Rules for domain name registrars

Hey all,

It's been a while, good to see the list is still running.

I've been unhappy with the registrar for one of my domains for a
while, so I decided to let my domain with them expire (that was my
only way out, as they refused transfer without my renewing for 2 more
years at a steep price).

However, now that the domain is expired they claim they have it in
pending-delete status, but the current whois record is marked valid
until Jan 9, 2011.

I'd like to register my domain with another registrar before then, and
I wonder if I have any claims to make... I've tried to read up on
whois conventions, and pending-delete seems like a very temporary
status (5-7 days), so I don't understand why they would block it for a
year.

In earlier support correspondence they mentioned a period of ~40 days
where the domain would be in quarantine, but a whole year seems
unrealistic.

Can they do this? Who do I complain to?

Thanks,
- Kim