Refused to replace a damaged an electric hand mixer

My nephew bought me an electric hand mixer from Takealot for Xmas. When I unwrapped the gift it was still in the Takealot box. The next day when I tested it we discovered that the where the wire connects to the hand mixer was cracked and the wire was loose. He notified Takealot and on the 27th they collected the hand mixer. We received an email from them saying that they cannot replace it because it was User Damaged. I explained to them that it was a Xmas gift and still sealed in the Takealot box but they keep saying it is “User Damaged”. How can this be a User Damaged item.