Thanks @Kwyet and @Koan for sharing your experience. They have not responded to my repeat query on the metal brackets. It seems rather trivial but when one pays premium one expects premium. There is also an aspect of acknowledging mistake, but they essentially put it on the manufacturer. I am frustrated with this but going to stop commenting on this anymore, to stop a negative vibe in my Scapecrunch presence.
I just want to conclude that they did not keep up good standards on my purchase and will not be using any GLA products in the future or recommending them.
I am going to +1 this, per my latest journal entry. You had pretty much the exact experience I had, the manufacturer blame and all.
Definitely underwhelmed 100%. And we had two separate issues, with the same product, in the same week… lol