Finally, the 'warning' PM was sent when I actually won the bid, which like I mentioned I was away and had no internet access (and no, I had no internet on my phone, since I use T-Mobile that has no signal in lots of places), so I could not see it. If I had known before I left for the weekend I would had sent via PM my specific contract intentions (which were already clear from past messages) before leaving for the weekend in case I won while I was away.
This is just another example of being a stickler for the rules instead of accepting that life happens. It has happened before and sometimes you guys are lax, sometimes you become all strict and stern. It is pretty random, which makes it unfair. That is why I am asking for solid reasoning behind this decision other than following through on a prior threat, which should never have happened to begin with.
There was no unfair advantage from waiting the extra 24 hours and I do not understand why it's such a big deal (plus I am not even sure why the rule gives only 24 hours, it is a very arbitrary time frame).