I don't know about Dell policy in Australia, but I know here its a new whatever if it breaks within the first 30days, and after that its refurbished.
Also if the pixels are "red" they are not "dead" only stuck. I recommend this site
http://www.jscreenfix.com/ . Stuck pixels can often be fixed within a couple of hours of running this java applet that cycles each individual pixel through the colours. (not going to help with whacking great red line down your screen though, or the jam or the scratches)
Shocker of a story matey. Hope you get it all sorted, but it certainly doesn't look very promising if that's the service you are getting. Just make sure you fill out the survey if you get one
