Chews up batteries fast

I have had trouble with this camera which was bought new as a gift from my son. For the first year even though I used it sparingly (10 to 15 pictures a month) it seemed to preform well.
It seemed as soon as the warranty expired it went haywire.I can and have put new re chargeable batteries in it and if I don't remove them , or open the compartment, within a week they are dead. I first blamed the charger, but after buying 2 new chargers and experiencing the same problems I know it's in the camera. The price to send it back for repair is horrendous . I take maybe 35 pictures a month to post on e Bay, so it isn't like the camera got a lot of wear and tear. It cost new when I received it, $268.99.
To me it isn't worth .99 cents. I've had other Canon products and swore I'd never buy anything with the Canon name on it. Had it not been a gift, I still wouldn't have anything with the Canon name on it. BUYER BEWARE !