No delivery of R 11 000 couch, and a lot of excuses to delay the process

My wife and I bought a couch from Jahne du Plessis interiors for R 10 999, and asked for it to be delivered the next week. This delivery date was confirmed by their staff, and I stayed at home to take delivery of the couch. They were a no-show, without any communication.

When I inquired about the issue, I was told the couch was damaged in transit and had to be repaired. As they outsource their delivery that's a possibility and out of their hands, so we were patient and waited for the repairs.

They did not provide any update unless I asked for it, and it took two weeks for them to get the couch repaired despite minor damages (that's more than twice as long as it supposedly took them to make it). After many inquiries they provided a new delivery date, and again they were a no-show.

As the delivery date was on a public holiday, we were not able to contact them at the time. I did not question the fact that it was a public holiday when they confirmed the date to me, as I assume they know when their drivers would be on duty.

The next day they informed us that their drivers weren't working as it was a public holiday, but that the couch had been dispatched (!!) from Port Elisabeth earlier that morning (despite delivery at our address in the Cape Town suburbs being confirmed the week before).

They also gave us the number of a driver, a number which always went straight to voicemail, and informed us later that day that the couch had arrived in Somerset West, some 40-odd kilometers from our house - that was the Thursday afternoon. My wife asked that the couch would be delivered to our house the same day, but that query did not get a response.

The delivery date was thus set for the next day, a Friday, and again they were a no-show.

We now struggle to get anyone on the phone, as our calls are being denied or the phone rings until it goes to voicemail, and we get delayed responses via email.

Debbie, the lady who assisted us with our order, initially said that if we wanted a refund it would be readily available, but has since come back with some objections and the fact that they now need to talk to their manufacturer to see if a refund can be given. (I never dealt with the manufacturer, I paid Jahne du Plessis interior and I expect them to give me my money back - no one else).

We have since discovered that a number of people had the same issues with Jahne du Plessis interior, where goods were never delivered for over 3 months despite continuous promises being made to them.

As far as I can see there is no real proof that the couch ever existed and this looks like a **** to me. We will thus open a police case and let our lawyers handle this, or open a court case against Jahne du Plessis interiors at the Small Claims Court.