First threatening will not work, bad idea-- always tends to put people off. Have you ruled out a bad cable or charger, or damage or corrosion to the charging port? You could try a Reset, may help, but I'm thinking your battery has gone south. The battery is not meant to last forever, they do wear out. Are you having any other problems, like over heating during charging or during use, did the charging cycles seem to get longer and longer as use time shortened? After approximately 400 charging cycles the battery starts to fail, not holding a charge is a symptom. Maybe time for a new battery. Apple will replace for $79.00 plus shipping and handling and taxes. You may want to contact your Apple store or the Apple Genius Bar and have your iPod evaluated. Good luck, Cheers.