New Handset won't allow signin

Hi! ,

So my father got a new phone yesterday (a Spark n12 if you are a kiwi and that means anything to you I doubt it will) and it won't allow us to set it up. It asks us to put in a passcode (which it shouldn't have yet since it hasn't been set up but it doesn't allow us to get that far) or put in a Google account that has been previously logged in on that device (which doesn't exist because this is a new device). We've tried all his old passcodes (we are using his old sim card) , the default passcode for the network, all his google accounts and setting up a new google account. Nothing. I even tried calling the network to see if there was anything they could do and there isn't since it is a handset problem, not a network problem. We also took it back to the store and they briefly got it unlocked but it's stuck again so I believe they would be a fat lot of use again. Please help!