Paint wearing off?

I've had my m1330 for less than 30 days, but more than 21. When I got it, on the top left edge the paint was a bit chipped but not a big deal. The problem is that the spot has grown a bit and seems to want to spread. For the most part it sits on my desk, and hasn't yet left the house.

How do I get this replaced? I've spoken with XPS technical but they say it's not technical and since it's more than 21 days old they just transfer me to Support. Support claims that it's wear and tear and that if I want it replaced I must pay for it. Which I'd be fine with if the system were more than a month old. Another guy told me that he'd replace it, but only if I sent in my entire machine in exchange for a new one.

Is there a trick to dealing with these people?

I was dealing with customer_advocate@dell on another issue, the CPU whine and a problem with my HDD, but haven't heard back from them since 3/15. I would have told them about the paint within my 21 days but I kept thinking that they'd reply to my e-mail again. I'm stuck in limbo here. I've sent them a few reply's since the 15th, but it's like they left town that day and haven't returned.

After years of supporting Dell and sticking up for them, I think this one will be my last. It's a nice machine and all, but QC is lacking. Which could be forgiven if it weren't for the fact that it's impossible for me to get help. My old laptop, an Inspiron 6000 had a few small issues, but they were quickly resolved. Has Dell really gotten this bad?

 

If you can't get it replaced, I would strongly consider painting it or sending it somewhere to be painted. People give their laptops great paintjobs, and there are even businesses that do it. Try looking at this
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=230378
someone did that to their dell laptop

 

Try these guys they do a great job.

http://www.colorwarepc.com/c-3-computers.aspx

 

If you're having an issue with CPU whine as well, why in the world would you have not taken this option? If they're willing to replace the whole thing with a new one after the 21 days, i'd say that's as good of a deal as you're going to get.

 

Because this one is already my second. They both whine, but this one has a beautiful screen. Searching this forum, I haven't seen many people that don't have the whine, so at this point I run RMclock and live with it.