This is a horror story, not because of the author (sorry no sympathy for you mate), but because of the dystopian nightmare that we've turned commercial transact

This is a horror story, not because of the author (sorry no sympathy for you mate), but because of the dystopian nightmare that we've turned commercial transactions into. People presumably bought a phone, and because of some nonsense "business" plan, there is a recurring charge they are still liable for, and the manufacturer can arbitrarily lock and disable the phone? I know there are a bunch of "explainers" here on HN, happy to jump in and say that the phones were subsidised, consumers wouldn't get access to the phones if not for this scheme, and so on. But please stop that and take a step back. We've perverted the traditional expectation of any commercial transaction to own the item to instead be a permanent debt for regular consumers. You will own nothing, and you will be happy -- indeed.