after I entered the ESN number I got an error message that said "The phone associated with the ESN/MEID you entered has already been activated."

The phone does not have service, it has been activated before but that shouldn't matter. Do you know any reason why this would happen/how to activate it?

How to get your phone activated?
The ESN is currently attached to an active or deactivated account which will not allow you activate it on your account - Call Customer Service and have them activate it, they will tell you that it is not a valid phone and cannot be activated - Ask them to but a trouble ticket in for clearing the esn for activation - call back or check back online to activate in a day or so. You should be able to get it activated unless the phone has been reported lost or stolen.

it seems to me as though the ESN/MEID is still associated with his account. it might be that it is still listed on his "my account" page as an active phone. might want to have him check into that.