R2500 out of pocket due poor internal communication

Early February 2019 I ordered a pair of shoes through GAA in the UK and paid roughly R1 700 for them.

On the 11th of Feb I got a call from DHL Express telling me there is an import tax amount of R832 to be paid before the shoes could be delivered at my home in Douglasdale. I'd like to mention at this juncture that there was no mention whatsoever of import duties of almost 50% of the price of the shoes, which seems ludicrous. Regardless, as this extended our budget, I could not make this payment at the time.

After deliberation, on the 28th of February, at 09:48 I dialed ********** and spoke to a lady (unfortunately her name escapes me, but you will be able to look at your recording records I'm sure to verify), to look at options to abate my financial loss as a result of this transaction. I initially said to her that we're considering returning the shoes and be refunded, but as I was concerned about more shipping costs I told her that we're looking for the most cost effective solution. She then explicitly told me to hold off on my decision whilst she looks at some other options between DHL and GAA to see how we can abate costs. She never contacted me again regarding a way forward.

After some thought, on the 11th of March I decided to rather just pay the import tax amount of R832 and consequently spoke to Grace on ********** at 08:06. I explained to Grace that I just want to pay the tax and get the shoes. Grace then confirmed with me that I want the return instruction (which I never explicitly gave) reversed and release the shoes, I confirmed that was the case. I then also asked her, if I paid the R832 in the morning, when would I have my shoes...she said 15:00 on the afternoon of the 11th of March. Grace then sent me the import invoice, which I paid and I awaited delivery of my shoes...which never happened.

On the 12th of March I spoke to Thabang at 10:55 on ********** to ask why my shoes have not been delivered...low and behold, Thabang told me they have been shipped back to UK already.

At 11:21 the same day (today) I spoke to Smanga on ********** to explain the situation and he confirmed that Grace had, in fact, had her lines crossed and didn't know that the shoes have already been shipped back. Smanga also basically told me that DHL could look at refunding me for the import tax but the shoes are now my problem.

Let me make it extremely clear that Grace had informed me that the shoes will be at my house by 15:00 yesterday afternoon as I now have paid the import tax and that my last communication with DHL on the 28th of February was around DHL coming back to me regarding the best financial option regarding the shoes before I make the final decision to return to sender. DHL never got back to me regarding my options and shipped the shoes back without finalising the decision with me. I was also SEVERELY mislead and **** to regarding the fact that I could have my shoes yesterday. Even more so the fact that Smanga basically told me the shoes are now my problem have left me reeling...this is totally unacceptable and it is clear to me that there is a massive issue with internal systems and or communication at DHL Express.