Belkin screen protector purchased at an apple store

I purchased a Belkin screen protector at the store for my new iPhone 16. Unfortunately, the screen cracked but according to Apple I was to contact Belkin, have the replacement shipped to me and bring it into the apple store for their machine to replace it. Belkin now says they are out of stock of the machine applied screen protector's and only have the ones you apply yourself. Contacted apple support which was a bust, claim it's Belkin's problem not Apple's. Anyone else have this issue? Seems like Apple has plenty of stock in-store to get you to purchase them but then your are on your own.