Received a faulty unity, being charged for repair

I have been a major Xiaomi fan since they launched, buying everything from their phones, sensors, humidifiers, vacuumes etc. In the last 5 months alone I spent over 50K on their products.

My last item purchased, I decided to buy straight from the Authorized Dealer, which is "Mobile In Africa". Biggest mistake ever!

"28/06/2021 15:57": Order placed for a Mi Smart Antibacterial Humidifier "29/06/2021 08:10": Order received. "30/06/2021": First setup and usage "01/07/2021": Noticed the tank is leaking massively overnight, empty it out and pack it back into it's box. "02/07/2021 10:57": Send them an email with photos of the tank leaking "06/07/2021 12:23": Send another email asking for a response to the previous email, also send whatsapps asking or assistance "07/07/2021 13:27": Finally get an email back asking to fill in a form "09/07/2021": Collection booked from their side "13/07/2021": They receive the unit "14/07/2021": Diagnostics started

"15/07/2021": I receive a bill from them informing me I need to pay R1295.92 to fix the unit, which is more than what I paid for said faulty unit. Their explanation is that the oils used in humidifiers, cracked the tank.

My experience thus far is just beyond unbelievable, the lack of customer service, the unwillingness to follow the basic principle of CPA, and ideally, paying R1299 for a device I no longer have.

At this stage, I would rather cut my losses, let Xiaomi china know of my and seems like, many others experiences, and no longer buy ANY Xiaomi products.

Furthermore, I would rather pay 10K on a lawyer out of principle, than pay for repair to get their faulty product repaired.

My suggestion, DO NOT buy ANY Xiaomi products in South Africa, as they are the sole distributor, Builders Warehouse / Takealot all ship from them. Rather import straight from Amazon or Ebay if you want the brand.