Telkom ********* behavior surrounding Huawei devices

I upgraded my contract at Telkom Mossel Bay. I selected a Huawei P40 Pro on a 36-month contract. The agent told me in the middle of the application process that the phone doesn't have the Google Play store but an alternative Huawei app store. I asked if it has all the same apps as the Google store. They agent confirmed that it has "exactly the same apps". This is all I was told. At home I discovered that the phone also doesn't have access to the Google Play Services, which means that there are numerous essential apps which I can't use on the phone, even if I might somehow manage to install it. I went back the next day to return the phone. Telkom refused and their branch manager in the Western Cape made a final decision 4 days later that they won't let me select a different phone. I asked to receive the email correspondence between Telkom Mossel Bay and the branch manager. They agreed but then simply failed to send it to me. This is incredibly frustrating since I use Google services throughout for work purposes and am now stuck with this phone for 3 years. It's simply ********* of Telkom to sell Huawei phones that don't support Google Play Services without making explicitly clear what the implications would be.