Ahh, that sucks. For what it's worth, that is a very uncommon experience.
I had a refurb with my LG Chocolate and it was great. Many people here report that their DINC refurbs are running great. Refurbs actually get more testing than "new" phones. They also get new housing.
I had to replace my original Dare, too! My first one got the battery life of my DINC
It would last maybe 20-24 hours, I could push it to 30 if I barely touched the phone.
They tried replacing just the battery, same problem. Then the guy tried to convince me that it was "the way all Dare phones are because they are smartphones".
/sign... Then he offered me a refurb and I threw a fit because the phone was only 2 weeks old. So I got a new one.
Suddently my battery life was about a week, with normal use. Worked that way for over 2 years.