Blank Screen on Storm

[tendaic]

My phone a Storm has developed a problem where the screen is blank though everything is working fine and I can receive calls and emails. Shortly before this happened, the phone would not sow the words im typing and they would only show up after pressing the space button after which the phone would freeze and require a battery pull. The phone has been giving me problems for a bit so I thought this was one of the many problems but now the phone cant show anything although the backlight will be on. I thought it was a software issue (I started using the phone brand in November when it was brand new so I didnt expect this to be a hardware problem) and tried upgrading and downgrading with the same results. Looking at this forum this looks like a very common problem amongst Storm phones. Since I bought this phone off an online auction (in South Africa which means I cant 'return it to my carrier') and the Warranty type was listed as carried by the manufacturer is there a way I can return this phone to RIM for repairs sonce the phone is only 3months old and I still have some warranty? Please help if you know about the blank screen or the warranty issue. thanks.