Having learned from the example of the excellent, comprehensive school of call-centre training that United Airlines sends its staff to, if at first you don't get the right answer, call back and you're bound to get someone who does know it.

To the OP: you have my sympathies. It can be really annoying to be faced with an indifferent or incompetent organisation which doesn't seem to be concerned with rectifying its customers' problems. (It can also be annoying to be faced with an indifferent FT audience who doesn't take your problem seriously, but I do digress... ) I do encourage you to change carriers (we are in a free market, after all) and see if you can find better elsewhere.