Game not responding on returned item sent for repairs for 2 months

My husband and I bought a petrol Ryobi lawnmower in October from game. It had trouble getting going from the start and then stopped turning on completely after about a month. We took it in to return as it obviously had a fault. They informed us they needed to send it to Ryobi to look at and would let us know.

A week or two later the consultant called me saying we have been quoted around R1000 for “servicing” of the unit because whatever is wrong with it is not covered in the warranty.

I told her we will not be paying to service a brand new lawnmower that was sold to us with issues. I’m super shocked that Ryobi would even come back to us with this? Why would anyone pay to have a NEW lawnmower serviced. A new unit that does not properly work from purchase should be replaced or the money refunded??

I told the lady to go back to them and explain that it’s a brand new unit and there’s no way we should be paying to service an issue and she said she would ask Ryobi why they’ve said this and get back to me and that was the last I’ve heard from them. I haven’t been able to get hold of them since - sent 3 follow up emails with no response. At this point it seems like my lawnmower has disappeared into thin air. They’ve had it since end November.

I am so angry and disappointed that this is how game lets their customers be treated.