IPhone 5 charging port has gold strips sticking up inside it, and now it won't charge

Question

I dropped my phone in the toilet yesterday, and it half submerged into the water (the water reached just beneath the sim card slot). I took it out of the toilet immediately and pressed down the lock button and slid it to power off. I then put it in a bowl full of rice (standing upright so no water inside could make it's way up to the top part of the phone). After 16 hours I turned it on and it worked perfectly fine, no damage at all (very lucky). However when it died and I went to charge it I realised a bit of rice was stuck inside the charging port. So with a clip I kept jabbing at the piece of rice until I got it out. Now I've come to charge it and it won't work. When I shine a flashlight into it I can see there are gold strips sticking up instead of them being pushed down into the phone. I think this happened from accidently pulling some up with the clip. Does anyone know how to fix this problem? How much will apple charge to repair the charging port?
-the water sensor indicator inside the sim tray is still completely white, and inside the headphone jack and charging port I can't see any indicators at all
-the phone is 5 months old on a 2 year contract with 3
If you have any idea's or solutions please leave them below, thanks!

Answer 1

Yes, you probably destroyed the connector with your probing. Apple will replace the phone for $269. Unless you can convince them it should be covered by warranty (and your warranty is still in effect). If it is out of warranty an independent repair shop may be able to replace the lightning connector.