JHR
I feel your frusteration.
Since when has an airline actually cared about their passengers, bottom line is it comes down to loadfactor's and profit per seat mile. Customer service is a marketing tool. Maintaining the equiptment is a liability. These people only see the business end and the only reason you are employed by them is to make them money.
It is legal and not really a gray area. Deal with it how ever you wish, your options are plenty.
Here is a suggestion, assuming you are a pilot ask your tech if there is anything in the GMM about chronic discrepancies, or look it up yourself if you have access then either address your company directly if you have a leg to stand on or go right to your CAA if in fact your airline has not been following their program.