I don't see why this is the end of the world really. Sounds like it was just a basic depreciation, but frankly I don't see why anyone would expect it remain online forever.
The moment you pay them, you're endorsing it. Sure, make your public "whoops" statements, but at the end of the day, it's your fault for hiring them and you get the rep hit as well.
But they didn't, as they stated they didn't. At the end of the day, as Namecheap points out, it's against the ICANN rules to prevent whois's and frankly I wish ICANN had the teeth to trash GoDaddy's registrar status.
Disgusting idiotic court system. If you're arrested guess what, it's public record. The fact that you can find that online is perfectly legitimate and frankly if you don't want people to know about it, don't do it.