Nightmare return

Order no: ***

I purchased an airfryer from Takealot on the 23rd of February. I received it on the 25th of February but I only opened the box on the 6th of March. When I opened the box I saw that the grill/metal plate for the small drawer was missing.

I immediately emailed Takealot and they rep**** that I could return the unit at one of their pick up points , they would check the item and if everything was in order I would be able to collect the replacement item .This process would take 2 to 3 days .

I returned the item in its originals packaging on Tuesday the 14th of March. I also informed customer service that I was travelling on Friday the 17th of March and if they could please make sure I could collect the replacement unit by then. I sent several emails on Wednesday and Thursday that week asking for an update.

I only received an email from Takealot on Monday the 20th of April saying that the item was ready for collection and that it needed to be collected by the 29th of March. Instead of the process taking 2 to 3 days as I was told by Takealot, it took 6 days.

I am only back in South Africa on the 31st of March. so I asked the consultant who had sent me the email to please keep the item until the 31st of March, I was told that this was not possible, they could only keep the item until the 29th of March and that I needed to cancel the order and place a new order.

The order has been cancelled. I now need to place a new order. I checked the current price and its higher than the price I paid for the original item.

I have asked the consultant who emailed me this morning to please send me the number of a manager who can assist me . I am still waiting for a contact person.

This process has been incredibly frustrating and a huge waste of my time. I think I have dealt with over 10 different consultants during this process. I will email some one, somebody else picks up the email thread and continues with the conversation and I often have to explain everything again. This is turning out to be a nightmare.

I think it is totally unfair that I have to pay more for the item. The item was not returned to any fault of mine. I had to return it because it was missing a part.

Can someone please help me resolve this. Can I please just speak to one person!