Bar, there is a saying that perfectly fits the situation: "If you want to do something, youll find a way. If you dont, youll find an excuse."
They found an excuse, I found a way

Did they give you alternatives? Again your way might not have been viable.
You are close enough to them the RMA shouldn't take but a day or two max just send it in!
No alternatives were offered. Liam was very adamant over the phone, not even giving a reason why a BTC deposit is not a viable option. He just said: "we are not going to change our RMA procedures" in a way that made it clear they don't want to work with their customers.
Sending it back is a risk I am not willing to take: it can take 3 days, it can take a week. The lost revenue while my machine is offline will never get recouped back from the increased hashing performance. At least not at this stage.