Warranty repair help!

 Basically one of my keys on my Studio 1555 came loose so I rang Dell on 23rd December to ask what could be done. Bearing in mind my warranty runs out on 16/1/11 I thought, I'll get it sorted before then. The support guy was nice on the phone, he offered a home service for £30 or to send it for repair for free. I opted for sending it off, making full use of my warranty, so he took all my details and informed me while it was at the repair place they'd check all over seeing if anything else needed seeing to. The pick up date was first scheduled for the 27th , which understandably changed due to it being a Bank Holiday and was rescheduled to the 29th. I told the chap I was going back to University on 9/1 where I would obviously need my system, and asked if it would be back in time? He said that there should be no problem, taking account all the Bank holidays and everything. It was collected on the date arranged (although having had my parents wait in between 8am-5pm for the courier while I was at work, he proceeded to arrive at 5.45pm) and I asked the courier whether I needed any proof or what would happen now. He said Dell should get in contact to tell me they received it. I left it at that until after the New Year and there was still no word from Dell. So I rang on 6/1 to request that it be sent to my Uni address so if it didn't arrive in time I wouldn't need to come back home to pick it up (if)/when it finally did arrive. They advised against this as there would be a greater chance of it getting lost (!) I took their advice and left the original address. I rang again the next day as it was the last working day before I had to leave. The guy worryingly said "So did the courier pick up your computer?" despite the fact that the guy I’d previously spoken to had said it was undergoing repair. They had also promised to send a confirmation email of the case which never arrived and he promised to follow both cases up and ring me on Tuesday 11th , which he didn’t. At this point I’d come home as I was free for the rest of the week, to be ready for a delivery. I rang them again for the promised update, and he said it was undergoing repair and should be here by the end of the week, and he would ring before the end of the week to confirm. I missed a phone call from them on Thursday, today, so called back and explained the situation to yet another guy. He looked it up and there was no confirmation of it actually reaching Dell, so he tried and failed to contact the courier company. He then told me they will fill me in within the next 24 hours.

Has anyone else had such issues with the warranty repair? I understand if it was delayed, as it was over the Christmas period, but I’m peeved that they’ve been telling me it’s there when they don’t actually have any idea. It could turn out well and good but even so they haven't been consistent. Has this happened to anyone else or has anyone got any advice as to what I can do next, obviously pending tomorrow’s phone call, if it actually happens?  Sorry for the length, the annoying thing is I actually really like my Studio 1555, so I don’t want to change it!