It sounds there was a miscommunication, PayPal is pretty explicit on their website that you need approval for Website Payments Pro (it's on their "Getting Started" page when you apply for an account).

When you were speaking to the rep they perhaps should have gone into more detail about the process involved, but it doesn't seem that they purposefully misled you.

Miscommunications happen in business, it's one of those things. Chalk it up to experience and next time your in the same situation you'll know to ask more question.

PayPal have their faults, but I don't think this one of them.