Why are we charged for unlocking our old, out-of-contract phones?

[v5v]

Why does Fido, or any carrier for that matter, charge us to unlock our phones? If there's no contract, what justification does Fido have for forcing us to pay a ransom to wrest back control of a device we own outright? When my car loan is paid off, the bank lifts the lien -- they don't retain control of my car and force me to pay a fee to get it back.

Would someone from Fido care to comment on why we are forced to pay you just to be able to freely use our own property?

[Anonymous]

its not hard to grasp.

your free to give the phone to a kid or family member they can continue using it on fido, if u want to go to another company, and use a fido branded phone with fido software on it but with another sim card, and knowing some of the features will not be compatible with the new network, them feel free to pay the $50 unlock fee.   in all Onesty, just buy a phone from the fli market if u really want one unlocked it will probably cost u less