Originally Posted by corrado33

The fender shouldn't be in tension when it's properly set up. You should carefully bend the fender so that it's not in tension after you have everything held down (velo oranges instructions.) Having a fender in tension is a good way to end up with a cracked fender.

My velo orange hammered fenders are sublime. I used all three mounting points for the rear (both bridges and the braces in the back) and they're rock solid. No rattles, and I can lift the bike by the fender without affect the position. I'm not sure how much more adjustment you could have since they have you drill the seatstay bridge mount hole yourself. I DID have to stick a spacer or two between the fender and the chainstay bridge to make the fender hug the tire more closely. Again though, I bent the fenders to match my bike and wheels. They're not in tension.

As for the OP... I'd vote looking for rub marks. Barring that a bit of force and you should be able to make them fit no problem. The tech that worked on your bike probably didn't do a great job because it takes a good bit of time to fit fenders correctly. And time is something a bike mechanic is always short on.