Sony are trying to con me!!!

About 5 weeks ago a forced Sony system update caused my Z5 to start misbehaving, after the lengthy update my phone was no longer charging. The charging indicator was showing as fully charged but it was clearly not charging, it had less than 10% and dropping so i contacted online support in the first instance. Support put me through an emergency recovery procedure which made my phone turn off and then it wouldn't come back on at all...
Again i reached out to Sony online support and they suggested i download the Sony Suite software from their website to diagnose the problem, so i did, i installed it, but because my phone wouldn't turn on it was not connecting to my computer, after a bit of carbon copy robotic replies to my queries i gave up and phoned support instead. Telephone support went through the same blurb with me, i told them all that had been done and nothing worked, they checked my imei on the system then suggested I send it back to them for repair, i questioned cost and they assured me my device was covered by warranty, then i questioned how long it would be as i couldn't be without a phone, i work 30 miles from home in a remote area, I am my partners carer and take responsibility for ensuring she remembers to take her medication when im not there and if she needs me to deal with any phone calls for her such as banking and things to do with finances at home, etc... they assure me it would be picked up next business day(Friday) and back to me in 7 days, i went with this option because i didn't have £40 to take it to a repair shop in town until after it was due back..... It didn't get collected until the Monday then spent 7 days in transit!
Finally after 15 days of initial contact they emailed me with a quote, apparently i was misinformed about my warranty so i expected I would have to pay something at least so budgeted around £40 because thats what a local repair quote was... Imagine my horror when the quote was headed "[B]BEYOND ECONOMICAL REPAIR[/B]", bear in mind that my phone had a software issue so how could it be beyond repair? They now want £350 to replace my handset... It didn't even cost me that much brand new!
I queried this further with support who informed me that this was due to screen damage? Angrily i contested this issue because my phone was there for a software issue, not a damage issue, in fact there was no damage to the phone whatsoever, since day one it had been kept in one of those heavy duty metal protective cases that are shock proof and water proof, the fact that it had been in there since day one meant the screen didn't even have finger prints on it, its condition was immaculate so where had the damage occurred? it had never been dropped or near a source of liquid. Support said that they would try to find out what happened in transit to establish why it was damaged and get back to me..
a day or two passed and an email returned to me saying that the package had arrived undamaged and its what their "technician" had told them about the damage to the device.... I was livid, again i told them about how it had been kept in the case its whole life and how it had been carefully packaged before the couriers arrival.. i got a courtesy email about 15 mins before their courier arrived so i took time stamped photos of my phone, front and back clearly showing no damage in the event of dispute (like this), then as per their instruction packaged it safely and securely... I took my phone and wrapped it 5 or 6 times in a roll of bubble wrap secured it with parcel tape then put it into a box, sealed the box which i then rolled in bubble wrap again, sealed it with tape then put it inside a large padded envelope which doubled over and was taped securely... if that isn't precaution against damage i dont know what is!
Since Sony said the parcel arrived to them undamaged that rules the courier out so i wanted to know where this damage had come from and offered up the pictures i had taken at home to prove it... they accepted it to look into the matter, i agreed on the premise that they had a technician email me pictures of this supposed damage...
This was 2 weeks ago and since then its been an almost daily back and forward being fobbed off that they must go by what their technician said, i either have to pay them £350 for a complete replacement handset, or they will return it to me for £40, alternatively they will recycle it for me and give me £20 to spend on another of their products, tbh other than a PlayStation this is the only Sony product ive ever owned and im unlikely to buy another unless its something i really need so Im really at a loss... I just get the same carbon copy robotic email every time i try to keep my dispute open and for them to provide me with this evidence of damage, i believe my rights as a consumer should allow that before i pay for it to be done, but the damage was not mine, its condition was proven yet they are reluctantly willing to provide me with any of this shown damage, just the same, dear sir, we are sorry, blah,blah,blah.. we only uphold the conclusions of our service location, blah,blah,blah.. alternatively we can return your handset unrepaired at the cost of shipping and handling........ hang on a minute, you want me to pay for you to send me back a phone that not only did your software screw up which raised repair issues, yeah i would accept that but you want to send me back a phone that you have damaged in your possession? i dont think so... they cant justify £40 shipping and handling for what will be a local delivery, ive worked both as a courier for dpd and as in mobile phone shops, generally off network branded phone repairs are done at a certified service centre within 100 miles of the owners location, dpd deliver anywhere in the UK for £5.99.. but still they want me to pay $40 to send it back to me, as unhelpful as they have been in this situation and their lack of willingness to provide evidence after requesting mine I have asked which service centre it is at and I will collect the phone in person or have it collected by my own courier but they wont even do that!:mad:
Remember, this was a software issue which has now become a beyond economical repair job that effectively makes me cough up more than the phone cost for them to fix damage that they caused or does not actually exist.. or I can pay them £40 to send it to m, for that i expect it to arrive in a limousine and presented to me on a red velvet cushion by a scantily clad french maid... but i would still need to have its software fixed , but if its damaged im gonna be caught in this war with Sony again.... i really feel they are taking advantage of the situation with lack of evidence and unwillingness to cooperate, like they are holding my phone hostage! surely as a consumer i have rights to see the damage before i am forced to agree to anything, surely as the device owner i have the right to know where it is for self collection?
Im really hitting brick walls with them and getting more frustrated by the day, ive even involved which? on this and the reply to that was the same carbon copy nonsense i got. Whats even more frustrating is that im on PAYG and as afore mentioned i need to have an active phone so every month i top up, id just topped up the day before and it expired before i got the chance to use any of it o im down another £25 on that deal:mad: and what kinda worries me is that i have some cryptocurrency wallets and email apps on that device that cant be accessed from a computer unless i perform 2 factor authentication with the android app and they were all on that phone, anyone can access them, due to the not charging problem at the start i never got a chance to back up or move my data...

Sorry if i bored you good folks but as you can see im very very frustrated and angry with Sony! i hope theres something i can do before they dispose of my device, surely i can collect it myself?