Melanie is dishonest

I called Melanie from Kids Parties Galore and she very kindly assisted me with a lion costume for my daughter's school concert. (And that was where the kindness ended). She asked me to bring my daughter as soon as possible to fit the costume on. I did that and when we tried the costume on she noticed the zip was broken and the elastic around the ankles was very loose. She said she would replace the zip and the elastic around the ankles. I then said I would take the costume. She informed me the cost was R300 R150 to hire and R150 deposit (which I would receive upon returning the costume). I had R300 cash with me at the time and she said she would just take R150 to secure the costume for me and I could pay the other R150 when I came to collect the costume. I thought that was strange because why wouldn't she just take the R300? But it made sense that she needed some sort of security that I would be taking the costume. I can't remember if she gave me a receipt for the R150 I had paid or not but I left it at that. The costume needed to be collected on Friday between 2 and 4pm (before the concert) I texted her to ask if it could be collected on the Thursday evening to which she promptly rep**** no, it must be between 2 and 4 on Friday. My husband and I made plans to collect the costume in the stipulated time and he went to collect it. Melanie then told him she doesn't think I paid R150 previously and gave him a receipt for deposit he paid. The costumes zip was fixed but there was no elastic at the bottom of the pants. I return the costume this morning (Monday) at 10.30am (it needs to be back between 9 and 11am and I didn't dare ask if I could return it later). She tells me that she has no recollection of my previous payment of R150 and so cannot give me my deposit back. I was shocked to say the least. Upon looking for reviews about her business I discovered that a previous client in 2015 also complained about her not returning a deposit. I found her to be unaccomadating, clearly does not keep her promises and needs to keep track of her clients payments because she cannot be trusted. I therefore would NOT recommend hiring anything from Kids Parties Galore as the owner cannot be trusted.