Never buy a TV on sale

Never buy any electronic item on sale that might have issues during its warranty period. We purchased a Hisense tv last year and it suddenly developed a row of dead pixels last week. Takealot’s customer service said to log a return, the tv will be evaluated by their technical side and if they agree that it’s a manufacturing defect, they will replace the tv. Out the blue I get an email that my account is credited. I was not notified in advance of this, I was not offered a replacement and given no choice but to accept the credit. All support wanted to do was to brush off the query and close the case. I still had two and a half years on the warranty according to Takealot and Hisense. What does this warranty even mean if I will be refunded the amount that I paid during a promotion (R5500), and which a similar tv now costs R8000. If you buy your tv full price then this refund solution and outcome is ideal, but for those of us who look out for the promotions, you get f***** and in the end Takealot just want you to buy another item at the increased price just to make another sale.