Broken stylus voids AT&T warranty

I came by this report at The Consumerist, where an irate customer, Rob, is complaining that AT&T voided his warranty over a broken stylus.

Excerpt of Rob's comments:

"I've got an AT&T 8525, and I've had it since about mid-June. It was a refurbished model, and the stylus end (the end that screws in) was a little wobbly, but very functional still. We've got a little problem with it now, though. That tip on the stylus (a cheap, $3 part) has broken off.

The phone is fine, but the stylus is broken. That in itself isn't a big deal, what sucks is that the stylus is still in the phone, and I have no way of retrieving it without opening the phone up and voiding the warranty.

So, what am I to do? I call AT&T to tell them the situation... and I'm promptly informed that the warranty on my phone is now void because of physical damage. What?! A $3 part that's shipped with the phone breaks, and now the phone's warranty is void?"

Read Rob's full letter.

Are there any TR members out there who have encountered such nonsense before from AT&T or any other carrier for that matter?