Potentially unsafe products & poor service

I have been feeding Gizzls treats to my dogs for several years without incident, until now.

I recently bought two of their full spectrum CBD treat packets (R295 each) on Takealot, in separate purchases. The second package was already on the way when the first one arrived. Something was wrong with the first package, and my dogs absolutely refused to eat it, and ran away. I noticed that the treats smelled differently.

My dogs are not fussy eaters, and have regularly had these CBD treats and loved them. They have continued to eat all the other Gizzls treats we have with great enthusiasm as normal.

I approached Gizzls, who were initially very helpful. They noted my dogs' reactions to the treats as "concerning". Gizzls kindly offered to replace the first bag. Gizzls also wanted me to send back the treats so they could investigate what was wrong.

I therefore made a new purchase directly from Gizzls, with the understanding that they would include a replacement bag of CBD treats. I hadn't received the second bag from Takealot yet, so we agreed to wait to see if that needed replacing too. The second Takealot bag arrived, and the dogs each ate one treat as normal. However, they later refused the treats again, and I informed Gizzls.

Gizzls let me know that they had investigated the matter and that nothing was wrong with the batch of treats. They also let me know that they would not be sending a courier to collect from me after all. I found this concerning, since they can't possibly know that there is nothing wrong with these specific packets without assessing them.

I asked Gizzls to cancel my new order and refund me, which they did. They have unfortunately refused to refund me for the two Takealot packets - deeming it Takealot's responsibility, which I believe to be incorrect.

Takealot allowed me to return only one of the two packets, which was actually a mistake on their end, as they do not allow the return of opened food products. They therefore declined to refund me, and returned the treats to me via courier, although I had asked them not to, because of concerns of proper disposal.

I am now out almost R600 worth of expensive CBD treats, which my dogs required due to anxiety over storms and fireworks.

Most importantly:

I contacted Gizzls to ask them how to properly dispose of the two packets of full spectrum CBD treats. They initially told me to throw them away in the regular garbage. This is obviously unacceptable. I protested, explaining that I am afraid of the treats getting into the wrong hands and possibly being a risk to animals or children by way of CBD overdose. Gizzls have repeatedly ignored my queries regarding safe disposal.