Unable to cancel my Free Mobile rental

Hello everyone,

Since June 11, 2018, I had an iPhone 8 64 GB with Free Mobile, which I took on lease for two years. In August 2019, it broke down and I returned it to Free's customer service who exchanged it for a new one.

Since January, the network quality has significantly deteriorated and I was forced to change operators to continue receiving calls and at least be able to access the internet. I therefore terminated my mobile subscription in January without any issues, but when it came time to terminate the lease... Surprise! I was informed that the phone is iCloud locked. The problem is that I had indeed removed my account and disabled location services (confirmed by Apple in store and by certain websites).

I contacted support for the first time at the end of January to discuss this issue, and after several checks, it turns out that the serial number listed on Free's website is that of the first phone (it was on the box I have at home). They then asked me to go to Apple to have the first phone unlocked (I had unlocked it to send it to customer service, which was mandatory). At the Genius Bar, I was informed that the phone is activated on another iCloud account, and that Free has probably resold it. They can therefore do nothing for me, especially since the leased phones are the property of Free.

Following this, half of my exchanges with support by phone or on social media led nowhere and I had a glimmer of hope when I walked past a Free store. I happened to find a rare salesperson who was able to help me, and after reading my customer file, he saw that the error indeed came from them. He recommended that I send the phone with an official letter stating that I was terminating this lease. I did so, but it went unanswered. Support confirmed that the phone was okay, that they had received it but that the letter hadn't reached the correct department. I then sent a second letter with return receipt (a copy of the first) to the consumer service but that didn't change anything. Support keeps telling me that they are looking into my case, that they will sort it out but in nearly 6 months nothing has changed. The last technician I spoke with on the phone outright told me that they only received the letter but not the phone (which was indeed with the phone).

Today, as a last resort, I complained publicly on their social media (other customers apparently had the same problem) and a member of their support came to me in a private message to talk.
The problem is that the deadline for this lease is today and I will be unjustly charged 200 euros in the coming days... He promised to call me today, I even had his "word of honor" and yet no call.

It's crazy that in six months, not a single intellectual at Free has looked into my case, it's not for lack of trying to talk to them and to have shown good faith. Apparently, only the bad buzz on Twitter made them react, and without any real follow-up.

What can I do today? I no longer have the phone in my possession and I absolutely do not want to be unjustly charged 200 euros.

Thanks to those who made it this far and have a good evening,
[ - Lulucmy]