Help! Those liars Boost are claiming that I OWE MONEY ON my phone!

I have been trying to check my phone that Boost took over from Virgin to try to find a plan I can afford.

  • My phone is a 2 year old unlocked 1 iPhone SE
  • I purchased it from a seller
  • That seller was not Virgin or Boost
  • I paid in full
  • I activated it on Virgin in January 2020
  • I upped my service to "unlimited" before the transfer migration
  • My circumstances changed because of the pandemic and I can no longer afford Boost's plans
  • I have spoken with several kind reps who have tried to help give me my account number and unlock my phone
  • "Someone" sent me a Sprint-branded email saying that my "phone number is ineligible to be unlocked because the phone has not been active for more than 365 days"
  • I tried to check my phone on Sprint and Sprint MVNOs

I have discoverd that Boost are reporting everywhere that I OWE MONEY --

"Balance owed: The account this phone is associated with has an unpaid balance with another carrier. You’ll need to get in touch with them to sort it out."

I bought that phone myself (NOT from Boost, nor from Virgin; and it was 1 unlocked when I bought it). I paid it in full at the time and I owe ZERO money on it!

It is one thing to lock it, but to claim that I owe money on it, as if I am trying to use a phone that is not mine?

How can they get away with this? Isn't that illegal?