Am I being conned by an Apple authorised dealer?

I have my iphone 11 pro max off to replace a cracked front screen under an apple care warranty, however the apple authorised store it’s with has just sent me a very suspicious sounding note saying they can’t get the screen off and that they want to order a brand new phone with a £79 excess instead…

In my 13 years of iphone ownership and multiple cracked screens, I’ve never come across this. So is it a thing or am I being conned??

The stores original email here:

I’m afraid I have slightly unfortunate news. I’ve been trying to take the display off you device to replace it and I just can’t do it. I’ve used several adhesive display covers which I’ve allowed to set for long periods of time and all the relevant Apple tools but it’s not budging. This can happen sometimes particularly if there’s been pressure to the display pushing it into the enclosure and means that I have to quote to replace the whole phone instead. Fortunately you do have your AppleCare so a new device would only be for the £79 excess fee, are you ok for me to go ahead and order a replacement for you at that price?