No order, no money back!

I am was a regular customer at Mall of The South and have had problems twice with delayed or canceled orders after having paid a deposit.

The most recent I placed an order on the 16 Oct of a certain ring and instead a different ring which I'd previously looked at arrived a week later. I continued to follow up in store with Ian and Nicky as my salesperson Maddy was on leave and was continuously told the ring was still coming and eventually on day 13 when I insisted on a follow up, I was told the order was actually never placed. The reason I kept checking was previously when my husband bought 2 bands for me from the same store we had the same issue and had to subsequently postpone our vow renewal as the ring order had not been placed. Maddy offered to pace this order again and for me and when I said that only if the order would be prioritised and I could get it sooner. She then called someone who refused and said I would have to wait the same amount of time again. I refused as this was the second time this was happening to me. I opted for my money back and also found that I would need to wait another 10 days to get a refund which upset and and I contacted their head office and dealt with Laurence Vosloo. When I initially sent an email detailing my complaint Laurence did not at all address the problem instead he offered me a tour to see how their jewellery is made and said I could then detail my complaint to him. I rep**** and pointed out that I did not need a tour but my money back which I paid to the company in good faith trusting my order was placed and issue to be resolved to which he said he could not disclose their internal procedures to me but something was being done and said the payment would be made 6 Nov and I would receive it Friday the 8th. This still did not happen and to date no funds back in my account. I have since been chasing Laurence and Ian to follow up and the reasons as to why my refund has taken this long and no answers have been given. Eventually after 3 calls on 11 Nov Laurence sent me a proof of payment yet still not funds appearing in my account. Throughout my dealing with either the store or head office, the staff have a patronising and continuous friendly tone when dealing with an upset customer which always ends with have a lovely day and they all use the same line that I am sorry you have had this experience which does not help a customer that needs a solutiong. They do not take customer complaints seriously instead whatever customer care training they have been given they maintain that like robots even in situations where there's a problem to be dealt with. I would also like the interest that my money made for them while it sat in their bank account for more than a month to be paid to me. I could have had that money in my own account making me money. I am extremely dissatisfied and will not I repeat will not be purchasing from Browns any longer.

What upsets me most is I came into the store numerous times after I had been given a status report that the ring showed status complete. It still did not arrive and when I kept coming in no one bothered to check what the delay was since it had showed status complete then still the attitude of staff is nonchalant about problems that arise. Browns store you cannot just take people's monies, not place orders paid for and still treat them badly. I am beginning to wonder if you treat clients of all demographics the same or if I am being treated this way because I am a black customer and matter less!