Refusal to accept return

I purchased an item for my mum from Truworths Sandton City on 23 December 2025. I distinctly recall that the price tag was loose and the lady at the till placed the price tag on the item when packing my items. When we got home to KZN we realized that the item was too small for my mum. She then attempted to return the item at Truworths in Dundee and what a nightmare experience it was. Antoinette from the Dundee branch refused to accept the item. She said that the price tag should have been pinned to the label or I should have been given a note to say that the price tag wasn’t affixed to the item (I had tied it to the bow on the sleeve to make sure it doesn’t get lost). My mum tried explaining to her that the item was bought with the tag loose but this wasn’t acceptable to her. If we were trying to return an item that was worn, surely we would have tried to attach the price tag to make it seem like it wasn’t used? My mum had to incur courier costs to send the item back to me in Joburg so I can try and return it here. I went to the Sandton City store yesterday and they accepted the return without any questions which confuses me since Dundee refused to accept it under any circumstances.