UA once killed a travelpro platinum in a similar manner as yours. I took it in to the authorized shop near SEA who also said "can't repair, and not manufacturers defect so no warranty" Took the bag back to UA with the letter (and phone call) to be told that they would replace it with some no-name cut-rate bag which I refused since it was obviously not comperable to travelpro. They then gave me a choice: cash for some minimal amount or a voucher for the current sales price of the bag. I took the voucher... it's almost as good as cash.