Declined return for item damaged upon arrival

Good day,

I placed an order for a 32" TV on my mother's Takealot account on 06 March 2019. The item would have arrived the 15th of March, which was when I would visit her to do the installation. Shortly after ordering, the item was delayed to the 26th of March, and therefore I rescheduled my travel plans (I reside in another city) to assist with the installation closer to the new date.

However, the item did in fact deliver on the original date, and I informed her to leave the item as is until I come to visit. On the 3rd of April I went to do the installation, only to find the item was severely damaged. I immediately logged a return with Takealot. Today, the 11th of April, I received a response from Babalwa, stating that the return was declined and that the item should have been sent back within 7 days. She further stated that they would now send back the broken item to my mom. Fantastic service indeed.

In her report, it stated the item sustained "user damage", which clearly implies that we are blamed for the damage.

I have never received such poor service and I am highly disappointed with Takealot. Other people easily send back items purely because they don't like it, whereas we are declined a return on an item which was damaged upon arrival?

If you cannot resolve the matter, I will ensure that none of my relatives or friends ever buy from you again.