Dell Laptop hinges are as flimsy as Dell's backing of their product!

We bought a Dell Laptop 15 3511 i7. The right hand hinge ceased and the resultant damage was that the plastic around the screen is also damaged. This is very clearly a latent defect as the unit is 13 months old, has never fallen nor had any other trauma. The internet is littered with people who have the identical problem with the RH hinge. When we took the unit to the retailer the technician who booked it in told us they have a numerous issues with the same hinge/models and in fact there was another unit booked in with them at that he showed me. Dell are saying that the unit is out of warranty and that we must pay for the repairs. Very clearly Dell's backup of their products is as flimsy as their casings. Be sure to look on the internet for known problems with Dell products before buying as the back up from Dell when things go wrong, is lacking and they don't sort out their latent defects. Here is their email (which is hard to find) ***