I am no legal expert so if a well intentioned "lawyer friend" says don't do something, then I guess you should listen. In your place though, I'd still approach the corporate office. Don't use words like "scam", just state the facts and make your point firmly but diplomatically. I don't know any company that sues you for making a reasonable complaint.

Takes some time, but well worth it in cases like these. As an example, last year, my LCD TV (2 yrs. old with only 1 yr. warranty) started having problems. Since it was out of warranty, most folks just advised me to dump it and get a new one. Instead, I researched the issue a bit and found that it was a manufacturing defect. Compiled lots of documentation and sent the corporate office a letter expressing my disappointment at a brand I trusted, clearly detailing the issues and outlining my expectations on how it should be resolved. After a bit of back and forth, they sent me a brand new TV to replace the old one and apologized for the issue. Even got a call from an executive's office to confirm that I was happy with the resolution of the issue, apparently my homework and the ensuing letter had an impact.

I'm not saying this works everytime and sometime you just have to bite the bullet and move on, but always worth a shot. Worst case scenario - you lose some time.

Good luck!

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