GAME STORES REFUSES TO CHANGE DEFECTIVE PRODUCT AFTER BEING NOTIFIED IMMEDIATELY AFTER PURCHASE

Yesterday I received the most terrible service from the Pinecrest Game store. I bought a mirror from them and shortly after leaving the store had mall security bring my attention to the fact that it was broken which I attribute to the stores employee handling.

I made this purchase at 15:24 and was back in the store 10 minutes after in order to have it exchanged as I did not want to even leave the mall with the defective item. From the time I came into the store, I asked for assistance with the mirror as I found the trolleys in the store to be too small to carry the mirror in and I also notified that consultant that I am in fact 8 months pregnant making it impossible for me to carry the item by hand as I usually would do.

The consultant who assisted me took the mirror from the shelf and fitted it into a different trolley to the ones I had found and then I proceeded to make payment with my mother where the cashier then also handled it in order to scan it for the barcode. During this entire time however, I was at the back of the trolley and couldn't see the mirror due to his placement note, only for the mall security to notify me that it was broken and he saw it as I was coming out the store.

My mother and I then went back 10 minutes after to have it exchanged in order to avoid delays and the store manager refused citing that their cashier would not have let us leave the store with a broken item. As someone who had not carried it, I then told the manager that it was in fact their stores handling that would have caused the item to break and that if they were to play the necessary footage, they would see the entire shopping process of their staff handling the item at which she refused to have the footage played which was the first sign of dishonesty.

I also asked the manager to note the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act created for the purposes of fair business practice for an unused item which is still within its packaging and both the law and Game stores policy cites must either be repaired, exchanged or refunded. I did not want a refund, I wanted the item exchanged and justly so as it was the store that was responsible for giving me a defective item. The woman in question, Zweli Mkhize, who then started shouting at me still refused and said because I had walked out with it, it was my fault though well aware as their store security even noted that I had not carried the mirror at all and it was still in the position their assistants placed it in when they put it in the trolley.

I am very appalled at this and was further displeased to find their customer services email does not even work for me to send photos of the product so they can be aware of the ill business happening there.