Appalling customer service - action demanded

Having previously checked in online, my mother arrived at the bag drop off a good 45 minutes before her flight was scheduled to leave (if not slightly more than 45 minutes), only to witness Kulula staff packing up and about to leave. They could not have been in more of a hurry to leave their posts!

The staff refused to allow my mother’s bag on to the flight, even though as I said above she was there 45 minutes before the flight! They supposedly called the flight controller whose response was “Closed! No ways case can go.” They were completely unmoved and showed absolutely no care for the fact that a 62 year old grandmother was standing in front of them, in tears, because they would not let her bag on the flight. The worst part is that she was there within the required time!!! They insisted that she go to the ticket office to sort it out. My mother thought that there would be someone there who was more reasonable and accommodating, however to no avail. At the ticket office my mother was told to either purchase a new ticket or to leave her bag. In desperation, my mother was manipulated into purchasing a new ticket in the amount of R1,981.20, which departed 25 minutes later than her original flight. The saddest part of the whole experience was that my mother told me she was hoping to come to Johannesburg again before the end of the year (to see her children and grandchildren) but now she can’t come because of this unforeseen expense. In addition, on the last two Kulula.com flights that my mother has flown, the lock to her bag was broken BOTH times.

I have logged complaints with both Kulula.com and Comair but they have consistently fobbed me off in the hope that I'll "go away." I will not go away - I am absolutely enraged by their poor service and demand a refund of the R1,981.20 as a bare minimum.