Porter Cable lithium battery and charger – 18v lithium battery will not charge

I bought a PCL180D(Porter Cable Lithium 18v drill) to help me in general problems around my house. I am female, so I do not use this all the time, just when needed to fix problems. I took out my drill charger to charge up the 18v lithium battery. It connected ok and was charging. I come back later to check and the broken symbol was blinking. I went online to check on any problems and found a site that listed problems with the lithium battery and the charger. Site stated to report to company and get a replacement. I called Porter Cable and told them my problem. I was told if they are not used the batteries will eventually not work...plus the charger I have was defective...but since my 3 year warranty had expired, she could only refer me to the local factory service center... that MAYBE they would replace the charger...this is NOT a cheap unit...to replace one battery cost upwards of $80. I am so disappointed that
INFERIOR products are making their way from CHINA to the USA.
The above web site had an article about the problems with this product. I called the number listed and you just read what I was told.