Missing phone sent for repair

I bought my mom a phone and sent in for repairs on 26th August 2021. I received an sms from the repairs center of them telling me that my phone is out of warranty yet I bought the phone in May. I was quoted R1800 for repairs, which similar to buying a new phone. I went to Jet forest hill and we have called several numbers and no one seems to know where the phone is and what process to follow in order to trace the phone