OK, so a quick update........ firstly, to those that pointed out that I should've checked the gun in the shop: that's the point of my opening comment "Lesson for today" - I fully accept that my hissy-fit could have been avoided, but there are a couple of points to add to that. Firstly, we DID open the box and check that it was indeed a walnut TX in there, however the packing inside the box obscures the rear of the stock, so it wasn't immediatly obvious that it was a "sinister" stock. Likewise, the label on the box read "TX200 RH Walnut .177", so the expectation was that AA would have made sure the contents matched the label before shipping it out of the door.
Aaaaaaanyway..... I contacted the RFD first thing this morning, explaining my preference would be for "them" (either AA or their distributor - John Rothery?) to courier me a RH walnut stock, and I'd send the LH one back by return. I wanted to avoid having to swap the whole gun as it'd mean a 50-mile round trip to take the left-hooker back to the RFD and another 50-mile round trip to get the new one.
They took up my comments and contacted "them" (AA/Distrubutor) and that's exactly what's going to happen, so all's being sorted amicably.
In the meantime, when I got home from work there's a voicemail message from AA's customer services wanting to have a chat, so I'm impressed with the way everyone from the RFD through to the manufacturer has responded, but I'm still surprised that such a bizarre mistake could have ended up in the customer's hands, and in future I won't be taking any manufacturers quality reputation as gospel.
Dunk
"Every normal man must be tempted at times, to spit on his hands, raise the black flag & start slitting throats"