tsk tsk. I almost feel bad for them.
Fast forward to a couple months ago, I happened to notice while browsing my TMobile account that my phone was being reported as "Carrier Locked" with subtext that said "This phone is not eligible to be unlocked". Not my wife's though, hers was listed as "Unlocked". It took over a month of being yanked around by TMobile reps telling me they had to "escalate but the issue will be fixed within a week". It never was.
They would ask me why I wanted it unlocked. I would just respond something respectful but firm along the lines of "Because it's my phone. I paid for it. You have no business locking my device"
The way I see it, it was either theft or false advertising, plain and simple. Either they stole the phone from me after I bought it. Or, they sold me a device as unlocked but never realized that promise. It should have NEVER been locked. It makes me mad just thinking about it. I don't understand why a carrier even has the power to remotely lock a phone that was never theirs to lock in the first place.
This is all to say: I agree with your observation. They deserve heavy handed regulation because they have proven they will abuse any inch you give them.
No, after over a month of them saying "it'll take a week for it after I escalate" and then me calling a week later and starting the whole conversation over, one day it finally was unlocked. And I moved to a new carrier.
It’ll vary per manufacturer exactly where to find the info on the phone, but it’ll be reliable. You can also use an IMEI checker website, although some of those are ridden with ads and upsells.