Refuse to refund

We returned an order, a gift we bought for our son. Pieces of the item were missing. According to Takealot they won't refund us as a defective item needs to be returned within 7 days. Where is the 30 days hassle free return policy now? This was a Christmas gift that he only opened when he got back from his grandmother. After the assessment we have received no communication what will happen to the item. Will it be send back to us? Will they send us a replacement? What? Are they going to keep it? This is an absolute disgrace. You have to log the issue on the app and it takes them forever to get back to you.