Sounds like you and I are in the same boat. I bet that boat makes it over faster than the Iliad
I have been keeping my correspondense to mostly email. If I called them each time, the phone calls would eventually cost more than the Iliad itself at this point.
I cooled down a little and they replied apologetically to me. I took the opportunity to suggest to them if it was possible to send me a working one while I return the defective one and I would provide a tracking number and credit card number for insurance. If I don't hear back by tomorrow, or if they only want me to return it the original way I will send it back and play the waiting game.