Brightness/Flickering problem with left hand side of 2011 iMac display

Hi,

My 2011 iMac has recently developed a fault with the left hand side of the display flickering and being very dark. I've googled this and found that many other people seem to have this issue. As per other forum posts, if I apply a little pressure to the bottom left of the screen then this temporarily resolves itself, but this is obviously not a permanent solution.

I'm not happy as my £1500 iMac is only 18 months old, and I've been told from an authorised apple repair centre, that it's going to cost £600 to fix.

I've spent the best part of an hour trying to call apple to speak to a human being, but the automated voice menu wants to charge me £35 before even putting me through. Does anyone have a phone number which would allow me to speak to a real person so I can make a complaint?

Paul.