Jonboy

Thank you for taking the time to write this out, shortly moving house to one where I have already staked a claim to some dedicated space, and you have clearly articulated the thoughts whirring around my head about where my previous layouts have gone wrong (and a couple of others to consider!).

Looks like you should try refreshing the firmware https://forum.creality.com/topic/122/ender-5-pro-tmc-connection-error/41?lang=en-GB 

We bought the father in law an Ender 3 for his birthday back in the summer. The included vinyl bed mat gave no end of adhesion issues, changing it to their glass version solved it all instantly.

I quite often finding myself browsing random topics that are of no practical use to my interests, but are interesting to read nonetheless. This leaves me wanting to thank or acknowledge the poster, but not necessarily wasting everyone’s time on written replies or questions where the answers are not going to be put to practical use. The like buttons suit this purpose well in my opinion.

I also often write a reply, go to spell/grammar check it and decide it is not constructively adding to the discussion and delete it again....

In terms of general retail rules your contract is between you and the retailer, not the manufactorer. Have you contacted them at all about this?