Dell told me to pry open a swollen battery myself or pay up to fix my under-warranty XPS 13

Has anyone else hit a wall with Dell Support over swollen batteries?

My XPS 13 9350 is currently under an active Basic Support warranty, but the battery has started expanding from the inside. It’s pushed the trackpad up and bent the palmrest out of shape.

I reached out to support expecting a straightforward repair, but they flat-out refused coverage:

First, the chat rep told me the battery only had a 1-year warranty, so neither the battery nor any of the physical damage it caused to the laptop is covered.

When I called in and got transferred to a supervisor, it got worse. The supervisor told me that because the root cause is the battery, I have to pay Dell out-of-pocket for a new battery before they will even look at or touch the warped trackpad and chassis. They even suggested I could just take the swollen battery out myself.

I know battery capacity naturally degrades over time, but this isn't normal wear, it's actively bending the laptop frame while the machine is still under a hardware warranty. Expecting a customer to pay up or pry open an expanding battery at home just feels wrong.