Shocking poor service from Rage stores Customer care center

In February 2019 I bought clothes from Rage store at Maponya Mall, round about ten items and later discovered that one of the items being a dress had a fault or damage. What shocked me the most is the damage on the dress was tempered with, meaning someone tried fixing it. The damage is not visible to the naked eye, it is only when you turn the dress inside and out that you get to see it. I only noticed when trying to wear the dress while ironing it a month later.

The question I have, is Rage the allowed to sell damaged goods to client? Is it even legal to temper with the damage good by fixing them? A week later I approached the store to ask if such was allowed and was advised to bring the dress so that they could assess it themselves. The next day I drove to Maponya mall and got assisted by a lady called Tebogo ( who tried helping) who looked at the dress and immediately contacted the call center which was the beginning of my frustration.

A consultant by the name Rachael from the call center assisted with the query. Her manners of approach was very poor, she was rather dismissive and rude and seemed uninterested could not relate to my frustration. She asked that we send her pictures of the damage and was quick to come to a conclusion that the store was not replacing the dress as it was not a manufactures fault. I asked that I speak to her and expressed my dissatisfaction with her decision, she decided that she would arrange for an Area Manager by the name of Portia to come and assess the dress the next day.

The following day I did not hear form either Rachael or the Area Manager. I had to call them myself the next day to follow up on my query. I manged to get hold of Rachael who then called me back and connected me to a conference call with the Area Manager Portia. The areal manger did not have much to say except to repeat the same thing Rachael said to me, “it was not a manufactures fault and therefore they will not be replacing the dress” The casual manner they handled my query was rather disappointing. The Area manager seemed passive and allowed Portia to take complete control of feedback, which I found alarming, where was the managerial s****s? Empathy? Problem solving s****s?

Who is to be blamed, who is to take accountability for this damage. The shop sold me a damaged dress that was tempered with. If I am being told that it is not a manufactures fault, then whose fault was it then? I paid them and I deserve service. I have been a customer of Rage store for many years, they even got me to open an account with them which is up to date with payments. Why is it when something that goes wrong they look away and ill treat me, I am not accepting this treatment even if it means never buying from them and closing down the account.

Let us do proper research before engaging with these stores, give your hard earned money to someone who will value you as a customer and give you the benefit of a doubt. I choose to cut my losses and walk away than be insulted in this manner.