LG :: VX8300 Reset Security Code Possible?

I got my kid a new cell phone to replace an old VX8300. Before putting it away or giving it away I was going to wipe out all the old information and hopefully reset it to factory settings.Unfortunately it appears as though one of his friends changed the security code from the default last 4 of the cell number to something else without telling him. Very funny practical joke. Unfortunately my kid has no idea when this happened and his friend does not remember what he changed it to.

I tried every 4 digit combo I can think of and nothing worked. Verizon told me there was nothing they could do. They say they have no master code to reset it and they can't plug it in and reset it manually either.Is this true? Is this phone locked forever? I don't want to figure out what the old code was. I don't care to. All I want to do is to reset the entire thing. Is there no way to do this once that code is changed?
If so then Verizon and LG should make that abundantly clear to people because the odds of someone changing that code and completely hosing their phone is not that low.