Guess, you really catched them in a bad moment with something that has been asked over and over again from people who would not understand even if you screamed it at them, so you ended up getting the emotional Italian side of them, when for you a simple "sorry, can't do that" would have been the better way. Usually they are really good about answering questions.
I mean, other con-teams in Europe will not answer you at all and refuse any selling forward even if you can't come at all.