Substandard Ford Ranger Clutch

Ford Ranger Clutch had to be replaced after only 17 400 km. BB Menlyn Ford Dealership refused to submit the claim to Ford under warranty and indicated that its due to bad usage. Surprisingly have never had any clutch issues with my previous brand new cars, if indeed it was due to bad driving. In the end had to fork out a lot of money to replace the clutch, which I believe is substandard.