A319
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 40; Flight Crew Total 8000; Flight Crew Type 2928
Communication Breakdown; Other / Unknown
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification
Human Factors
Approaching the DANDD Intersection on the PURRL ONE RNAV STAR we cleared to maintain 210 KTS. In the turn over the DANDD Intersection to RECRD the Denver Approach Controller said; 'I needed you on the previous; uh; I needed you to; uh-fly heading 310. You were given clearance to maintain present heading.' The Captain immediately informed the Controller that we had not been assigned a heading; only a speed of 210. The Controller said 'no problem' and repeated a number of times that no traffic issues had occurred and not to worry about it. In preparing for the arrival the Captain had warned me to expect a reroute to the PURRL from our originally filed JAGGR and to expect problems from the controllers with another route; a different speed; radar vectors or different altitudes. In general; just to expect that the controllers would deviate from the published RNAV procedures. The unforeseen threat was the Controller being blatantly wrong on issuing a clearance that he didn't issue.
I checked in with Approach Control and told him we were out of FL210 and descending via the PURRL RNAV STAR. At some later point the Controller barked at us for not being on a 310 heading. I informed him he didn't give us a heading. He put us on a 310 heading; I had to ask him what altitude he wanted. I told him to mark the tapes. The Controller admitted it was his mistake and apologized to us several times. We did NOT miss a clearance; we did not read back a clearance incorrectly.
An A319 flight crew believed DEN Approach Control purposely accused them of failing to comply with clearances and replied in kind.