The day after my call to Xbox Support (17/08/2006), I received a callback asking what the hell I wanted. I told them about the broken faceplate, unfortunately the support person calling me had to escalate the problem and said he would get a manager to call me back. Around 40 minutes later another call comes through, this time it is the Escalation Manager, blimey, that was quick. I explained how I had sent off an Xbox 360 in mint condition and received some scuffed up cracked thing pretending to be a console. I was told the scuffs were from the testing bench but the red carpet dust couldn’t be so easily explained away. 
I was asked about the crack and as it was on the faceplate, I was offered a replacement, a FIFA faceplate, I refused. I asked for a standard one instead, I should have tried my luck for a PGR3 faceplate but my memory and innovation failed me at the time.
The good thing about giving Microsoft your email address is that you get updates on progress. Later on in the afternoon I received an email:
“Thank you for you recent order for Xbox parts. Your order has been shipped and is on the way. Your shipping information is provided below for your reference:
CarrierName : Royal Mail
CarrierTrackingNbr : X1665398XXXX-XX
ShipmentDate : [Unavailable]”
Nothing has come through yet. The tracking number was a bit fruity and doesn’t match the format used by Royal Mail so I can’t check what’s going on. Never mind, it’s only been a day. Maybe when the new faceplate arrives, I can spray the cracked one with a custom paint job.