Well, you are beyond their ridiculous 3 year warranty for battery swelling. Welcome to the frustration club. Microsoft will offer you a refurbished model for somewhere between $500-700. At that point, I think you are better off using it as a coaster for drinks, but then again, it isn't flat, so that won't work. This is a huge problem that Microsoft isn't owning. The cause is battery swelling. There are no solutions at this time. Good luck.
Thank you for your reply - it is nice to know I am not the only one frustrated by Microsoft's response. My BIG customer support question is "how do you get a live person to talk with you?" if for nothing more than to complain! And I love the "I can't help you if you talk to me like that." If I can't talk to you like "that" get out of the "complaint department" or is "complaint" now politically incorrect?