Expiry date as well as unhelpfullness

I bought some gauze (product was shown to be by the pharmacist) instead of bandages which was what I needed from the Cape Gate Checkers on Wed 26 Aug. I went to my nearest Checkers - which is Brackenell to get a refund and was told they do not stock the item so they cannot refund me. I have to go back to Cape Gate. I cannot understand this, are they not part of the one Group and should be able to refund me!. The other major issue is that why is Checkers allowed to keep on their shelves items that have passed their sell by date. I bought a tray of Chicken braai pieces. How often do we actually look at the sell by date. I dont, as I expect the retailer not to have items of food on their shelves that have passed this date. I bought these pieces on Sunday 30 Aug and took it out to cook and noticed when i open the plastic wrap it had a terrible smell and felt sticky to the touch. I looked at the sell by date and it was 29 Aug. I immediately threw this out as it was definitely not fit for consumption. Why do we have health dept if this is allowed to happen. Can we not trust anyone in this country with this regard