Dishonest sales

I placed an order for a spinning bike

I placed an order for a spinning bike. 4 days later a box arrived. The following day I assemble the bike only to realize that this was not the product I had ordered. They seemingly sent me a cheaper option, hoping like many other unsuspecting customers that I wouldnt notice. This is where the problems started. Firstly the box did not have any information or name of the product. Once I realized the product was not the one ordered, i asked them what they had sent. They had no idea. They requested me to send them a photo of the serial no, which i did, but they were still not able to advise what was received. I eventually requested them to collect the product that i had to assemble and replace it with what i had ordered. Firsty their system does not allow for an item to be swaped. The incorrect item must first be returned and then the other product can only be dispatched. I was told i had to disassemble the bike and repack it in the box it arrived in or i would receive no refund. Fortunately i had kept the box, but advised them that unpacking a package was far easier than repacking it. Again i was advised that in order to receive a full refund it had to be returned as it arrived. One cant complain about the service, as there is just no service. They sent the wrong product hoping i wouldnt notice and now it was my fault. I asked if the product i ordered could be sent to me, but they said the product was no longer available. The item had been removed from their site for a day, but was back on the site a day later. I contacted them again to say that i wanted that item, but was again advised that it was not available (just to confirm, the site indicated that stock was available). The moral of the story is that Takealot are sending cheaper equivalents to unsuspecting customers. Be careful. They are by no means what they claim to be. I had requested a contact number of management, but to no avail. This is a lesson for consumers. These large companies are pulling the wool over our eyes. Make sure to check that what you ordered is what is received. Many products look similar, but they take chances with the hope that you wont notice the difference. This is tantenount to theft. I would think twice when ordering from them. They have finally agreed to a refund after first suggesting that they would be issuing me with a credit. This refund will now take a week to 10 days to process. Absolutely rediculous. Very poor from what I though was a good comany. Rather shop elsewhere.