HTC Hero :: Repairs Under Warranty - Charges

I am sending my HTC Hero (Orange UK) back to HTC for them to tinker with it as it has had absolutely terrible reception for pretty much the entire time that i have owned it.

I had been waiting with each new OS to see if the problem would be fixed. The problem is that the signal fluctuates wildly without manipulating the phone, it will cut out whilst i am on the phone and just resting it on a table it will lose signal for perhaps a few minutes each half hour.

Spoke to Orange on the phone and they said to send it in for repairs to HTC.

Now, my phone has a two cosmetic bumps on it - one graze on the top corner and a tiny gouge on the bottom corner. These are purely cosmetic and I am sure that these have nothing to do with the problem, as it existed before those accidents.

I guess what I am looking for are your experiences with HTC repairs - are they the sort of firm who look for any excuse to claim that you caused the damage and void your warranty?

If they do claim that the signal problem is my fault, is the burden on me to prove that I did not cause it, or them to prove that I did?