Blimey, no I do not think that is normal mate, I would contact the tyre fitter AND the manufacturer with photos straight away!!!
I actually was thinking about that, problem is that I also want to change from 19" to 18" rims at the same time, this would mean two new wheelsets and two new sets of tires, which is definitely not cheap. I guess I will keep swapping tires till they die and downsize later.And ps consider this: tyres dont really like being changed so consider purchasing a spare set of wheels to host your winter tyres so then you just swap the wheels and NOT the tyres.