BV replaced mine free of charge at a ranger station, not a store. The REI employee was partially correct.

In '06 BV began a free exchange program in areas where they had lost approval. The local ranger stations (in my case the interagency visitor center in Lone Pine) were stocked with replacements. Anyone drawing a permit for the specific areas where approval had been rescinded was given a free exchange. This exchange program is still in effect and is explained on the BV website.

The free exchange program is limited in scope. But the relatively small, specific areas where the BV lost approval are also small in scope. Anyone traveling outside those areas doesn't need the new model. The older original BV's are still fully approved in almost all areas. Quoting the website:
"There are currently no restrictions on the use of these model BearVaults elsewhere in SIBBG controlled areas- they can be used throughout the Sierras and all other locations."

As a side note, most if not all of the failures that resulted in the partial ban of older models took place within the confines of Kings Canyon National Park. Yet the park's website mentions no distinction between the 350 (approved everywhere) model and the older models that are not approved for certain areas within the park.