Frustrated and disappointed with the service

I ordered a cake mixer that I wasn’t happy about and decided to log a return on the same day which was 18/12/2025.On the 20/12/2025 the item was picked up and I emailed Takealot to find out when to expect a refund to purchase a different mixer and I was told 2/3 days.I had to make a plan and buy another mixer on the 24th as I needed the mixer for the festives. It is the 07/01/2026 today 18 days later,and I still haven’t received my refund despite emailing takealot every day and receiving the same reply from different people asking me to be patient because the issue has been escalated to the finance department.