Straight Talk Wireless review: Unlocking a phone

I have a phone that used to use Straight talk wireless. I stopped using the phone in June 2022. I am now attempting to use the phone with another provider, not Straight Talk, however, Straight Talk has locked the the phone.

In order to unlock the phone, we followed the process that was offered. First we paid $23.99 for "eligibility" to unlock. Once that was passed, we paid 47 English pounds or $59+ American dollars to Direct Unlocks at which time we were told that it would take 20 days for the phone to be unlocked.

Now we received a notice from Direct Unlocks that the phone cannot be unlocked and that we would only get credit for what we have paid to date.

When checking back with Straight Talk they are now telling us that we can either pay $50-which we were NOT told about 6 days ago, or pay for 2 months service to be unlocked for free.

I see this as extortion and being told that the only way to resolve it is to send a paper copy of my email from Direct Unlock to the Straight Talk office in Miami.

In this day and age, how is it that I cannot get direct, effective and efficient service?